Pikum

Pikum was a London-based online social gaming business established in 2007 by co-founders Johannes Larcher and Logan Lindsell. The company positioned itself within the online betting and gaming market, operating on a B2C model.

The core of Pikum's business was a betting game designed to be created and played between friends online. This platform allowed users to compete for either fun or, where legally permissible, for real money. The business model was structured to capitalize on social interactions, focusing on people's enjoyment of making predictions, debating outcomes, and the satisfaction of being proven right. Revenue was intended to be generated through commissions on the monetary bets placed on the platform.

Pikum successfully attracted significant investor interest, securing a total of $5.92 million in funding over two rounds. The initial seed round took place on March 1, 2007, raising $650,000 from First Round Capital. This was followed by a substantial Series A round on March 3, 2008, which brought in $5.27 million from investors including First Round Capital and Virgin USA. Despite this backing, the company eventually ceased operations and entered liquidation proceedings in January 2009. It was later reported as closed and acquired by sportechplc.com.

Keywords: online betting game, social gaming, peer-to-peer betting, P2P gaming, online wagers, Johannes Larcher, Logan Lindsell, First Round Capital, Virgin investment, Sportech acquisition, London startup, gaming platform, prediction market, social betting, skill-based gaming, online gambling, competitive gaming, dot-com era gaming, gaming commission model, digital entertainment