Silicon Canals
TRENDING
  • Mobility
  • AI
  • FinTech
  • Software & SaaS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Ukraine
    • Startups
    • Scaleups
    • Coin Canals
    • FinTech
    • AI and chatbots
    • Travel & Mobility
    • Software & SaaS
    • Health & Medtech
    • (Crowd)funding
    • Blockchain
    • Internet of things
    • Hardware
    • Accelerators
    • E-commerce
    • Cybersecurity
    • Gaming & Virtual Reality
    • Drones
    • COVID-19
  • Features
    • How-to
    • Knowledge & Insights
    • Guest Contributions
  • Partners
    • Amsterdam
    • Rise by Techleap.nl
    • Fintech Files by AWS
    • Scaling-up in Europe
    • Blue Tulip Awards
    • Partner with us
    • Promoted content
  • Jobs
  • About us
    • Partner with us
    • About
    • Team
    • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • Home
  • News
    • Ukraine
    • Startups
    • Scaleups
    • Coin Canals
    • FinTech
    • AI and chatbots
    • Travel & Mobility
    • Software & SaaS
    • Health & Medtech
    • (Crowd)funding
    • Blockchain
    • Internet of things
    • Hardware
    • Accelerators
    • E-commerce
    • Cybersecurity
    • Gaming & Virtual Reality
    • Drones
    • COVID-19
  • Features
    • How-to
    • Knowledge & Insights
    • Guest Contributions
  • Partners
    • Amsterdam
    • Rise by Techleap.nl
    • Fintech Files by AWS
    • Scaling-up in Europe
    • Blue Tulip Awards
    • Partner with us
    • Promoted content
  • Jobs
  • About us
    • Partner with us
    • About
    • Team
    • Newsletter
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Silicon Canals
No Result
View All Result

Utrecht-based spot photography marketplace Smiler secures €7.4M, plans European expansion

Editorial team by Editorial team
May 31, 2022
in (Crowd)funding, Lifestyle, News, Startups
Smiler

Image credits: Smiler

85
SHARES
LinkedInTwitterWhatsAppFacebook

Utrecht-based Smiler, a spot photography marketplace that connects photographers and customers in tourist hotspots, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $8M (approximately €7.4M) in a Seed round of funding. 

The round was led by Mosaic Ventures with participation from Speedinvest, Dutch Founders Fund, and PROfounders Capital.

- Partner content -
EIT Digital
EIT Digital Challenge 2022 is here!
Calling all European deep-tech scaleups for EIT Digital Challenge 2022Show More
Calling all European deep-tech scaleups for EIT Digital Challenge 2022 Show Less
Read more

Fund utilisation

Smiler says the new funds will enable it to expand its geographic footprint beyond its current active cities across the UK, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Italy. 

Additionally, the company is looking to develop new venue partnerships and tap into photographer networks across Europe and the US. The Dutch company will also use the funds to grow its workforce headcount to support this expansion. 

The startup intends to enhance the range of printed products offered to customers, giving photographers and venues more revenue generation opportunities. 

“It’s not only professional photographers who become Smilers,” says CEO and co-founder Kasper Middelkoop. “Many are young, talented photography enthusiasts who are looking to make money with their skills and passion. Photographers, like many creators, often don’t have the opportunity to turn that passion into profit, and so frequently turn to other side gigs.”

Smiler: What you need to know

Founded in 2021, Smiler is an on-the-spot photography marketplace for freelance, professional, and enthusiast photographers. The platform enables photographers to offer spontaneous on-the-spot photoshoots at memorable locations and venues. 

“With Smiler though, the earning potential is substantially higher than through a traditional gig economy platform,” says Middelkoop. “A generous commission split, scalable control over how much and often they want to work, and the fact that they are providing a meaningful product to their customers – this is a new way of working in the gig economy.”

Post a photoshoot, customer contact information is captured via a dynamic QR code shown on the photographer’s smartphone. The startup’s technology matches each customer with their photoshoot before digitally delivering their pictures for review and processing payment for print purchases and downloads. 

Since its inception, more than 9,000 photographers globally have created an account with the service, claims the company. The company has already won contracts and tenders with venue and event partners across Europe, such as Manchester City Football Club, Paris’s Montparnasse Tower, and ARTIS Amsterdam Royal Zoo. 

The platform was announced as the official guest photography provider for the Tower of London last week. Within the company, a team of engineers is currently developing advanced automated photo-editing technology to change backgrounds, retouch photos, and apply artistic effects.

Venues can rely on Smiler to source photographers, or have their existing staff use Smiler’s technology to facilitate customer data capture and photography delivery. 

