Jump to:

Cypher Coders hero image

Cypher Coders

Follow

Cypher is an EdTech company delivering a creative computer science education online to children aged 6-12

196%
 - 
Funded 24 May 2021
£175,001 target
£349,348 from 300 investors
More
Less

Business overview

Location London, United Kingdom
Social media
Website www.cyphercoders.com/
Sectors Content & Information Mixed Digital/Non-Digital Mixed B2B/B2C
Company number 10214421
Incorporation date 3 Jun 2016
More
Less

Investment summary

Type Equity
Valuation (pre-money) £5.9M
Equity offered 5.51%
Tax relief

EIS

More
Less

Business highlights

  • £990k revenue*, subscription model launching in 2021
  • Leading coding school, 15k+ hrs of live online learning last year
  • 250+ 5* reviews, with over 2000+ students taught
  • 56% repeat customers, 50% of new customers referred by a friend
More
Less

Key features

  • Secondary Market
  • Nominee investment min. £12.60 +
  • Direct investment min. £25,000.00 +

Idea

Introduction

Cypher inspires children to learn the language of the future - code. Through our transformational creative curriculum, we deliver a Live Online computer science education to children aged 6 -12 in small, teacher-led, creatively themed courses.

Computational thinking is at the heart of coding, providing a foundation for efficient problem-solving. Teaching children the tools to think computationally allows them to break down a real-world problem and work out how to fix it. It’s a skill they can apply to all subjects.

The Cypher curriculum helps children learn to code through:

> Stimulating curiosity and creativity
> Developing 21st century skills - digital, emotional, social
> Embedding a foundation of computational thinking
> Enthralling themes that engage both girls and boys such as conservation, fashion and art
> Using a variety of coding languages such as Scratch, Python, JavaScript
> Nurturing confidence, collaboration, communication and problem solving

Our goal is to get the next generation future ready!

Substantial accomplishments to date

> Turnover £990k to date - in the first four years of trading we have seen strong revenue growth YoY*

> Accelerated the growth of the business from in person to online and selling out in 48 hours

> Taught 2000+ Live Online students (in less than a year), completing over 15,000 hours of teaching

> US students - taught over 900 students with 250+ 5* reviews since August 2020

> Over 100 courses created forming part of our IP

> Launched proprietary online platform for booking courses, managing teachers & stakeholder communications

> Over 40 press articles in the last year including Forbes, Wired, Harper's Bazaar, BBC News, New York Times

> Facebook Ad campaigns have tripled conversions YoY, increasing reach by 248% YoY and visitors to the website increased by 564% YoY

> Partnered with some of the most prestigious primary schools in the UK

> Trained over 65 teachers

> Winner of Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2020, ClubHub

*Based on unaudited management accounts

Monetisation strategy

Currently, the Cypher curriculum is delivered through 7.5 hour courses taught with live teachers and in classes with 3 - 8 students. Courses are delivered during holiday times (1 week x 5 days x 90 mins), during term time (10 weeks x 1 day x 45 mins) and on weekends (2 weeks x 2 days x 1h 50m) to be flexible to different schedules.

The Cypher subscription model is launching this year with the aim of increasing repeat business by maximising the repeat buying behaviour of our customers, driving recurring revenue and ensuring we provide value for our customers. The subscription model will consist of 3 tiers starting as low as £37.50 per month.

Current revenue model:
> Average course price: £170
> Average student spend: £333 per year
> Gross Profit per student: 69%. We aim to increase this margin to 75%
> Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) per student: £47.50
> Potential lifetime value (LTV) per student: £1,165

By introducing our subscription model, we believe we can enhance our customer acquisition and build on our already strong word of mouth referral (50% of new customers are recommended by a friend*), and strong resale rates (56% of students each camp are returning*). This will all be further enabled by our scalable platform which we are continuing to invest in.

*Figures based on customer feedback from Cypher Camps run between April ‘20 - Feb ‘21.

Use of proceeds

Key hires - 43%
> Chief Financial Officer
> Chief Product Officer
> Growth Team

Platform development - 42%
> Our proprietary online platform is used to book our courses, manage our teachers and classrooms as well as coordinate and automate all parent, teacher and student communications

> The next phase of development includes integration of our subscription model and evolution of the customer journey as well as further advancements in classroom management efficiencies

> Development is scheduled for Q3 this year, which will be followed by a focus to build out the subscription model. We expect that to drive higher subscribers, accelerate revenue and improve margins through the following 18 months, to really hit the KPIs and financial numbers in 2023

Customer Acquistion Costs - 15%
> School Partnerships: Cypher partners with a number of schools both in person and virtually to provide after school clubs, workshops or to guest speak at assemblies in return for distribution of Cypher course offerings to their parent body

> Recommended by a Friend: This is our strongest acquisition avenue, providing parents with the opportunity to - Give £20 to a friend, and Get £20 in return off their next booking. This has created a network effect, helping Cypher to expand our offering internationally

> Online Advertisements: Since moving online we have invested more time and capital into online advertising with focus on Facebook and Instagram seeing great results. We will be investing more into this as we can reach a wider audience through our Live Online offering

Key Information

The Company has the following outstanding loans:

1. £50,000 Bounce Back Loan from HSBC entered into on 5 June 2020. No repayments for the first 12 months and then an interest rate of 2.5% per annum thereafter. The loan is on a 6-year term, with no early repayment charges.

2. Outstanding PAYE payments of £33,876.05 owed to HMRC. The company is working with HRMC to establish a timeline for repayment.

The funds raised from this investment round will not be used to repay these loans.

