Everyone literally wants a bit of Sugru, the mouldable glue product invented by Irishwoman Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh, and named by Time magazine as one of the best inventions in the world the year it launched.
As of today, 2,440 people have invested collectively £3,224,490 in Sugru via Crowdcube, an online crowdfunding organisation. There are only two days left, and Ni Dhulchaointigh reached her original target of £1 million long ago: one person alone invested £1 million.
Does she know who that person was? She does, although she’s not naming them. “This was an investor who found out about Sugru through an article in the Financial Times and the listing on Crowdcube. He came to an event we held to meet the team and have a tour of the factory, and having met myself and a dozen or so of the team, made up his mind to invest £1 million.”
When the crowdfunding target was reached, they had the choice to close the campaign then, but decided to continue with it to raise more. “We had planned to raise £1 million this year, and more next year, but by raising it all now, we can get on with building the business without the distraction of fundraising. As more is raised, proportionally more of the company is sold, so whenever people invest i.e. at the start or the end of the round, everyone is treated the same.
So why crowdfund? “Sugru is built on community and it’s all about people power, so equity crowdfunding is a great fit,” explains Ní Dhulchaointigh. “We have such a strong community that it made sense to draw them closer, and since they’re such genuine champions and advocates, allow them to share in the company’s success with us too.
“It’s only in the last six months or so that it has really extended beyond seed stage companies to growth stage businesses starting to raise £1m + rounds, and as soon as that looked possible, we decided to go for it.
So far we have over 1,800 backers in 51 countries. Crowdcube featured Sugru as part of their advertising campaign on the London Underground this June.”
What did they want the money for? “We’re expanding rapidly, particularly in the large retailers in the US, and that’s why we raised this new investment. We need to invest in expanding our marketing so that more people know about Sugru.”
As an inventor, what is her own favourite invention? “The internet. Everyday we experience so many incredible things that we are now taking for granted and being able to do business with and socialise with people all over the planet.”
As a woman, did she encounter any sexism in building her company? “For me, the biggest challenge wasn’t creating the technology or the sales and marketing. In an industry that is male-dominated and often leaning towards older more ‘experienced’ people, I definitely felt intimidated in the early days,” she says. “I learned to play to my strengths and often the very fact of being different can be empowering and help you get noticed - if you have the confidence to embrace it.”
Sugru Crowdcube closes at midnight Wednesday.
