A smart doorbell, known as the Ding and endorsed by retailer John Lewis, has raised £250,000 on the Seedrs platform.
The device is called smart because it connects to the homeowner’s phone so they can talk with whoever is at their door.
The money raised will go towards growing the team and scaling up production in order to meet increasing demand from retailers including John Lewis.
Ding is a company which describes itself as a smart home disruptor. It has a vision to reinvent the doorbell which, it says, has resonated across the design and technology industries. The company has won innovation awards from the Design Council and has received critical acclaim for its design approach from designers, press and home styling bloggers.
John Nussey, co-founder and CEO of Ding, said: “People want the connectivity of a smart doorbell but are put off by the complexity of those on the market so they keep their 100 year old, ‘dumb doorbell’ instead. This presents a huge opportunity in the same way that the thermostat was for Nest.”
Ding were part of John Lewis’ JLAB accelerator programme and following a successful Kickstarter campaign, raised over 220% of their initial goals.
Ding says it has seen continued demand, including a letter of intent from John Lewis.
Buying Director at John Lewis Johnathan Mars said: “From a John Lewis perspective is the perfect product. We are really excited about new innovation coming our way. Giving the boom we’re seeing around the smart home we think Ding plays perfectly to that trend.”
Co-founder and Creative Director of Ding Avril O’Neil said: “We’re excited to have our community be part of growing Ding, and be such an important part of our story.”
