Andy Murray (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Three-time Grand Slam tennis champion Andy Murray has invested in two startups via crowdfunding platform Seedrs as part of an overall $2.6 million funding round. Murray joined Seedrs in 2015 as a strategic advisor and is currently a board member.
Murray has firstly invested in GoodBox, a startup specializing in helping the charity sector move away from cash donations to receive this money via contactless or debit cards instead. The company is already working with 12 Church of England cathedrals and a number of the most visited museums in the U.K.
Andrew O’Brien, Co-Founder of GoodBox said in a statement: “The GoodBox team are thrilled to welcome Andy Murray as a shareholder. Andy is well known far and wide for not just his legendary tennis status, but also the generous dedication of both his time and resources to the charity sector.”
The second company Murray has invested in is ZoomDoc, a startup which is an on-demand health tech company that helps people to book a doctor to arrive at a location of their choosing within an hour. It was founded by a practicing doctor in the U.K., Dr. Kenny Livingstone and has over 400 consultants on its books following its initial launch in March of this year.
Dr. Livingston said in a statement: “We are over the moon to have Andy Murray invest in ZoomDoc’s crowdfunding campaign. ZoomDoc is at the beginning of its journey, so to have a frequent early-stage investor and tennis legend like Andy back us is very exciting.”
In this same statement, tennis star Murray said: “These two businesses provide innovative, much needed solutions. GoodBox has the potential to revolutionise the way we donate to charity. I’ve been involved in the digital health space for a while now, primarily getting schools focused on creating digital solutions for health problems. So, ZoomDoc interested me. They provide trusted GPs to people who need help at home instantly and the company has shown impressive growth and feedback since it’s soft-launch.”
Murray revealed in August in an interview that he had invested in 17 companies via Seeders, including Revolut, a high-profile startup fintech company and Perkbox, a workplace benefits platform.
It was revealed that Seedrs, on its first full accounts, suffered a loss of over $5 million in the last year, while more recently the company raised $7.9 million by crowdfunding on its own platform, with Murray also taking part in this new funding round.
Of this new investment in Seedrs, Murray said in a statement: “I have made a substantial follow on investment into this round to show my support for all that Seedrs has achieved since the last raise in 2015. The team has done some great work in supporting European startups and I’m looking forward to seeing how the business will continue to grow with this additional investment.”
Murray has endured an enforced period on the sidelines this year due to a persistent hip injury and hasn’t played since the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament in the summer.
