The co-founders of a Liverpool startup backed by Founders Factory, Baltic Ventures and LYVA Labs have closed it down after ‘running out of passion’ for the project.
Ike Cooke, a former funding manager at Virgin Startup, founded Bundant with Pedro Jurado in early 2023.
Its Bundantband device, a smart sleeve with a Wi-Fi-connected scale that snaps on to pantry jars and tracks their usage, automatically reorders products when they are running low. It started out with laundry and cleaning products.
Cooke, who spoke at the Liverpool Slush’d event late last year, revealed the news in a LinkedIn post led with the words: “A Farewell to Bundant.”
She wrote: “Passion is a complicated word. It’s often overused or confused with excitement.
“Since the start of Bundant, we’ve worked with passion. Sometimes with excitement, frustration, hope, fear, or exhaustion—but passion was always there.
“Passion means putting your whole self into something, staying steady and focused. It’s more powerful than patience; it keeps you going even when the road is long.
“But after two years, we’ve realised we’ve run out of it. It’s sad. It feels like a break-up. We’ve reached milestones, worked with an amazing team, and even successfully fundraised.
“But after much reflection, we looked at each other: ‘That’s it.’”
Cooke says the economic downturn forced them into accepting “fundraising terms that made long-term sustainability difficult”.
She added: “So, we’ve decided to wind down Bundant.
“The strength we had to keep up the pace just isn’t there anymore. Sometimes reality hits hard, and we must accept it.
“It’s a sad moment, but it doesn’t outweigh the joy and memories of the journey.”
Thanking investors Founders Factory, LYVA Labs and Baltic Ventures, she continued: “We couldn’t have done half of this without you. As for us, this isn’t goodbye.
“We’re taking time to recharge and plan our next steps. Between us, we bring a wealth of experience – artificial intelligence, strategy & ops, product design, business development and investor relations. We’re open to new opportunities and eager to see what’s next.
“We leave you for now with the last prediction we got from our super smart AI engine: We will meet again.”
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