A mobile app that enables hourly workers to track their hours and easily raise pay disputes has been named among seven companies receiving a £200k investment from PraeSeed, a six-week cohort investing programme for early-stage businesses.
WAC helps workers across areas like hospitality keep better records of their hours worked and pay received, with tools to manage holidays, days off and extra shifts tailored to everyone from zero-hour contract workers to full-time staff.
Founder and CEO George Fairhall launched WAC, which has over 350,000 downloads, after years spent working in hospitality, where she continuously encountered the issue of not being paid correctly – a problem WAC is actively tackling.
In a bid to champion low-paid workers and ensure no shift worker experiences the frustration of missed hours and incorrect pay, Fairhall also stepped away from a potential career in law.
In total seven businesses have secured investment from PraeSeed, an initiative founded by the Manchester-based VC Praetura Ventures and funded by NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance, which is managed by Praetura as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.
Launched in May, PraeSeed’s mission is to identify startup and early-stage investment opportunities for NPIF II, while providing founders at the pre-seed stage with new opportunities for additional funding and support with investor readiness.
Following the PraeSeed programme, WAC’s founder Fairhall says the business plans to prepare for a larger seed fundraising round and to explore partnerships with B2B companies, including large corporations within the service sector who are already employing existing users of the WAC app.
George Fairhall, founder and CEO of WAC, said: “The programme has been instrumental to our growth by helping us to refine our scaling strategy and establish essential governance, ensuring we are ready for seed institutional investment.
“The £200,000 funding has been a key part of our currently active bridge round and has encouraged additional venture and angel investment, positioning us for a seed funding round in the new year. We’re excited about the opportunities ahead, as we continue to scale our business and we are so excited to have Praetura on the journey with us.”
Jessica Jackson, investment manager at Praetura Ventures and PraeSeed lead, said: “We love backing founders who have built a business to solve a problem they’ve previously encountered themselves, and WAC fits into that category perfectly.
“We understood the vision and the problem George’s business is trying to solve instantly after receiving 200 applications for this year’s PraeSeed programme, which is providing investment to businesses who we believe have a golden opportunity to scale with the right support and funding.”
WAC was advised by Carly Gulliver, partner, and Gavin Smith, managing associate, at Addleshaw Goddard. Adam Kaucher, partner at Irwin Mitchell, acted on behalf of Praetura Ventures.
