© The Bunch
The national roll-out of Pitchfest, EEN’s flagship pitch training and showcase programme, is well under way and supporting scores of innovative companies around the country to pitch and win investment.
Recently, Pitchfest South West held two events at Bristol and Exeter – of which eight of the participating businesses have gone on to present at other angel networks.
One company, Bristol-based The Bunch, successfully secured a £70,000 investment as a result of taking part in Pitchfest South West. Founded by Elliott Herrod-Taylor after experiencing what he calls the “nightmare” of settling bills for house mates at Leeds University, The Bunch handles the set-up and management of utilities payments, splits the liabilities between housemates, monitors utility usage, and takes payments in line with student loans. The eight-strong company - whose oldest employee is 25 - has 3,000 customers in 25 cities.
Other companies to present to investors included:
Filmily
Mastercharge
Okko Health
Brightworks (Rolemapper)
Pensionly
Alert Technology
Altered Carbon
Topiq (Mappix)
Strategic Review (That Figures)
QueQuick
Atmo Technology
What is Pitchfest?
The programme, which was originally delivered and conceptualised by EEN partners in the East of England, helps ambitious business owners to develop the necessary skills to become pitch ready and create clear, powerful and compelling presentations. It is open to innovative businesses with the potential to scale or who are already scaling and are looking to raise between £250,000 – £2m. It is suitable for businesses that are seeking angel/VC finance and are EIS/SEIS registered.
The pitch training programme spans four days - two training days, a selection stage and a showcase day where shortlisted finalists will pitch their business ideas to investors. Approximately 20 businesses from initial applicants are selected for the training programme and up to ten of them are offered the opportunity to pitch to a panel of investors during a private session at the Investor Showcase.
What are the benefits of Pitchfest?
Founders get advice and insights on:
- Developing their elevator pitch
- Crafting an engaging pitch deck
- Gaining intensive investment and pitch training
- Receiving expert feedback and access to outside thinking from mentors
- Building partnerships and interacting with peers who are facing similar challenges
- Showcasing business ideas to multiple investors
- Receiving one-to-one support from an EEN adviser to support your scaling ambitions
The Pitchfest programme is a great demonstration of the expertise of EEN partners and the spirit of collaboration across the network. Other Pitchfests took place this autumn at Cambridge and Brighton. Applications are currently open for a Pitchfest in Birmingham. To find out more about future Pitchfest events, contact your local EEN adviser.
