Dubai-based Brndstr Raises $1.6 Million in New Funding

A Dubai-based startup has raised $1.6 million in new funding to help launch its software that better connects social media users and the brands they follow.

Brndstr Inc. (pronounced ‘brandster’) uses software that allows the brand’s Twitter accounts to automatically respond to #hashtags with offers and vouchers.

For example, if a Twitter user retweets a brand’s tweet, then that user can automatically be sent a voucher giving them money off a purchase with that brand or an incentive to buy.

Essentially, Brndstr rewards a brand’s biggest fans on social media by getting them to talk more about the brand. A back-end system tells brands who retweeted their tweet, how many people the retweet reached and how many people redeemed an offer.

— Brndstr™ (@Brndstr) May 20, 2014

The startup is currently in a pilot phase with private-chauffeur company Uber and is also in talks with other brands and media buying companies in Dubai, according to founder and Chief Executive Simon Hudson. “We are a bolt-on to an existing brand campaign,” Mr. Hudson said in an interview.

Brndstr also aims to become a platform on twitter for consumers to find deals. People can tweet @brndstrs with a particular hashtag, such as #Dubai, and find all the latest campaigns by brands in Dubai. Mr. Hudson, 31, has a short-lived background in e-commerce having previously worked for Groupon Middle East where he helped plan the group-buying company’s daily deals.

The startup has a team of seven and is still in its infancy with few clients at the moment. It raised $600,000 last year from Dubai-based Funsho International, a relatively unknown holding company with a logistics firm based in Nigeria and real estate assets around the world. And last week, it raised a further $1 million from Funsho, which is aiming to diversify into the startup sector.

The cash will be used to hire business development and sales executives, and target media companies working with a number of different brands, Mr. Hudson said.

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(via WSJ Blogs)