GoGenerosity Raises $1.3M To Make Paying-it-forward Easy

Software start-up GoGenerosity, which helps New Zealand businesses and charities make generosity easy, has raised $1,300,000 in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by local private investors, with support from Icehouse Ventures.

GoGenerosity gives businesses a way for their customers to pay-it-forward at the point of sale to produce and distribute goods and services for their favourite local charities.

Businesses signing up to the GoGenerosity platform can access a custom-branded dashboard that provides them tools to manage distribution of their own goods and services and publish stories to their marketing channels, allowing their customers to see how their generosity has made a difference to local people in need.

The growth of GoGenerosity has piqued the interest of Z Energy in the Bay of Plenty, which this month became the startup’s newest customer. The partnership allows customers to pay forward their chosen amount so those in need can access free fuel.

The invested funds are being used to expand the team and further develop the GoGenerosity software platform. The development will enable new features like EFTPOS integration, generosity dashboards, automated storytelling and make managing the distribution of goods and services more effortless.

Businesses pay GoGenerosity a monthly fee to use the software, coordinate the distribution of goods and services and provide the impact stories back to those who are generous.

Recent hires have joined the GoGenerosity team inspired by its purpose-driven mission and include global software sales leader Paul Bickley from legal tech leader LawVu, and customer success expert Rebecca Pitt from Uber.

GoGenerosity plans to expand its reach nationally and into Australia in 2022, followed by the US in 2023 and Europe, Asia and India in the years to come.

“Over the last year, we’ve demonstrated that everyday Kiwis are willing to be generous in small amounts regularly, that we can attract high calibre talent and that investors truly believe in technology for good,” says Founder and CEO Rohan McCloskey. “It’s blown us away to see people in our communities receive experiences that lift their self-esteem and give them a sense of dignity that makes them feel valued.

“Backed by our new team of investors, we’re able to hire more talented, purpose-driven people and build technology that will bring many small acts of generosity together to make a big difference around the globe.”

Icehouse Ventures CEO Robbie Paul says: “We have a simple view that startups like GoGenerosity who are solving real problems or generating real impact will generate significantly more value over the long term. GoGenerosity’s mission to impact communities in need is critical and comes from the big hearts of Rohan and Aidan.”

COVID-19 lockdowns

Concerned with the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on businesses, Rohan, then a restaurant owner, trialled a pay-it-forward model at his three local eateries during the first nationwide lockdown.

After success with the pay-it-forward trial, Rohan joined forces with local software marketer Aidan Lett, and GoGenerosity was officially born. The business has since grown to a team of 10 people, with over 30 businesses enabling their customers to pay-it-forward with more than $40,000 of food, clothing and pampering paid forward to local people in need.

Inspired by Kiwi startup icons

Co-founder Aidan Lett, who worked at Pushpay in its early startup years, explains how the purpose-driven company inspired the GoGenerosity team: “We’re inspired by other Kiwi start-ups like Pushpay, who’ve used technology for good. We hope that our work inspires others to think of ways technology can create a better future for humanity.”

Pushpay co-founder Chris Heaslip says this about GoGenerosity: “I love that the Pushpay journey has inspired other Kiwi startups like GoGenerosity. It’s exciting to see what Rohan, Aidan and their team are doing. I’m a firm believer that mission driven businesses will be the most successful in the future.”

$900 to Women’s Refuge in weeks

Thanks to their GoGenerosity partnership, The Tauranga Women’s Refuge has received $900 of kids’ clothing via The Kids store and their generous customers. “When looking for a way to give back, GoGenerosity was the logical choice for us,” says Sam Kidd, Manager of The Kids Store.” We love the fact that 100% of what we pay forward goes to locals that need it and our customers get to be part of our generosity story.”

When asked about what that generosity means for the refuge, General Manager Hazel Hape says, “The thing we love about GoGenerosity is that it allows people to pay-it-forward in many ways. This helps Tauranga Women’s Refuge get access to restaurant-quality meals and brand new clothing, which gives the women and children in our community a sense of dignity in such a tough season.”

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