UK retail technology startup Saledock secures £150,000 pre-seed round for unified commerce platform
Solid Bond reports an undisclosed investment into Saledock’s £150,000 pre-seed round.
This will enable the Yorkshire-based startup to grow its team and continue to serve SME clients with a retail solution built with them in mind.
The company has developed a unified e-commerce platform, inventory management, and in-store EPoS system.
Built from the ground up, Saledock started with a chance conversation at a local menswear store.
Shopping for suits ahead of their wedding, software developers Layla and Lee Gladwin found themselves chatting with the owner about the difficulties the store was experiencing with their patched together retail systems.
A look at the retail software market soon told them that the menswear store certainly wasn’t alone in their struggle.
Multiple clunky integrated systems across EPoS, e-commerce and inventory management coupled with poor customer support from existing providers were all contributing to an inadequate customer experience for many retailers.
Spotting a gap in the market and after consulting with other retailers, they decided to build an alternative.
Word of mouth, a little telemarketing, some PPC and exhibiting at local business events saw Saledock build a 30-strong client base.
It then decided to raise a pre-seed round and was introduced to Solid Bond by another later stage VC fund.
“Solid Bond’s founder Shaz and the team have so much retail experience,” says Layla Gladwin.
“Experience from leading a telemarketing team all the way to scaling a full solution. That’s what really made them shine, their breadth of knowledge across all the important areas. Everybody has different skill sets and has been with us every step of the way.”
“From week one we had sales strategy, financial forecasting, channels to market and support with getting the right business development skills.”
Solid Bond’s Finance and Commercial Director Dan Dudley says: “It's uncommon to see a product as advanced as Saledock at the pre-seed stage. The whole Solid Bond team have been impressed with their approach to building the platform alongside their customers.”
“It's definitely been the reason they have made great traction at this stage in their journey and we are pleased to be a part of the journey with Layla and Lee."
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