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Rightmove for furniture, ufurnish.com, has welcomed £500,000 investor Rob Pierre as a new key advisor.
Pierre co-founded martech giant Jellyfish in 2005 and, as CEO, grew the business to 38 locations around the world and employing more than 2,000 people.
Last June, he completed the sale of Jellyfish to The Brandtech Group. His Ufurnish.com, a search and discovery platform for home furniture and furnishings, says it is looking to leverage his media expertise.
Pierre’s backing, led by former finance star Deirdre McGettrick, brings the startup’s total funding to around £5.7m. Notable investors include Rosaleen Blair, founder and chairman of Alexander Mann Solutions, and Tony Smurfit, CEO of paper and packaging company Smurfit Kappa Group.
“We must pay attention to female investors”
The company, co-founded by Mack Gettrick and her husband Raymond Wright in 2018, is currently beefing up its advisory board ahead of a planned investment round this year.
“After meeting Deirdre and Ray, I felt they were creating something incredibly innovative that would change and enhance the way people furnish their homes,” Pierre said.
“I’m always excited about innovation, and ufurnish.com will definitely solve a critical problem for consumers.
“This is a particularly interesting time in the market for digital companies able to tap into the rapidly growing retail media space.”
Marketplace ufurnish.com has partnerships with more than 100 furniture retailers including John Lewis, Wayfair, Heal’s, Bensons for Beds and Dunelm.
“This business has already achieved a lot and I’m really looking forward to working with Deirdre and her team to realize its full potential,” Pierre added.
Mc Gettrick is a former vice president of HSBC’s leverage and acquisition finance team, where he oversaw over £20bn of acquisition facilities for FTSE 100 players.
“Rob Pierre is a media visionary, entrepreneur and creative talent with a deep understanding of consumer behavior, media markets and value creation,” she said.
“Above all, Rob is a passionate problem solver who loves creating and extending solutions that solve problems.
“If you want to be the best, you have to work with the best people. I’m really excited to work with Rob to take ufurnish.com to the next level of its growth journey.”
ufurnish.com has graduated from London & Partners, the Mayor’s international business program whose alumni include Revolut, Monzo and Farfetch.
This also comes from Beyond HERizons, a program specifically aimed at supporting female founders.
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