MyFolk, a social buying app, has scored $5.3m in its initial round of funding, which was led by an unnamed private investor.
Contributions to the round also came from three angel investors and the company’s co-founders – the lead investor supplied $10m of the capital. As part of the transaction, the new investors will all take a spot on MyFolk’s board.
MyFolk is a social buying app that lets users share what they have bought, as well as receive insights into purchases they are about to make. The platform leverages image recognition software, app integration data harvesting (Google Mail, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify), personality profiling metrics and a database of 120,000 brands.
Through this information, the app is able to inform a user whether the product is popular with people with similar interests and make suggestions of ones that are.
The capital from the round will be used to grow the company’s team, and develop the prototype enough to become a functionable product.
MyFolk co-founder who is only known as J said, “The idea was really born from a frustration that nothing like MyFolk existed. We no longer live in a world where you can buy anonymously—nor should you be able to.
“We believe your bank statement should be a personal statement, that you can express yourself with your purchases, that you should able to act instantly on an instinct as old as the cash register: I want to be proud of what I’m buying and show it off to my friends.”
There is a Fall launch date set for the mobile app, which will be available on both iOS and Android device.
Co-founder P added, “Let’s say you’re ready to buy a family car. You could pick up Consumer Reports, but that’s a publication for everyone. What you really want to know is, is this right for me? You type in some options in the app, and you have immediate answers: Hm, FORD FIESTA isn’t a popular car for folks within your income bracket ($120-200k) or listening habits (Classic Rock). Want to see some more suitable vehicles?”
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