Bridges Ventures is delighted to announce that timto’s “Uplifting Gifting” platform is the winner of the DNA Profit with Purpose Prize. The winner of this unique prize – comprising of £100k equity investment and hands-on support from Bridges and a group of angel investors – was announced at last week’s DNA Summit, after pitches from the three finalists in front of a judging panel of very successful entrepreneurs and investors,  including Richard Reed and Jo Farley.

Founded by brothers Luke and Nathan Cornish, timto’s “Uplifting Gifting” aims to reduce the wastage of unwanted gifts and make donating to charity an integral part of any gifting occasion. The platform allows a user to invite a group of friends to chip-in to a gift fund, which can then be used to purchase a desired item, whilst donating to charity at the same time. Unlike other businesses in the space, timto’s revenue model does not rely on a cut from the funds ear-marked for donation or the purchase of a desired gift, but from the commissions earned through the platform’s retail partners. As such, Uplifting Gifting is free to both charities and users, and also welcomed by retailers who value the incremental business – a powerful economic and high impact model.

Nathan Cornish, Co-founder of timto, said:  “We are absolutely ecstatic to have won the DNA Profit with Purpose Prize, to be recognised as a business that presents such a positive social impact and is profitable is very important to us. The support we will now receive will make a huge difference and will aid vastly in scaling up our business, helping us to create a society of philanthropic celebrators where it is normal to give when you gift. The judging panel realised our vision to take Uplifting Gifting global and we are very much looking forward to starting on our journey with Bridges Ventures”   Michele Giddens, Partner & Co-founder of Bridges Ventures, and a member of the judging panel, said: “The aim of this prize was to identify a charismatic entrepreneur already running a scalable business with the potential to deliver strong commercial returns and high social impact. timto’s platform offers an exciting new way of making charitable donations an integral part of any gifting occasion and we really believe in the growth potential of the business. We would like to congratulate Luke and Nathan for winning this unique, highly-contested prize and we are looking forward to supporting their business going forward.”   We would also like to mention the other two finalists, Benita Matofska’s Compare and Share, and Jermaine Hagan’s Revision App, who impressed their judges with their entrepreneurial talent and innovative businesses, and their very high quality pitches. We would like to thank them for taking part in the competition and wish them all the very best for the future.