Start-ups urged to come up with great ideas for chance of £150,000 funding

THE venture capital company behind The Life of Pi is launching a programme to make seed investments of at least £2.25m into the best media and creative start-ups in Yorkshire and other parts of the UK.
The film Life Of PiThe film Life Of Pi
The film Life Of Pi

Ingenious Ventures has begun its Ingenious Seed Investment Programme to make 15 payments of £150,000 to the start-ups by September. Capital is already raised from the company’s EIS fund.

From next week, the team is travelling to meet founders of start-up companies at technology and innovation hubs around the country. Entrepreneurs have an opportunity to present their ideas, meet investors and receive tips before applying online. The team will visit Sheffield and Leeds as part of their national tour.

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Sectors in their search includes consumer, technology, e-commerce, gaming, fashion, design, audio-visual content and publishing.

Those companies chosen for selection during the process will be eligible for a further funding of £1m from the EIS fund as early as January 2014. The programme is part of Ingenious which has invested, to date, £8bn or more in creative products and businesses, from Avatar and Life of Pi to music guru Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment and global dance music operator Cream.

It says the media industries account for 6 per cent of the UK’s GDP and employ more people than the financial and professional services industries.

Patrick Bradley, CEO of Ingenious Ventures, said: “For 15 years, Ingenious has been the engine for the media and creative industries; we have already raised and deployed over £8bn in the sector. Through the programme we are announcing today, we are continuing to stand behind the top emerging creative talent the UK has to offer.”

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Mr Bradley said funding 15 great ideas in three months is a challenge, but they’re confident the ideas are out there. He said the sector is the UK’s most under tapped source of fast-growth businesses founded by “innately entrepreneurial, ambitious and inventive individuals.”