AGORA secures £5m in seed funding led by Draper Esprit to scale its beauty platform.
Draper Esprit led the seed round with backing from Lakestar and Angel Capital Management to support platform growth and new features.
AGORA is a London-based social commerce platform that allows users to monetise video content linked to beauty products. The mobile application currently operates in the UK with plans for wider European reach.
London-based social commerce startup AGORA has secured £5m in seed financing to scale its platform and expand its audience. The round was led by Draper Esprit, with participation from Lakestar, Angel Capital Management, and other backers. The fresh capital will support the company as it develops new live-streaming features and prepares for European expansion next year.
Co-founded by former Lazada executives Riccardo Basile and Elizabeth Craft Townsend-Rose, AGORA combines video sharing with direct product sales. The startup soft-launched earlier this year and has since accumulated tens of thousands of registered users producing video content.
From the founder
"We built AGORA to transform the online beauty shopping experience and create opportunities for real people to monetise their talent and creativity, something that has only been available to brand-sponsored social media influencers. AGORA will empower a new category of entrepreneur."
Riccardo Basile
Co-founder and CEO at AGORA
Investor perspective
"We have a strong conviction that there is a huge market opportunity in Europe to build the predominant social e-commerce platform for beauty. Riccardo, Lizzie and I have worked together before at Lazada; we are all strong believers in fast execution. Draper Esprit is extremely excited to back AGORA as they build the largest social beauty business in Europe and beyond."
Christoph Hornung
Investment Director, Draper Esprit
Use of funds
- 01Expand into international markets
- 02Continue product development
