Patch has quickly established itself as one of the UK’s most exciting new online brands, helping millennials bring their homes to life with plants. Forward has partnered with Freddie on building product, fuelling growth and hiring talent from day zero.
The £22B European gardening market has never truly made it online, with garden centres poorly serving millennials who are increasingly buying more plants.
When brand manager Freddie found himself struggling to populate his new flat with some greenery, he saw an opportunity for a dynamic new brand that talks to a younger audience and gives them a modern experience for buying and caring for plants.
Forward met Freddie at an event, and were blown away by the diligence of his research into current supply chains, as well as his vision for the customer experience for Patch. Our ability to help him build early product and fuel early growth, made it an easy decision to come aboard with Forward at pre-seed.
Forward helped Freddie transform his vision for a world class buying experience into a considered product and service experience. Our customer development process surfaced 3 key insights:
Current online brands only talk to the older, knowledgable gardener
Transportation of plants back home is a big barrier to purchase
People want continued help and support, to ensure their plants don’t die
“The value we get from both the investment team and studio - I don’t think you can put a price on that”
Freddie Blackett, CEO
Patch’s growth was kickstarted by a humble local flyering campaign. That highly cost effective, highly targeted acquisition strategy proved just what was needed to fuel iteration on product and lay the foundations for traction.
With an expanded product offering, Forward worked with Freddie to develop a multi-channel acquisition plan covering paid marketing, email, content and referral programs - resulting in a sophisticated growth engine with rapid growth and low acquisition costs front and centre.
Freddie was a solo-founder when he started with Forward. He knew it was critical for long-term success that he build his own team in order to execute on the Patch vision - and we were more than willing to help him make that happen. Forward helped Freddie build out a robust 6 person team in just 12 months - everyone from his first intern, to lead developer, to growth marketer.
Series A led by Octopus Ventures
YOY revenue growth
person team and growing
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