Circular economy parenting app听YoungPlanet听has raised 拢500,000 through an 鈥楨quity for Parents鈥� crowdfunding campaign as it looks to expand its offering following a year of seismic growth.听听
YoungPlanet听provides a 鈥榗ashless鈥� platform based on a sharing economy听model where parents can list or request a range of different children鈥檚 items, from books and clothes to toys and baby equipment. Everything on the app is always given or received for free.听
The funding round, which was run via听Crowdcube, raised its minimum听target of 拢350,000 (representing 5% in the business) within seven hours of the campaign going live.听听
The app, which is run by听husband and wife听duo Jason and Emma Ash, has since overfunded by 56%, raising a total of 拢547,103.听A large number of听investors were fellow听parents and members of the听YoungPlanet听community.听听
The investment will be used to not only further grow the YoungPlanet community nationally following the London-based app鈥檚 recent expansion to all postcodes across the UK, but also to enhance functionality and add key features such as gamification and integrated postage.听
In the past seven months, the app has seen an additional 25,000听parents听sign-up to its service, with users now surpassing 41,000. There has been a 403% increase in new users in the past 4 weeks alone.听听
Additionally, since schools have re-opened,听YoungPlanet听has seen its monthly average users increase by 203% and over 10,000听children鈥檚 items have found new homes through听YoungPlanet听since its launch in 2019.听
The听YoungPlanet听business is now valued at 拢6.5 million pre-money, part of a booming sharing economy that is set to be worth 拢9 billion within the next 5 years.听
鈥�驰辞耻苍驳笔濒补苍别迟鈥檚听mission has been to help parents听become more sustainable, and we鈥檙e overjoyed that our investors and community members have chosen to invest in this journey with us,鈥� said听Jason听Ash, co-founder of听YoungPlanet.听听
鈥�Being overfunded within the first听seven听hours of our crowdfunding campaign going live was a huge success, and to see that we have听overachieved our funding goals by 56% to raise over half a million, shows just how many people believe in our mission.听
鈥淎s founders, our goal is to transform one of听the most wasteful and most costly industries into one of the most sustainable. We鈥檙e incredibly proud that people have chosen to join us on our mission to reduce waste, reduce cost and bring communities closer together.鈥�听