NEWS

Flowhaven secures $16 million in latest investment round as it gears for global growth

Published on: 29th January 2021

The industry’s first licensing relationship management platform, Flowhaven, has raised a $16 million Series A financing round, bringing the total amount raised by the company to $21.5 million to date.

The financing round was led by Sapphire Sport, with participation from existing investors Global Founders Capital and Icebreaker.vc.

The new financing will fuel the next phase in the company’s growth, including expanding its leading brand licensing platform, and building on its global sales and marketing operations across the US, Europe, and Asia.

Flowhaven automates every phase of the brand licensing workflow process, including planning and strategy, account and agreement management, content distribution, design approvals, royalty reporting and more.

The company’s platform enables any brand – large or small – to manage the entire lifecycle of a licensing partnership, and present communication gaps. Flowhaven offers a system of record that facilitates the instant flow of information between the many stakeholders typically involved in bringing a licensed product to market.

“Brands, whether it be a large corporation like Nintendo or a small mom-and-pop shop, are ubiquitous, and they all need a seamless way of managing their profile across every touchpoint,” said Kalle Törmä, CEO and co-founder, Flowhaven.

“Today, this process is largely managed by spreadsheets and a mish-mash of disparate solutions. As a result, licensing teams waste hours piecing together siloed information to ensure agreements are routed to the right team in a timely manner. We’ve raised this latest round of financing to double down on our product so we can facilitate licensing workflows for every major entertainment, media lifestyle brand and agency in need.”

The funding comes on the heels of significant momentum for Flowhaven, marked by 400 per cent year-over-year growth. Flowhaven already powers a number of Fortune 100 companies and some of the most prominent brands and agencies in the world including Nintendo, LAIKA, Acamar Films, Games Workshop and Crunchyroll.

“As a studio that manages numerous licensing partners and product submissions, Flowhaven has become indispensable in our effort to delight fans with branded products based on our timeless animated films,” said Dave Burke, chief marketing officer, LAIKA.

“The platform’s ability to track all our licensing agreements and licensed products, create custom workflows that meet our stringent brand approval requirements, and generate robust reporting via its configurable dashboard are empowering us to take LAIKA’s brand licensing program to the next level.”

Michael Spirito, partner, Sapphire Sport, added: “Flowhaven is not just transforming the brand licensing process, the team is unlocking untapped value for brand owners who are now, more than ever, trying to connect to their customers in a truly data-enabled manner.

“This is a product built by licensing professionals for licensing professionals and it’s Kalle and Timo’s vision and pedigree in this space that has enabled them to build a best-in-class solution of this caliber. 

“We are thrilled to have Flowhaven join the Sapphire Sport family and be able to play a role in furthering their growth and success.”

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