“Our approach means venues have no set-up or equipment costs and it’s far more sustainable – instead of paper tickets or needlessly printing photos that are never purchased, our entire workflow is digital,” says Middelkoop. “This also makes for a better customer experience. The photoshoot and registration are entirely contactless, photos are delivered directly to their mobile phone for easy social sharing, and they have the opportunity to purchase their photos days or even months after their visit.”

Investor

Mosaic invests $1-10M in those building daring (ad)ventures in Europe. Having raised $300M across two funds, they partner with founding teams that are fundamentally reshaping big markets. 

“At Mosaic, we look for exchange platforms that delight customers and create new economic opportunities for suppliers,” says Bart Dessaint, partner at Mosaic Ventures. “In the case of Smiler, creating strong memories with loved ones for tourists and a new creator gig role for photographers is a perfect example of technology unlocking an interaction that was previously inaccessible. This seed round has already enabled the platform to replicate its success in many more locations around the world!”

Speedinvest is a venture capital fund that invests in pre-seed, seed, and early-stage tech startups. With more than €600M AuM and 40 investors, the VC provides access to their in-house platform and a  team of operational experts who can provide tailored growth marketing, people (HR), US business development, and networking support throughout every stage. 

Jeroen Arts, Partner at Speedinvest, says, “A selfie at The Tower of London with half of your partner’s face missing may ring historically accurate but it’s probably not a photo you’ll hang proudly in your home. Thanks to Smiler’s on-the-spot photography marketplace, it’s simple and affordable to work with a pro photographer to record those travel memories that matter most. Smiler’s founders and team are not only expanding consumer photography globally but building a new, category-defining gig economy company in the process. That’s something to smile about.”

 - Partner content -
How cybersecurity scaleup Intigriti conquered the world?
How cybersecurity scaleup Intigriti conquered the world?
Catch our interview with Paul Down, Head of Sales at Intigriti.
Catch our interview with Paul Down, Head of Sales at Intigriti. Show Less
Read more
Tags: Dutch StartupsfeaturedfundingNetherlandsnews
Share6Tweet21SendShare34

Partner content | Work with us

Tokenisation is the future of the financial services industry, and Luxembourg’s Tokeny is at the helm of this change

Copilot for growers: Source.ag’s Rien Kamman explains how it helps growers increase their fresh produce with AI

Waste problem is complex, but Seenons has a solution: CEO and co-founder Joost Kamermans explains the plan

Want to scale your business in Germany and Europe? Here’s how the Scaleup Landing Pad Hamburg can help

Is your deep tech scaleup aiming high? The EIT Digital Challenge 2022 can get you there

Silicon Canals | Jobs


Breaking news from Amsterdam | Partner

Founder in Residence: Slimmer AI’s Daniela Redondo Vélez on how it aims to help founders early in their dream to build new age B2B AI solutions

Amsterdam and Paris-based Trezy bags €1M, opens European headquarters in the Dutch capital

Amsterdam’s Just Eat Takeaway made progress towards profitability in H1 2022: Report

9 Amsterdam-based startups that are cooling the planet

Advertisement

  • About Silicon Canals
  • Partner with Silicon Canals
  • Contact us
  • Newsletter
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Cookie Policy (EU)
  • Terms & Conditions Silicon Canals

Silicon Canals 2014-2022 | Website: Bright Idiots

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Ukraine
    • Startups
    • Scaleups
    • Coin Canals
    • FinTech
    • AI and chatbots
    • Travel & Mobility
    • Software & SaaS
    • Health & Medtech
    • (Crowd)funding
    • Blockchain
    • Internet of things
    • Hardware
    • Accelerators
    • E-commerce
    • Cybersecurity
    • Gaming & Virtual Reality
    • Drones
    • COVID-19
  • Features
    • How-to
    • Knowledge & Insights
    • Guest Contributions
  • Partners
    • Amsterdam
    • Rise by Techleap.nl
    • Fintech Files by AWS
    • Scaling-up in Europe
    • Blue Tulip Awards
    • Partner with us
    • Promoted content
  • Jobs
  • About us
    • Partner with us
    • About
    • Team
    • Newsletter
  • Contact

Silicon Canals 2014-2022 | Website: Bright Idiots

Stay updated with the Silicon Canals daily and weekly newsletters.
We promise we won't spam you. You can choose to unsubscribe anytime.
Stay updated with the Silicon Canals daily and weekly newsletters.
We promise we won't spam you. You can choose to unsubscribe anytime.
Silicon Canals
Manage your privacy

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}
X
X