A Leicestershire start-up has raised £675,000 of investment to expand sales of its DIY search engine optimisation (SEO) platform.
The investment round for Hike SEO was led by DSW Ventures with co-investment from Jenson Funding Partners.
The platform has been designed to help small businesses improve their visibility on Google in a cost-efficient but effective way.
The product tells the user what they need to know to build a bespoke SEO strategy – and then guides them through it. Hike says customers can optimise their online presence without the significant cost of engaging a specialist consultant.
They said it can also be used by digital agencies to deliver SEO services as an additional value-add service to their clients.
The Lutterworth company was founded by chief executive Andrew Allen and chief technology officer Kieran Headley, who worked together as SEO experts before starting the business in February 2017.
Since then Hike has grown rapidly, and now has over 1,000 customers and annual revenues of more than £1 million.
The funding will be used to further invest in developing the platform and to make key commercial and operational hires.
Hike has also strengthened its board with the recruitment of two seasoned operators.
Jim Hodgkins – the former managing director of ContentCal which was sold to Adobe at the end of 2021 – has joined as its chairman. Meanwhile Deborah Jones – former finance director of MLS, a private equity-backed software business which became part of Capita – has become chief finance officer.
Andy Allen said: “We're thrilled to have the support of DSW Ventures and Jenson Funding Partners in our mission to empower small businesses with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed online.
“With this investment, we'll be able to develop the product and grow our team to ensure that even more small businesses can benefit from the Hike platform.
“This funding round marks an exciting new chapter for us at Hike and is a big step forward in achieving our goals for the business.”
Hike becomes the 11th company to join the DSW Ventures portfolio.
DSW Ventures investment executive Emma Cassidy said: “We were immediately drawn to the scale and speed of growth that Andy and Kieran had achieved with minimal capital, as well as the potential of their product in an underserved area of the SEO market.
“We are delighted to support such a talented founder team from another very exciting regional software company.”
Weightmans and Panamoure Consulting advised DSW Ventures on the deal, with Founders Law advising Hike SEO.
