Our investment in Boldr
We are excited to announce the Focal syndicate’s investment into Boldr’s $1m pre-seed, led by FP Solutions (ex-Tesla and SpaceX executives), Ada Ventures and Norrsken alongside industry-leading angels.
Boldr is building connected hardware and software to empower consumers to reduce energy bills and balance the grid — all while leaving fossil fuels behind.
What follows is an exploration of Boldr’s journey with Focal, why we were driven to invest, and why we believe that they will lead the charge towards net zero.
The affordability of heating and cooling has come under huge scrutiny as of late. The (ongoing) energy crisis has left many turning down the thermostat and enduring cold stints — the side of nature best not ‘to be at one with’.
It’s a somewhat an avoidable situation. We still build homes around out-dated central heating systems that are inefficient, often taking the form of extremely ugly units. (Expensive) alternatives come in the form of heat pumps, which are more affordable long term but require a huge cash outlay.
Boldr exists to change that, leading the drive in home electrification of heating and cooling through affordable, easy-to-install and IoT-connected products that reduce energy consumption for users. The mission is to have control over 5GW of energy under management in the next 5 years.
Though still in its very early days, Boldr is one of the leading lights in the home energy revolution, which itself is probably the ‘hottest’ space within the consumer landscape. Boldr is building user-friendly solutions which don’t cost the Earth, spearheaded by ferociously driven founders, Madi and Toma.
Taos Edmondson, co-founder of Focal (and resident consumer expert)
Why Boldr
Well positioned in a fast-moving market with regulatory headwinds
Currently, 39% of Europe’s homes are heated by gas, yet in the next 10 years, due to government regulations and clean energy initiatives, gas heating is set to be completely phased out by greener electric solutions.
Boldr has a headstart, having released Fara and Kelvin, shipping over 5,000 units in the first 6 months of operation.
Even better, unlike traditional hardware companies, Boldr focuses on asset-light value chains, ease of product assembly and embedded software from the get-go. Their products are easy to install, connected out the box and, most importantly, highly focused on energy saving. Dissimilar to others on the market who don’t focus on energy grid integration to keep users in their ecosystem.
A more than money investment
We’ve long been receptive to social impact propositions. Whether that’s investing in redefining the ageing process with bladder care as its entry point in Jude, or Bonnet who are optimising the way we use electric vehicles. Boldr is our most recent addition.
Heating is one of the most carbon-intensive energy drains in buildings, according to the IEA. It accounts for 12% of CO2 emissions worldwide. Electrification and digitisation offer the potential for saving up to a whopping 40% of energy consumption in the building sector. Boldr is leading that charge.
Great product, even better team
The team has 10 online retailers selling in over 15 countries with a 4.7/5 average consumer rating. Their omnichannel go-to-market strategy produces high gross margins (75–80%), with $3m in revenues forecast by the end of the year.
Executing on that vision is a strong and experienced team. Madi (CEO) is a second time founder, with experience in finance and marketing in his early career. Toma (COO) is also a second time founder, with a focus on sustainability and experience in IoT, product development and manufacturing. Both are not only knowledgeable, but extraordinarily passionate about what they’re doing, which shows through from our interview with them here.
It was such a pleasure working in partnership with the Focal team. We felt supported every step of the way. Most importantly the event resulted in fruitful conversations with many investors and interested parties and placed us firmly on the ecosystem map.
Madi, co-founder of Boldr
SPV access
Those who have known us a for a while, know that we aim to democratise access to this asset class. We’re turning the traditional crowdfunding model on its head, and have big plans to improve this in the future. If you don’t believe us, read an (unsolicited) testimonial from one of our early investors.
If you want to hear about Focal SPVs in the future, sign up to our dedicated SPV mailing list here.
Boldr marks our 11th syndicated investment in the last year and a half.
Find out more about Focal SPVs here.
