Invest in Creative Pitch Showcase

From the explosive growth of the UK games and media tech sectors to the ingenuity and resilience of music and fashion tech, the UK creative industries are highly innovative, rapidly growing and notably, one of the most exciting sectors for investors. With this in mind, we were delighted to present our first Invest in Creative Pitch Showcase on 10th November in London at Digital Catapult.

At this event, UKBAA and ScaleUp Institute put the spotlight on a curated group of innovative founders, drawn from our three partner regions who are all part of the Creative Scale-Up initiative backed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport DCMS. Operating for the past two years in three exciting creative clusters, supported by the Combined Authorities of Greater Manchester, West of England and the West Midlands, selected cohorts of scaling Creative Industries businesses have been exploring their opportunities to further build and grow.

The evening kicked off with UKBAA’s CEO, Jenny Tooth OBE, welcoming a fantastic group of investors from across the investment ecosystem who came together to hear from innovators fusing creativity with technology to reinvent the world around us. Following on from Jenny, we were welcomed by Dr Jeremy Silver who is the CEO of Digital Catapult, our kind host for the showcase. Dr Jeremy shared how digital technologies and innovations are accelerating growth in the creative sector and how this is an incredibly exciting time for investors.

Sir Peter Bazalgette was our keynote speaker, who took the stage to set the scene for the creative innovators we were going to be hearing from. Sir Peter is recognised as one of the most proactive supporters of the Creative Industries here in the UK and is responsible for ensuring that the sector has been recognised by the Government as one of the most valuable contributors to our economy. We were thrilled to have him kick off our event and share his experiences and insights on why many more investors should be considering the sector.

We then heard from 7 businesses representing an array of creative industry sub-sectors. From film and television streaming to fashion, AR and VR and games, these businesses showcased how diverse the creative industries are and why they offer such incredible opportunities for investment.

Pitching Businesses Included

PAUS: Paus.tv is propelling hand-picked, independent cinema into the $194bn global streaming market through micropayments, live digital screenings & NFTs
MOTION IMPOSSIBLE: Motion Impossible designs and sells robotic platforms that are transforming the way TV/film cameras are moved in media production
AMSCHELA: Amschela’s mission is to introduce high-quality affordable accessory products to the ordinary woman that are sustainable while simultaneously acknowledging and addressing inequities in the luxury fashion industry
STARDIO: STARDIO will create a new audience for fitness, based on entertainment and social bonds, where content is king and coaches are the hosts
CALLA: Calla is a brand of ladies footwear specially designed to be super stylish as well as comfortable for women who suffer from problems with their feet.
DUELSHOT: Duelshot is breaking the mould in the games sector, by creating a one-of-a-kind video game mechanic that delivers Play to Earn revenue from every multiplayer match played in their games.
VIKA: VIKA® are the UK’s first AR publisher, creating extraordinary books that blur the boundaries between real and virtual formats. Our Connected BooksTM use creative technologies to supercharge the printed page and reconnect readers with the way they learn.