Investors want media companies to get creative and tell them why they should cut them a slice of a £2.25 million Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).
Ingenious Ventures, a company behind well-known movies, TV programmes and video games, has set up the fund and is seeking 15 media businesses to tell them why they should invest in their ideas.
SEIS, www.seis.co.uk, offers investors enticing tax breaks for pumping cash into early-stage businesses which cannot raise money from traditional commercial sources, like banks.
Ingenious claims to have raised £8 billion for media and creative firms in the past 15 years.
CEO Patrick Bradley laid down the challenge to entrepreneurs when launching the first Ingenious Seed Investment Program.
Untapped resource
“We will put the money up if emerging creative talent comes forward with the right ideas,” he said. “We want to see what the industry has to offer.”
The three-month talent search will include a road trip tour of media innovation hubs across Britain.
The meets give businesses a chance to meet our team, pitch their deal and to find out how we can help them prosper, explained Bradley.
“Unearthing 15 brilliant ideas in just 12 weeks is challenging for us,” said Bradley. “We are sure the ideas and entrepreneurs who could do with the funding are out there waiting for us. This is almost an untapped resource for businesses which are ready to grow but lack the finance.”
To back up the claims, Ingenious reckons media and creative firms generate 6% of Britain’s GDP and have a larger workforce than the financial and professional sectors combined.
Financial backing
Financial backing is not limited to SEIS funding for firms sprinting for success – on top of the £150,000 of initial investment, up to another £1 million could be available from an Ingenious Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) from January 2014.
“Candidates need to have a business idea, but they also need a business plan and management skills. We have partnerships with people that can help to ensure businesses can get this right,” said Bradley.
Previous investments include Simon Fuller’s Pop Idol and American Idol TV shows, the firm behind the Creamfields festival, a music publishing company and the developer of Microsoft’s Xbox game Fable.
Start-ups can also apply for the cash through the firm’s website. https://www.smart-survey.co.uk/s/ingeniousseed
