Gen Z experience marketplace Pollen, formerly known as Verve, has raised $60m in new financing, bringing the total capital raised to date to $10m.
The raise was led by Northzone and included participation from Sienna Capital, among others, and existing investors including Draper Esprit, Backed and Kindred. Gareth Jefferies of Northzone and Timo Boldt, founder and CEO of Gousto, have joined the board.
The London-based online ticketing marketplace enables friends to buy tickets together and as a result share rewards including secret parties, helicopter rides and backstage passes.
The new financing will allow Pollen to scale its membership base and expand more deeply into music, sports and travel, with plans to move into other experiences and products in the future.
Following the financing, Pollen has acquired Lifestylez, a ski and snowboard experience platform in North America, part of a wider acquisition spree across North America to expand the breadth of experiences on the platform.
The founders, brothers Callum and Liam Negus-Fancey, left school at 17 to set up their first business, which sold events and products for young people exclusively through word-of-mouth.
Pollen’s marketplace now has 35,000 active members globally, and has sold almost one million experiences in total across travel, live events and festivals.
It works with more than 500 brands including Live Nation, MGM Resorts, TAO, Hakkasan, AEG & C3; and secured partnerships with Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, Priceline, Stubhub, and SeeTickets.
“The most exciting prospect for me is the potential the company has to play a pivotal role in how brands engage with an entire demographic,” said Callum, CEO and co-founder.
“In today’s world, young people want to maximise what they want to do with their life because they’re more aware of the opportunities out there and their own potential.”