Pictured above: (l-r) Tim Powell, Minerva Business Angel Network, with investors Richard George and Kevin Higgs, CrowdControlHQ co-founder Calum Brannan, investor John Dixon, co-founder of CrowdControlHQ James Leavesley, and investors Tom Moore, Neil Morris, Giovanni Finocchio and Ian Mackenzie

Crowd Technologies, which has produced social media risk management software CrowdControlHQ, recently celebrated its first 12 months in operation and has now secured additional financial backing from the University of Warwick Science Park's Minerva Business Angel Network and Midven, the West Midlands specialist venture capital company.

The Birmingham -based firm was launched by co-founders Calum Brannan from Coventry and James Leavesley from Birmingham. Since that time it has attracted clients across a wide range of industries including Cadbury, Luminar Leisure, Decathalon and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

The software allows organisations ranging from small start-up businesses to larger international firms to effectively and efficiently manage their social media outlets and protect their brand which can mean anything from monitoring Facebook pages for profanities to protecting access to social media pages when employees move on.

Leavesley said: "The idea for the software came about from conversations with a number of organisations.

"We soon realised that they all had a common set of problems, since then clients have been at the heart of our product development.

"The next step for us is to use the investment to further develop the product, build up the full-time team while expanding into new markets."

The investment in the company was led by Minerva The Business Angel Network, based at the University of Warwick Science Park's Venture Centre, in Sir William Lyons Road, and is split equally between the Minerva angels and Midven, investing from the firm's Early Advantage fund.

Tim Powell, who heads up the Minerva Business Angel Network, said: "The CrowdControlHQ software is a fantastic innovation and is a perfect example of a creation borne out of challenges created by the constantly evolving ways in which we communicate and the rising popularity of social media.

"Networks such as Facebook and Twitter are becoming increasingly important to the business community and having an efficient way of managing the risks associated with these networks is vital.

"Our investors spotted the obvious potential of this product and have no doubt the company will be a huge success. We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to support it and indeed two of our members have joined the board to add their experience."

Giovanni Finocchio, investment manager for the Early Advantage fund added: "We backed this investment because the team had created a great tool for an exciting and fast growth sector.

"The need for the product is clear and there are plenty of potential customers. Therefore, the business model makes perfect sense."