- OnHand, a B2B environmental and social impact platform, has won $4 million.
- The company’s CEO was awarded an MBE last year for serving the elderly during COVID-19.
- Check out OnHand, a 20-slide presentation used to persuade investors.
A platform that encourages employees to reduce their environmental footprint and volunteer in their communities has raised $4 million from London venture capital firm 24Haymarket.
Founded in 2019, OnHand encourages employees to take small actions that reduce their carbon dioxide or equivalent emissions, from switching meats to vegetarian foods to using reusable coffee cups. A gamified B2B platform that The platform is offered as an employee benefit by companies such as Trainline, Domestic & General and Channel4, and features features such as leaderboards and virtual awards.
The Newcastle, UK company started out in Charity Space as a location-based, on-demand, consumer-focused volunteer app before pivoting to employee sustainability. It was conceived by British charities such as the Red Cross, RNIB, Guide Dogs, Water Aid and the British Heart Foundation to support service demand for community assistance. It was eventually spun out into its own business and has since been headed by Sanjay Lobo, a lawyer who has worked for both Lastminute.com and Vistaprint.
Beyond calculating employee emissions reductions, OnHand still offers on-demand philanthropy. It supports a variety of purposes, including helping the elderly and isolated, helping the poor and homeless, and responding to crises. In 2022, CEO Lobo was awarded his MBE for his OnHand commitment to the elderly during the pandemic.
Lobo said this is when the company really found a product-market fit. Demand for community support is high, employers are looking for ways to involve employees working from home, and there is growing awareness of society’s environmental impact, he said. We also plant trees when an action or “mission” milestone is achieved. Today, OnHand is using real-time data to market itself as a way to increase well-being, attract and retain talent, and engage with a range of ESG factors.
While focusing on the UK, OnHand has been serving its international workforce for the past year. Lobo said it has a soft launch in markets where existing customers have offices, but plans to accelerate international expansion in 2023, possibly through acquisitions.
The startup currently has 20 employees and plans to grow this to 30 by the end of the year, with plans to grab tech and commercial roles. The first big hire is an Impact Officer, which puts the company on the B Corp truck.
Long term Lobo wants to provide an all-in-one service for the needs of business charities. We are looking into introducing a payroll feature where donations are made directly from employees’ paychecks before income tax is deducted and matching funds are provided.
Northstar Ventures, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Shazam co-founder Dhiraj Mukherjee also participated in the round, bringing the company’s total to $5 million.
We got an exclusive look at the 20-slide pitch deck used to raise money.
