What to do if the investment climate has turned jittery (you've seen the collapse of multiple banks lately, right?) and founders are frustrated by poor terms dictated by traditional venture capital models who seem to put their money into Bro startups instead of sound businesses (hello, FTX anyone?). Plus, according to a report by PitchBook, in 2020, only 2.3% of venture capital funding went to startups founded solely by women.

So when the customer database of Flowerbx, the global, sustainable DTC flower delivery brand, was emailed and inboxes pinged with an invitation from  founder Whitney Bromberg Hawkings to invest in her business with as little as £50, we all sat up and took notice.

Whitney is a force to be reckoned with. Having spent 20 years at the side of Tom Ford (yes, THE Tom Ford) she left in 2106 to set up Flowerbx, having identified a gap in the market for a consistent and tasteful way to send and receive single-stem flowers online. Since then, Flowerbx has won awards, beefed up its management team (including a Chairman who used to Chair Burberry's Board of Directors!) and developed a B2B business that has seen Flowerbx become the florist to The Mark Hotel, Tiffany and countless other luxury brand partners. Not to mention innovating a subscription that delivered fresh flowers every week over the lockdown that made our homes that much happier in uncertain times.

In the email, Flowerbx ticks off a list of achievements, including an average of 82% year-on-year growth over the past six years, expanding throughout the UK, Europe, and the East and West Coasts of the US, with other US territories launching soon. The company has also become 100% carbon neutral and applied to become a registered B-Corp. By turning to crowdfunding, Flowerbx hopes to open up the male-dominated private investment world to its discerning customers, creating a unique opportunity for its community to invest in the company's future success.  By doing so, the company is demonstrating a strong commitment to its customers, showing that they are valued and that their investment would directly contribute to the success of the brand.

Investing is always high-risk, but knowing the product and service that Flowerbx has delivered consistently over the last 7 years, AND knowing the founder herself (disclosure! Our EIC was a Flowerbomb for the website's content section!), we're seriously tempted to be a part of Flowerbx's future and having the satisfaction of helping them to continue to deliver the best flower service for as little as our typical Deliveroo Friday night indulgence!


Caroline in her Flowerbomb campaign

Learn more about Flowerbx's call for funding HERE