Feral Horses is a young London-based startup about to launch an art trading platform this April.
Lise from Feral Horses reached out to me earlier this year about collaborating. I'm happy to present this guest post/interview.
Photo Credit: Antonio Sindoni
“art shouldn’t be reserved for the « happy few »”
The four entrepreneurs in their early twenties have a pretty bold vision, and an audacious gamble: opening an online art trading platform to acquire and trade shares of contemporary artworks.
Brand Identity by Emanuele Grittini
CF: What does Feral Horses offer exactly?
FH: Feral Horses is the first art investment & trading platform. How we work is fairly simple; we select a number of artists and we give them the possibility to sell on our platform. People can then buy shares of the artworks on sale.
Once and if the sale is completed the users of the platform can trade his/her shares and/or buy more on the secondary market. What’s interesting here is that the sellers decide the price of the shares that they want to buy and the buyers decide whether they want to buy those shares.
In the meanwhile, the actual physical artwork is managed by Feral Horses and is rented to privates and businesses. The profit that comes out of the rental activity gets then proportionally divided among the shareowners.
CF: What inspired you to found FH?
FH: Feral Horses is a fabulous human experience. It all began with a strong will to question the established orders and to create something new that is the results of the consideration of new needs and desires, the possibilities of technology and the requirements for business success. From these concepts, a company is born to free the art investment market.
Photo Credit: Antonio Sindoni
Photo Credit: Antonio Sindoni
Photo Credit: Antonio Sindoni
Photo Credit: Antonio Sindoni
CF: What is it like to found/work for a startup?
FH: Chaos, cool things, chaos, feeling like you can’t make it, feeling like you are making it, thinking that you can’t be making it, chaos, some more cool stuff, unexpected responsibilities, cool stuff, stupid people, very interesting people, unexpected responsibilities, chaos, not sleeping, ubiquity needed (but not achieved), cool stuff, chaos. Yep, that gives a pretty accurate idea: a stream of consciousness with just a few commas.
CF: What is the disruptive power of Feral Horses?
FH: What we see in Feral Horses, is a multitude of opportunities that could solve some of the biggest challenges that the art world is facing.
First of all, it is a way to empower contemporary artists and to give them the opportunity to manage art seen as an investment according to their own terms. We want to let them re-introduce the value and the quality of what they do under new perspectives within this area of the market.
Last but not least, art shouldn’t be reserved for the « happy few ». Therefore, FH’s main disruptive power is to lower the entry barriers. FH is the very first real comprehensive art investment orientated service that is designed to be accessible, more immediate, more affordable, less risky, more profitable and understandable. Our platform will allow art enthusiasts to finally access the art investment world with prices starting from as low as 10£.. Having the possibility to buy as little as 0.1% of an artwork makes it accessible to everyone.
CF: Who can use your platform?
FH: We could ask the marketing director to talk about the market segments and the targets endlessly. But talking about who « can » use our service is actually very easy; it encompasses anyone who has the ability to turn on a computer, an internet connexion, a passport, a bank account and a pinch of curiosity. Unfortunately, the platform will be initially reserved for Europe-based customers.
Brand Identity by Emanuele Grittini
CF: What are the company’s values?
FH: The company’s core value is, of course, « being feral », which refers to the idea of breaking free after being held captive or domesticated. Our feral mentality allows us to create investment opportunities that escape from the current constraints and barriers.
The values we stand for are fairness, trust, progress and both financial and personal enrichment.
CF: Where can we find you?
FH: (Pre-)register here. Or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Brand Identity by Emanuele Grittini
Culture Fancier will be presenting more guest posts from Feral Horses soon. Follow us both on social media for updates and sign up for my newsletter so you don't miss anything.
All photos provided by Feral Horses.
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