A startup styled as a deep work as-a-service pioneer has raised £2.5 million in seed funding.
Led by serial entrepreneur Alicia Navarro, with her sister, COO Cat Navarro, FLOWN aims to change the way we think and work.
It leverages neuroscience to make people more focused, creative and fulfilled as they work.
The counterpoint to the benefits of remote working is that many people are now struggling with the lack of structure and accountability that workplace rituals used to provide, says FLOWN. Many people feel lonely and disconnected, and are languishing thanks to a lack of exposure to new people and ideas.
FLOWN was started to address these challenges and deliver deep work and flow states to knowledge workers every day. Its tools facilitate virtual co-working sessions designed to promote accountability and improve focus.
This is supplemented by on-demand content experiences, designed to help remote and hybrid workers recharge their focus and boost their creativity, productivity and work satisfaction.
Having closed a £1.2m pre-seed round of funding during the first COVID-19 lockdown, FLOWN’s new seed round has been led by Pi Labs, as well as many who backed Navarro’s earlier venture Skimlinks, including BDMI and Venrex.
Female-focused funds January Ventures, Auxxo Ventures and Alma Angels also participated in the round.
“I believe deep work and flow states will be for the next decade what mindfulness has been for the last,” said Navarro.
“More and more businesses are realising that adopting a deep work culture within their teams and organisations is the key to driving growth and innovation in the business, as well as engagement and satisfaction within their teams.”
Hugo Silva, investment lead at Pi Labs adds: “We invested in FLOWN because, when we imagine what the future of the office means post-COVID, we see services that enable distributed teams to be efficient, creative, and engaged, irrespective of where they are working.
“Alicia’s plan to build a media company for deep work – taking the playbook of companies like Calm and Peloton and applying it to a workspace – is of its time. With founders like Alicia and Cat at the helm, we are excited to back this vision.”