Go-to-market strategy
Brand strategy & design
Website design and development
SEO & content strategy
Paid search & paid social
CRM & lifecycle marketing
Data & analytics

• Partnered from ideation through to launch, including strategic and financial investment.
• Built the go-to-market strategy and brand for a founder-funded start-up.
• Delivered a fully custom booking platform using Statamic.
• Achieved 4× forecasted revenue within the first two months of launch.
• Early SEO traction and paid performance already meeting forecast ROAS and CAC.
• Positioned to become the leading online cycling holiday agent in the UK and US.

Introduction

Pedal Ventures is a UK-based start-up on a mission to modernise the cycling holiday industry, making it more accessible, inspiring, and digitally connected for the next generation of riders.

Pollen partnered with the founding team from day one, not only as their growth agency but also as an early investor. Together, we set out to design and launch a scalable business capable of self-sustaining growth within its first two years, and building the foundations to become the largest online cycling holiday agent across the UK and US.

With no external funding and a lean founding team, every decision had to count. Our approach was rooted in ruthless prioritisation, focusing resources on the areas that would create the greatest impact and long-term value.

Services delivered

- Go-to-market strategy
- Brand strategy & design
- Website design and development
- SEO & content strategy
- Paid search & paid social
- CRM & lifecycle marketing
- Data & analytics

Project description

From ideation through execution, Pollen led strategy, creative, and growth delivery for Pedal Ventures.

We began with a go-to-market framework focused on sustainable growth; balancing immediate performance marketing with long-term organic authority. Each marketing and product decision was shaped by one guiding principle: build efficiently, scale intelligently.

By analysing market data and competitor behaviour, we prioritised channels that would yield the highest ROI for a self-funded launch. This meant designing a marketing engine capable of compounding growth, leveraging content, SEO, and CRM to reduce dependency on paid channels over time.

Website & technology

Pedal Ventures’ website and booking platform were developed on Statamic, a highly customisable, lightweight CMS built on Laravel. This technical foundation offered the perfect balance of flexibility, scalability, and performance.

The decision to build a custom booking management system stemmed from the team’s ambition to deliver the best self-serve experience in the cycling travel market. Every interaction, from browsing to booking, was designed for speed, simplicity, and trust.

The result is a robust, intuitive platform that scales seamlessly as the product range and user base expand.

Brand strategy & design

Having reviewed the wider cycling holiday market, we identified an opportunity to stand apart from competitors relying on muted palettes and dated design systems aimed at older audiences.

Pedal Ventures needed to attract a younger, experience-driven demographic while remaining approachable for the traditional 60+ leisure cycling segment.

Pollen developed a clean, modern, and scalable brand identity that embodies clarity, usability, and confidence. The visual language combines bold typography, a fresh colour palette, and adaptable assets designed to flex across print, web, and social.

Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with many noting how simple and enjoyable the website is to navigate. The brand’s fresh, accessible design has already become a clear differentiator in the market.

Marketing & growth

SEO and content authority are at the heart of Pedal Ventures’ long-term growth plan. Supported by a fast, well-structured website, the brand’s content strategy focuses on relevance, depth, and destination-specific expertise.

Alongside this, a highly efficient paid search and social strategy drives near-term growth. By collaborating with local content creators and leveraging AI tools to streamline creative production, Pollen helped the business achieve exceptional early reach with minimal spend.

Consistent marketing emails, clean data capture, and proactive customer service further reinforce the brand’s competitive advantage, all underpinned by automation and data insight, without ever sacrificing customer experience.

Data & analytics

A simple yet powerful analytics infrastructure ensures full visibility across marketing and commercial performance. Using a trusted stack of analytics tools and reporting dashboards, the founding team can monitor growth metrics, campaign performance, and financial KPIs in real time.

This clarity enables fast, informed decision-making and helps maintain momentum as the business scales.

Results & impact

Despite being live for only a short period, Pedal Ventures is already outperforming its early commercial forecasts:

• 3 months ahead of target achieving 4× forecasted revenue within just two months of launch.
• Strong early organic growth, with SEO-driven content generating traffic and conversions ahead of the key booking season in January.
• Paid performance meeting forecasts for ROAS and CAC, validating the efficiency of the marketing model.

These results reflect the impact of a disciplined, data-led approach to launching and scaling a self-funded travel brand where every decision is measurable and every pound works harder.

Key learnings & next steps

Working with a small, highly experienced team of freelancers and industry specialists has been key to the project’s success. Strong communication, individual ownership, and shared ambition have created a seamless, stress-free, and rewarding collaboration.

The next phase will focus on expanding the product offering, engaging new suppliers, and deepening market presence with the goal of achieving a confidential but ambitious revenue milestone within 12 months.

The team remains committed to maintaining best-in-market pricing, a healthy ROAS, and an unwavering focus on customer experience.

This project embodies Pollen’s philosophy: that with clarity, creativity, and focus, it’s possible to build extraordinary businesses even with limited resources.

Client testimonial

“Working with Pollen has been a transformative experience. From concept to launch, they’ve guided every strategic and creative decision with precision and care. Their ability to balance ambition with pragmatism has helped us build a business that feels both exciting and sustainable.”
Rob Slater Co-Founder, Pedal Ventures