Alpacr closes £160k seed round

Alpacr - an innovative social network for travel and adventure lovers - has closed a £160k ($200k) investment round.

The start-up was founded by Dan Swygart after he graduated in Economics from Cardiff University in 2017.

To date the company has raised over £320k ($400k) and built a world-class team of software developers and advisors.

“Alpacr is set to scale exponentially in 2020,” said Dan, who raised the latest round of seed funding by taking to the streets of Silicon Valley with a sign in a direct appeal to investors.

“I was in the centre of Silicon Valley, holding a message board – about ten minutes from Google, Facebook, Apple HQ, and many more.

“The sign began to grab a lot of attention, and soon I was having coffee with one of the guys who set up Apple with Steve Jobs, and pitching to some of the biggest Angel Investor groups in the world.”

Alpacr managed to close the investment round despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With the rise in the next generation of social media, such as Twitch, and TikTok, the social networks of the future concentrate on niche interests. Alpacr aims to dominate the global social media market for travel and adventure.”

Alpacr aims to launch major software updates and their largest global marketing campaign, whilst setting up a satellite office in Silicon Valley.

Rhys Pearce-Palmer, Enterprise Manager, Cardiff University, said: “We are delighted with Dan’s success. The story of Alpacr is an amazing adventure in itself – Cardiff University Student Enterprise helped Dan get his idea off the ground with £200, and now, just four years later, he’s raising $200k in one major seed fund round.”

Enterprise & Start-Up helps Cardiff students think creatively, spot opportunities and make things happen through workshops, competitions, events, mentoring and networking.