A new image-sharing platform aimed at astronomers and astrophotographers has been launched by an Ayrshire entrepreneur with six-figure investment.
Picastro was created by Tom McCrorie, who combined his passion and skills in astrophotography with his career as a creative designer.
After raising his initial startup funding from Interface, Tom secured a six-figure additional funding from Middle Eastern investors interested in the observatory.
He is also exploring partnerships with camera and telescope companies to see how the platform can be integrated into new equipment.
Tom hopes to use the funding to further develop the platform and app, and to develop a small team of community managers, which could potentially consist of experts from around the world, as the target subscribers are global.
He is targeting more than 500,000 subscribers in the first year and believes the platform's global audience will reach tens of millions – made up of three types of audience: early users with smartphone cameras, entry-level smart telescope users, and experienced astrophotographers.
The idea for the image-sharing platform came about when Tom received a telescope for his birthday.
Tom combined his new-found passion with his background in technical and creative design to publish a book of lunar photography. The book was well received in astronomy circles and the first edition quickly sold out. Recognizing a commercial opportunity, Tom wanted to apply his design skills further to create a social media platform where other astronomers and astrophotographers could share their high-resolution images.
Tom has been testing the platform for 18 months and believes there is a global market for an image-sharing platform that has the appeal and ease of use of major sites like Instagram, but without the advertising and algorithmically driven content.
The new platform incorporates a strong community aspect for astronomy and astrophotography: members pay an annual subscription to browse high-quality images and interact with other users.
Tom said: “After extensively testing the platform with our community, Picastro combines all the great things about well-known social platforms, but is tailored for people with an interest in astronomy and astrophotography, and of different skill levels.”
“Social media has changed the world in terms of sharing information and bringing communities together, but it also has a lot of downsides, like constant ad bombardment and platforms trying to guess what you like. Picastro is made for the community and is curated by its members.
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“While it may be a childhood curiosity about what's beyond the stars, passion for astronomy exists all over the world.”
Investment and entrepreneurship experts from the law firm Harper MacLeod advised Tom on the investment.
Paula Skinner, partner at the firm and head of the entrepreneurial team, said: “Some of the best new ventures are born out of their owner's personal passion. Tom has combined the best parts of social media with his love and skill for astrophotography to create a new platform with truly global appeal.”
“He is also capitalising on Scotland’s growing international standing in the space sector and using the experience of his established network to reach investors and subscribers around the world.”
