Redhill wins global PR mandate for start-up ‘stock exchange’ Funderbeam
Singaporean independent agency Redhill Communications has won the global public relations account for Funderbeam, a blockchain-based ‘stock exchange’ for start-ups to access funding.
The agency will be tasked with expanding the Estonian company’s presence in Asia-Pacific, as well as handling its PR activities in the region and Europe.
The account will be led from Singapore, with additional support from Redhill’s recently-opened office in Berlin.
Headed by Kaidi Ruusalepp, the former chief executive officer of the Nasdaq Tallinn stock exchange, Funderbeam claims to use blockchain technology to allow venture capitalists and angel investors buy and sell shares in start-ups.
The company has raised more than US$7 million in funding so far from investors including Mistletoe Inc, Thomson Reuters, and IQ Capital. Notable investors also include Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn and David Braben, the CEO and Founder of Frontier Developments.
“The APAC region is more than a critical component of our growth strategy, it has the potential to become our global hub for trading,” said Ruusalepp.
“In the coming months we will be planting seeds and growing roots in the region to build and nurture relationships. A large part of succeeding will rely on clearly communicating our vision and values. In Redhill we found an agency who understands our vision and shares our values.”
Founded by Surekha Yadav and Jacob Puthenparambil three and half years ago, Redhill now has bases in 13 cities across the world, including two in the United States. and 10 across Asia.
The agency, which specialises in VC and start-up firms, was recently named APAC New Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report.
Speaking in a recent interview with Mumbrella, Puthenparambil shared the agency’s hopes of becoming the “first global PR agency from Asia”, and suggested Redhill may merge with or acquire another agency in the near-future.
Discussing the new win, he added: “From the first time we heard about Funderbeam, we wanted to be a part of it. We truly believe they are going to revolutionise growth investments as the only ones to offer liquidity through their blockchain based trading platform.”
The agency’s hopes of becoming the “first global PR agency from Asia”. Unsure what “from Asia” is meant to imply in a world that’s long sacrificed both, provenance and borders. Then again it’s possible the founders are still delirious with rupees.
No big shakes being the “first” with such low hanging fruit. It isn’t difficult at all. Just enter into strategic partnerships with PR soloists in as many countries as your LinkedIn profile allows, and ensure you quote the lowest. Voila!
Let us know when this “first PR agency from Asia” is also as big as the current Top 10, “from” Asia or wherever. Then we’ll consider climbing a rung up Jacob’s Ladder. Else, there’s now even a second Jet Airways flight from Sg to Bengaluru. Daily.
ReplyCrumbs.
ReplyI always worry when a PR agency is invited to spin its own heroic narrative.
One Estonian win, and this fucker will have us believe he’s next in line to the Edelman fortunes. I’ve seen him at close quarters. [Edited under Mumbrella’s community standards]
ReplyThe article is as long winded as the name. Asperger’s, very likely.
ReplyHeard about that Kingfisher Airlines fella with the dope’s face, moron hair and a earring?
The Modi chap in the diamond/banking con?
The Gupta brothers behind Zuma’s collapse?
Above all, not a single Olympics ever hosted, in decades?
It’s going to take some quantum leaps of faith to accompany you up your Red Hill, my friends.
ReplyLol. No smoke without fire, eh?
ReplyTheir lofty ambitions did get me wondering.
Odd to give such lengthy coverage to such a small win.
Good luck to Redhill in its ambitions, but there is already a global top 10 PR agency based in Asia – Blue Focus. That agency is from China though, and Mumbrella Asia tends to ignore that China (alongside those other small markets of Japan, Korea and Hong Kong) is a part of Asia.
ReplyBlueFocus. RedHill. Wonder if these RedHill guys intentionally got a colour into their name, just to piggyback BF’s fortunes and Asian highground. Cos BF is huge.
Three years and no momentum, with just hollow trumpets being blown is bad news for RedHill. They need a lesson in PR, themselves.
ReplyOnce caught lying, always a liar. Good on you for sharing this bit about BlueFocus being the first global PR shop, based in Asia. Do hope others will be cautious and Kaidi Ruusalepp will be more careful in the future.
ReplyWhen you grow, there’s always going to be trolls and haters along the way.
ReplyCongrats Redhill, keep the good news coming!
Initially, two things struck me as being highly irregular.
1. RedHill has an office (more likely a registered entity or strategic alliance, no more) in Berlin.
2. This German outfit will be providing (sic) additional support for a client that’s a lot closer to Germany than Singapore.
Then I realized that this RedHill’s global presence is merely a collection of (sic) bases.
Got to be careful any agency that hypes things up like this. Even more so, if it’s a PR gig.
@Faith: You’ve summed it up, all too succinctly.
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