Esports and gaming job platform Hitmarker announced it has raised GBP521,283 within seven days of equity crowdfunding, exceeding its original target by 260 per cent.
The British company will use the investment to expand its service in key markets, including Brazil, Spain and Asia-Pacific region.
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Hitmarker’s campaign on Crowdcube has seen 487 investors from 50 countries, with one participant investing GBP250,000.
According to the announcement, the investment comes from a significant industry figure, whose identity will be revealed once Crowdcube’s completion process and legal review have both been conducted.
Originally, the company hoped to raise a minimum of GBP200,000 in return for 4 percent equity. Having raised more than twice the amount, this marks the second consecutive year Hitmarker exceeded its equity crowdfunding target. Compared to last year’s campaign, 2020’s investment is 2.5 times higher than its November 2019 valuation.
Richard Huggan, Managing Director at Hitmarker commented on the announcement: “We came into this raise much more confident than we were last year. Not only due to having a network of existing investors, but also because Hitmarker is now operating in a much wider market.
“Even so, the response from our community, and that of the wider esports and video game industry, has blown us all away. We want to thank everyone who put their faith in us, and promise that we’ll continue working hard to reward it.”
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Though the crowdfunding campaign had a runtime of 30 days, Hitmarker closed the round early and now intends to proceed with its expansion plans.
Philip Huggan, Founder of Hitmarker added: “Hitmarker started as a passion project to fill a clear need for a job portal dedicated to the esports industry. That we now have 12,000+ live jobs, a constantly-growing user base, and the expertise required to bring our product to new territories is a testament to our team, who works relentlessly to make Hitmarker the best it can be.
“We have lots of goals that this capital will help us realise. Not only are we going to roll out new platforms dedicated to specific regions, there are also a plethora of new features coming. We’re all excited to grow our team, improve our product, and continue bringing value to the esports and video game community.”
Esports Insider says: Repeating the success from last year’s crowdfunding campaign, Hitmarker’s service to the industry is clearly valued by many. The esports jobs platform is undoubtedly something that the job market has been missing, and we are happy to see it’s swiftly growing, connecting people and companies involved in the esports industry.