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Biography-writing service StoryTerrace has announced a unique partnership with UKTV in a £1 million ‘airtime-for-equity’ deal.
The deal will see StoryTerrace launch its first television advertising campaign, benefitting from access to an audience of over 26 million viewers a month, and in return, UKTV will gain an equity stake in the business.
This recent partnership is just the latest development in the company’s relationship with the BBC – as founder Rutger Bruining was originally a contestant on Dragons’ Den in 2019, but chose to turn down the panel’s initial investment offer before going on to secure around 15x the amount.
Despite a year of general economic turbulence worldwide, StoryTerrace has continued to drive revenue and growth since its launch in 2014 by sharing the stories of everyday people across the world. The business last year secured a £1M raise in a series C funding round led by GWC and has continued to document the life lessons of thousands of ordinary people – in both UK and US markets. In the past year alone, StoryTerrace has seen a 58% rise in the number of copies printed in the UK, and a further 44% more projects worldwide compared to 2021.
With past experience in the private equity sector, Bruining decided to step away from the finance industry and start a meaningful service that captures the life stories of all manner of people. Inspired by his grandfather’s tales of adventure and adversity serving in the Dutch resistance during WWII, Bruining believes that priceless stories such as these are too precious to be forgotten. Over the course of the pandemic, the service witnessed a significant uptick in the number of people wishing to record their stories and even saw the number of full-time staff more than double during this period.
Speaking about the deal Rutger Bruining, said: “We are really pleased to be partnering with UKTV Ventures through an airtime-for-equity deal at such an exciting time for StoryTerrace. With celebrity memoirs being ubiquitous in the headlines, it is important to note that writing a biography is not just reserved for public figures.
We have seen a large uptick in people wanting to pen down their life stories post-pandemic, but awareness of our service is still at a negligible level. The huge reach that the UKTV network provides is perfect for building awareness and our customer base, helping us carry out our mission of extracting the extraordinary stories from ordinary people across the UK.”
