360 leads €2m round for CharityStars

Several investors participated in the round alongside 360 Capital, including Italian accelerators FocusFuturo and Rancilio Cube, football player Stephan El Sharaawy and business angel and Lastminute.com founder Fabio Cannavale.

The transaction followed a seed round led by 360 Capital in 2015 and will raise the total funding injected in the business to €3m.

More recently, the company expanded its business to the UK and is now keen on using the fresh capital to enter the Chinese and US markets. Furthermore, the business intends to launch a sweepstake-based business alongside its auction-based business, as well as redesign its website.

Previous funding
In July 2013, 360 Capital led a €1m seed round alongside high-net-worth individual Angelomario Moratti, former owner of Italian football team Inter Milan. As part of the deal, the investor injected a €710,000 equity ticket, while Unicredit provided a €290,000 credit facility to support the deal.

Company
Based in Milan and founded in 2013, CharityStars is an online auction platform that organises fundraising events for charity purposes. Through its website, the Italian startup sells collectibles and memorabilia, and organises events and meetings with celebrities for both individuals as well as businesses. The money raised through the auction processes goes to a specific charity chosen by the celebrity. At the time of publication, the company had raised £2.5m.

Among the largest fundraising events, the company claims the sale of one original sketch by Pablo Picasso for £120,000 and a shirt from the Barcellona football team signed by Lionel Messi sold for €11,000.

The company has offices in Milan, Catania and London and employs 22 people. In 2015, the business posted a turnover of €1.8m.

People
360 Capital Partners – Fausto Boni (general partner).
CharityStars – Francesco Nazari Fusetti (co-founder, CEO); Manuela Ravalli, Domenico Gravagno (co-founders).

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