Skyscanner's Williams invests in Kindaba venture

Left to right: Co-founders of tech start-up Kindaba Lizzie Brough, Rob Gelb and Will Wright. Picture: contributed

Kindaba, a private visual messenger aimed at the family market, announced that it has received the undisclosed sum from Williams ahead of its upcoming crowdfunding campaign that is due to launch next week.

The start-up will be targeting an initial £300,000 in the funding round, which it will use to accelerate growth through product and business development, marketing and data analysis.

The company aims to launch its intelligent messenger service on a global scale and establish itself as a company of thought leaders in the family technology (“famtech”) sector over the next 12 months.

Kindaba estimates that the application of its messenger technology taps into a market worth up to £45 billion.

Its ethos is to help customers “stay connected with the promise of no adverts and a commitment to respect privacy and protect their data”.

The company, launched in 2017 by Lizzie Brough, Rob Gelb and Will Wright, said it was formed in response to “rising consumer doubts” over the ability of advertising-based messengers to respectfully handle their personal information.

Kindaba currently has eight staff and plans to recruit an additional seven in an effort to grow its customer base to some 100,000 active users.

Brough, co-founder and chief experience officer, said: “This investment will allow us to scale our customer outreach and bolster our development team so that we can continue to work smart and at speed developing the features our families are searching for.”

Kindaba investor Williams added: “The team is fantastic. I can see in Rob, Lizzie and Will an intense desire to make something happen.

“Whatever the problem space, founders need to have that laser focus. In my experience, the founders and the team they build are so important to the future success of their company.”