London-based Hey Savi, a new fashion search and recommendation platform, has secured £2.2M (approximately €2.61M) in a pre-seed round of funding. According to the startup, this funding round is one of the largest pre-seed raises by an all-female-founded UK tech startup.
Hey Savi is backed by an “industry-leading” advisory board featuring Gareth Jones, CMO at Sotheby’s and former CMO at eBay and Farfetch, Robin Sutara, Chief Data Officer at Databricks and former Chief Data Officer at Microsoft, and Richard Goold, Partner at Wilson Sonsini.
Victoria Peppiatt, co-founder and co-CEO of Hey Savi, says, “The response to our raise has been phenomenal.”
“The huge support we’ve received from high-profile investors, including well-respected angels from Boardwave, Founders Capital and the WITSEND community, has both validated the potential of our product and reaffirmed the market opportunity. On top of which, we are incredibly proud of the fact that 54 per cent of our investors are female.”
On a mission to change the way people search and shop online
Founded by Victoria Peppiatt, Angela Vinci and Sarah Daniel, Hey Savi aims to transform online fashion shopping by providing a “highly” personalised solution, helping customers find and purchase their perfect outfits on the first try.
Using advanced AI and customer and fashion data, Hey Savi helps users find their perfect item or outfit in under 60 seconds by connecting them to retailers, who have it in stock with the right size and best price. Users just snap a picture, search, try, and buy.
The founders of Hey Savi are driven by an “enormous market opportunity” and the need for a more personalised online shopping experience. With over 10,000 fashion searches made every minute in the UK and outdated search functionality, they see a chance to transform shopping.
Co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer, Vinci, says, “The challenge consumers face today is that search engines will always prioritise their business models of paid for advertising, rather than delivering relevant results.”
“The search experience is outdated and not fit for today’s fast-paced fashion environment. We are creating an experience customers will love and that will give them confidence in their choices.”
“Hey Savi’s unique platform is built by an industry-leading, fully female product team, and is perfectly timed to reignite the way customers engage with retailers online, unlocking millions in new revenue.”
Co-founder and co-CEO, Daniel, adds, “As a leadership team, our combined experience is incredibly compelling. As we build the company from the ground up – our ethos to deliver a ‘people-first’ culture, along with product excellence, will stand us apart from our closest competitors in this space and will be the engine to drive our business in the UK and globally.”
Brief about the co-founders
Hey Savi boasts a trio of female entrepreneurs with extensive experience in starting, building, scaling, and exiting high-growth businesses.
Victoria Peppiatt, previously recognised as Tech Entrepreneur of the Year by Management Today, is a second-time tech founder, investor, and NED, having exited her previous startup, Phrasee, in 2022.
Angela Vinci has developed “world-leading” consumer products for major global brands like Farfetch, Gap, Sephora, Vinted, and Apple.
Sarah Daniel, the ex-Global CEO of Prominate, has a track record of scaling fast-growth profitable businesses internationally.