Detroit-based TiiCKER, a shareholder loyalty and engagement platform, announced it has closed on a new $5 million seed funding round, led by Baysore Advisory Group, Red Cedar Ventures, and Flipturn Ventures, with participation from a group of tech and consumer CEOs and family offices.
This financing is earmarked for software, new product development, expanded partnerships with brokerages, and other retail investor platforms as well as enhanced AI technology for improved direct-to-shareholder marketing tools, and sales and developer talent to keep pace with user and client growth.
“The number of public companies turning to shareholder perks has surged by nearly fivefold since our founding three years ago, and TiiCKER has been at the forefront of this movement,” says Jeff Lambert, founder and CEO of TiiCKER.
TiiCKER invented verified shareholder perks in 2020 with the launch of its web and app platforms. The company completed its first pre-seed funding round in July 2021.
The business offers the first intelligent software platform to verify and reward retail shareholders with perks and rewards from a wide variety of publicly traded companies. The platform also simultaneously unlocks a previously ignored affinity audience for public companies found in their retail shareholder base.
In the last three years, TiiCKER has created a new industry in direct-to-shareholder marketing that has gained traction among partners like consumer brands Whirlpool, Real Good Foods, and Willamette Valley Vineyards; motion picture and television studio operator Lions Gate Entertainment; and car aficionado services and lifestyle company Hagerty.
“Every retail investor is a consumer by definition, and they want the perks of ownership with 77 percent saying they’d buy a stock that offers perks or shareholder discounts, and 80 percent desiring perks from the current companies they own,” says Kanan Banerjee, chief marketing officer for TiiCKER.
“Shareholder loyalty is what’s next in affinity marketing, and we’re excited to put this capital to work in B2B and B2C campaigns that show the win-win of shareholder perks.”
Proceeds from the raise will support continued investment in TiiCKER’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven platform and apps to help companies find and engage their retail investors and convert brand fans, influencers, and consumers to investors.
This is designed to expand its measurement tools to help major brands and public companies launch optimized perks, measure the Return on Investment of its marketing spend in new consumers, first party data and sales, all toward driving tangible Shareholder Lifetime Value (SLV) or the purchasing power and ownership value of a shareholder over the life of their investment.
Baysore Advisory Group is a family office financial adviser focused on early and late-stage venture and private equity investments nationally.
Red Cedar Ventures is the early-stage investment fund and start-up community created from the Michigan State University Foundation targeting technology companies in Michigan.
Flipturn Ventures is the early-stage investment arm of TiiCKER founder Jeff Lambert and includes seed investments in Cirkul, Dream Exchange, Libby Wines, and investor relations and marketing firm Lambert Global. Other investors span tech and consumer CEOs and family offices, inclusive of several members of YPO, the world’s largest global leadership community of chief executives.
