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The need for collecting and sending money has become one of the world’s leading industries. This task of course is now pretty much done solely on digital platforms with cash transactions in rapid decline. This of course makes sense as not being required to go to a cash machine to withdraw money is a convenience most of us indulge in as we can now complete financial transactions with the push of a button on our smartphones and other devices.
Today Prolific London will be taking a deep dive and analysing a company that aims to streamline this process even further and make online transactions between larger groups of people easier, safer and more secure. The company in question of course is Collectiv.
Who Are Collectiv?
Amy Whitell is the Co-founder of Collectiv and she first started to conjure up the idea for her business when she learned that her colleague was expecting a baby, she took the initiative to organise a baby shower with her co-workers. The group agreed to contribute £100 towards a gift, and Amy set out to find the perfect present. However, when it was time to collect the money, she was astonished to discover she had only gathered £20, half of which was her own contribution. This of course is a common theme in a lot of workplaces and friendship groups when it comes to collecting money. This was not the first time Amy had been left to cover costs due to difficulties in collecting money from a group and this is a situation that has happened to most people on more than one occasion.
Understandably Frustrated by the situation, she reached out to her colleague and now co-founder, Pete Casson, for assistance. When they realised there was no digital solution available for collecting money from groups, they decided to take matters into their own hands and founded Collctiv.
Collective launched in the UK in December 2019 and has now expanded to the US in the autumn of 2022. Expanding into the U.S. market so early in the company’s life cycle is an impressive feat, and it has helped drive revenue upwards significantly.
Helping People and Picking Up Awards
Since its inception, the platform has assisted 800,000 people from nearly 140 countries in collecting and spending group money on a wide range of activities, including travel, fundraising, parties, sports, bills, and gifts.
The company’s innovative approach and exceptional performance have not gone unnoticed. In 2021, Collctiv was awarded the Regional Winner for Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year by Barclays, and in 2023, it was recognised on Tally Market’s Shining Stars of the Workplace List.
In autumn 2022, Collctiv achieved a significant milestone by becoming the only British start-up accepted into the highly prestigious and competitive Techstars Accelerator Programme in New York City. This achievement places Collctiv among notable Techstars alumni, such as ClassPass, Owlet Baby Care, and PillPack.
U.K Roots
Collctiv is proudly rooted in Manchester and is one of the U.K.’s fastest growing companies. Having a platform where groups of people can put money into a pot without the need to share bank details is a brilliant innovation, and it a nice to see a company manage to be so innovative when it comes to providing a solution for an issue that has been going on since humans started to walk this planet.
