Last year, we told you that Pollen was becoming a company to watch.
Founded in 2014 by brothers Callum & Liam Negus-Fancey, the London-headquartered music, travel and experiences company made two impressive hires in the UK in 2021, naming Zeon Richards as Head of Hip Hop Partnerships and Christine Osazuwa as its Strategy Director for Pollen Presents.
Today (April 21), the firm has announced that it has raised a fresh $150 million in a Series C round, having previously raised over $100 million in VC funding, from investors including Kindred, Northzone, Sienna Capital, Backed and Draper Spirit.
Pollen runs two offerings: Pollen Presents, which curates experiences for customers across travel, music, and more; and Pollen+, which partners with promoters and music festivals to offer customers who book through its platforms perks at events.
The firm says that it uses data and customer insights to create experiences that are exclusive to its platform, and also partners with “the biggest music festivals and brands in the world” to sell their experiences.
Pollen has created exclusive travel experiences featuring artists like J Balvin, Justin Bieber, and Duran Duran.
Previously called Verve, Pollen says that its Series C funding comes on the heels of “significant momentum” for the company, after seeing what it says was “stellar growth despite the pandemic”.
Backers named in the latest funding announcement include Kindred, Lansdowne Partners, Northzone, Sienna Capital, Backed and Molton Ventures.
Pollen+ partners with promoter brands and music festivals including We Are FSTVL, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, Electric Zoo, Live Nation and more.
The company says that it has attracted “top talent” including ex-Instagram CMO Cliff Hopkins, ex-Pacha Group CMO Gaston Calabresi, ex-Deliveroo Head of Global Customer Services Cathy Doorenbosch, and ex-Klarna VP of Design Kristofer Agermark.
“When people look back after 10 years, and think about their top five memories, we want them to feel like Pollen was responsible for three of them.”
Callum Negus-Fancey, Pollen
Pollen Co-Founder and CEO Callum Negus-Fancey said: “People want personalized travel experiences built around what they are passionate about and Pollen is at the forefront of this demand; we use our proprietary data and customer insights to build one-of-a-kind travel experiences with the world’s biggest talent and brands in the best destinations.
“When people look back after 10 years, and think about their top five memories, we want them to feel like Pollen was responsible for three of them.”Music Business Worldwide
