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Whatbook

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Whatbook connects readers through a social network for books.

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Funded 18 Jan 2021
£250,000 target
£255,374 from 0 investors
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Business overview

Location Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Social media
Website whatbook.com/
Sectors SaaS/PaaS Digital Mixed B2B/B2C
Company number SC571818
Incorporation date 24 Jul 2017
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Investment summary

Type Equity
Valuation (pre-money) £3.6M
Equity offered 6.47%
Tax relief

EIS

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Business highlights

  • Live app with 8,000+ users growing daily
  • First social readia platform™
  • Users in almost every country globally
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Key features

  • Secondary Market
  • Nominee investment min. £10.36 +

Idea

Introduction

Whatbook is a book discovery and social network app for readers. Follow your friends and discover other users who read similar books to you. It really is that simple.

We believe no algorithm can beat a relationship between two like-minded people who read similar books and our community of users is growing daily.

The goal of Whatbook is to become the go-to platform for everything book related and ultimately to get people reading more. We plan to do this by offering an easy to use social platform for readers to discover and share book recommendations.

"It's social media for books!" Alan Marks, non-exec chair and lead investor.

We plan to offer the book industry unprecedented insights and to change the way they advertise to their customers by offering tailored recommendations to our users based on their reading preferences.

With the current restrictions due to the pandemic, we decided to record our campaign videos at home, saving up to £3,000 and instead put this towards new features.

Substantial accomplishments to date

🏁 Launched in 2018 with an MVP on iOS to test & gather feedback.

🏁 Re-launched with a new design in 2020.

📱 Launched Android October 2020.

🚀 8,000+ users and growing daily with average user acquisition costs of <£1.

🪑 Experienced non-exec chair and NEDs on board.

Monetisation strategy

The book industry is valued at over $100 billion and we plan to work with the publishers and booksellers on the most effective route to success and getting more people reading.

There are three immediate monetisation strategies for Whatbook and we are working on others to follow as we develop and scale the platform:

1- Affiliate links and commissions from book sales through the platform. We will join multiple affiliate programs from a variety of booksellers to offer many options to our users.

2- Advertising: Whatbook is a book social network and book discovery platform and we are building a recommendations engine to offer tailored book suggestions to users.

3- Premium memberships when we launch additional features in Q2/Q3.

Use of proceeds

We are raising funds now for two main areas: marketing and platform development.

Marketing: through a combination of paid and organic, traditional and digital marketing, our marketing team aim to grow the user base through several critical mass stages.

Platform development: With the funds raised we will engage in a more full-time manner with the trusted freelance developers we are already working with.

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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 webpage has been approved as a financial promotion by Seedrs Limited (trading as Republic Europe) ("Republic Europe"), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with firm reference number 550317. It is not intended to be a promotion of any individual investment opportunity and is not an offer to the public. The summary information provided about investment opportunities on this webpage is intended solely to demonstrate the types of investments available on the Republic Europe platform, and any investment decision should be made on the basis of the full campaign. Full campaigns are available to investors who have become authorised to invest on the Republic Europe platform. All investment activities take place within the United Kingdom, and any person resident outside the United Kingdom should ensure that they are not subject to any local regulations before investing.

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 £3,613,143

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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