Duel secures £1.8m seed investment led by Downing Ventures to grow its advocacy platform
The funding round was led by Downing Ventures alongside Publicis Groupe, London Co-Investment Fund, and University of Bristol Enterprise Fund.
Duel provides a brand advocacy platform that helps retail brands grow by activating their customer and creator communities. The company enables businesses to manage networks of advocates to generate authentic content and drive referrals.
Brand advocacy platform Duel has secured £1.8m in seed funding to advance its technology and expand its team. The investment round was led by Downing Ventures, with participation from Publicis Groupe, London Co-Investment Fund, and University of Bristol Enterprise Fund.
Founded in London, the martech company provides software that allows brands to build membership programs and cultivate customer communities. The fresh capital will be directed towards product development, including curation artificial intelligence, alongside recruitment of additional brand and community experts.
The company serves various brands including Monica Vinader and King of Shaves, offering tools to manage advocacy behaviors ranging from content creation to referrals.
From the founder
"There has been a major generational shift in consumer behaviour that has stemmed from a trust crisis – trust in institutions, in brands, and in advertising is at an all-time low."
Paul Archer
CEO and co-founder at Duel
Investor perspective
"Brand Advocacy is the future of marketing. Ultimately brands that can build advocate communities and create true brand ambassadors will succeed in the long term, while companies that only invest in the short term will not."
Mike Kennedy
Portfolio Director, Downing Ventures
Use of funds
- 01Continue product development
- 02Fund research and development
- 03Grow the team
Investors
Mike Kennedy
Downing Ventures
Publicis Groupe
London Co-Investment Fund
University of Bristol Enterprise Fund
Categories
About the company
Duel
Duel operates a brand advocacy platform that helps retail brands grow through customer and creator communities.