Investor Perks

Please note that any discounts, rewards and/or offers listed by a company in its campaign are subject to the terms and conditions applied by that company. It is the company’s responsibility to honour such discounts, rewards and/or offers and Seedrs does not take any responsibility for them.

Open an account to get access to the team members of Cypher Coders

Sign up

Already have an account? Log in

To comply with financial regulations, we can only show full campaign details to registered users.

Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Investing involves risks, including loss of capital, illiquidity, lack of dividends and dilution, and should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Please read the Risk Warnings before investing. Investments should only be made by investors who understand these risks. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future.

This campaign for Cypher Coders has been approved by Seedrs Limited (trading as Republic Europe) ("Republic Europe", "us" or "we"), as of 8 April 2021 as a financial promotion. Republic Europe is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with firm reference number 550317. In approving this campaign, Republic Europe has concluded that the information, taken as a whole, is "fair, clear and not misleading." This means that for factual statements we have reviewed evidence of their accuracy, and that for aspirational statements we believe they are phrased appropriately in light of their speculative nature. You should note that in the case of factual statements, the evidence we review is provided by the business, and we do not audit it, which means that we may not be able to identify forged or altered evidence. You should further note that in the case of aspirational statements, the nature of the type of businesses presented on the Republic Europe platform is such that they are likely to have high ambitions, and we may approve statements that convey those ambitions even where we do not believe, or we do not have a view on whether it is likely, that they will be fully realised. The pre-money valuation and investment sought in the campaign are those set by the business: they are not reviewed or established by us, and the valuation is not an independent view of what the business is worth. Given the nature and type of businesses presented on the Republic Europe platform, it is possible that the business has very little cash remaining prior to receiving this investment, and the investment sought may be necessary for the business's on-going existence.

Republic Europe does not make investment recommendations to you. No communications from Republic Europe, through this website or any other medium, should be construed as an investment recommendation. Further, nothing on this website shall be considered an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security to any person in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. Republic Europe does not provide legal, financial or tax advice of any kind. If you have any questions with respect to legal, financial or tax matters relevant to your interactions with Republic Europe, you should consult a professional adviser.

Tax Relief (SEIS)

This business is eligible for SEIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 50% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Tax Relief (EIS)

This business is eligible for EIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 30% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Valuation (pre-money)

Valuation rounded from £5,896,472

This is the fully-diluted pre-money valuation of the business (i.e. before the new investment comes in and including issued options and other equity interests). In contrast, the post-money valuation is based on inclusion of the new investment in the value.

It is calculated as the pre-money valuation plus the amount of new investment. e.g. If Company A is ascribed a pre-money valuation of £1,200,000 by prospective investors investing £300,000, its post-money valuation is £1,500,000.

The investee business is responsible for setting its own valuation, it has not been prescribed by Seedrs.

Pitch type

Investing in a regular equity campaign is the simplest and most common way to invest in a startup. You decide which business you want to invest in, and if the campaign hits its funding target then you will become one of their shareholders. As the company becomes more valuable, so do your shares; allowing you the opportunity to share in the future success of the business.

Learn more about pitch type on Seedrs

Equity Offered

The equity offered is the percentage of the company’s shares being issued in return for the amount of investment raised.

When the amount raised is less than 100%, the equity offered is based on the target raise. Once the company has raised over 100% it is based on the total raised.

In some scenarios, entrepreneurs may accept additional direct investment after closing their Seedrs campaign. Provided this is within 6 months of the closing and on the same terms, we do not typically offer pre-emption rights on that extra investment (where you have the opportunity to invest again to maintain your percentage shareholding).

Learn more about investing and pre-emption rights.

Nominee investment

This shows if you are able to choose, when making an investment, that you be represented by, and your shareholding be managed by, the Nominee investment.

Find out more

Custodian

If you invest in this Campaign, Seedrs will act as Custodian rather than provide our standard nominee service. This is due to the fact that the business is not directly involved in the share sale and Seedrs will not benefit from any rights under a shareholder agreement. As a result, Seedrs will handle administrative tasks as we do normally, but you will not have information or voting rights, updates from the business, preemption on future fundraising, or ongoing support about business trading activity.

Learn more about Custodian here

Secondary market

This shows if the business has opted-in or opted-out of allowing its shares to be bought and sold on the secondary market.

Find out more

Direct investment

This is an option to invest and hold shares 'directly' in the company (rather than via the Nominee investment). This option is only available to those investing over the threshold amount, which is determined by the fundraising company.

If you choose to hold your shares directly, you will be responsible for any contractual or administrative arrangements with the company you are investing in.

Find out more

Payment options

We are not able to accept card payments for investments into this sector. You can pay for your investment by creating a bank transfer, using funds in your investment account or create a Pay by Bank payment. Your investment will only be completed once the funds have reached our account.

Business Involvement

This Campaign offers shares for sale in business that is not directly involved in this Campaign or the sale. As a result, the Campaign and post-investment experience, including investor rights, will differ from a business-led campaign on Seedrs. Most notably, the business will not engage with investors in the discussion forums both during and after the sale or provide any updates to investors.

Learn more here

Payment options

We are not able to accept Pay by Bank payments for investments into this sector. You can pay for your investment with a card payment, by creating a bank transfer or by using funds in your investment account. Your investment will only be completed once the funds have reached our account.

Drawdowns

This campaign offers the ability to pay for an investment by drawdowns.

Security Token

A security token is a digital asset that represents ownership or other rights. It is a digital form of traditional investments. In the future, you may be able to trade your investment through compatible exchanges.

Warning

You are following a link outside of europe.republic.com.

None of the information in constitutes part of the campaign and it has not been approved or reviewed by Seedrs.

ContinueCancel