Specialists share insights on securing investment in the digital sector

Digital businesses keen to secure investment opportunities can hear first-hand from the experts at a free GC Business Growth Hub event.

Paus TV founder and CEO Rishi Kapoor is amongst a panel of industry professionals who will be sharing his insights at the ‘Unlocking and maximising digital economy investment’ session.

Taking place on Thursday, April 15 from 2.30pm to 3.30pm, delegates will hear about Kapoor’s experiences leveraging investment for Paus, a streaming app for independent films.

Kapoor has previously worked for Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and NBCUniversal and launched Paus last March.

Despite having to cancel the formal launch due to the first national lockdown, support from the Hub’s Creative Scale-up programme helped Kapoor and his team to secure funds.

In November, they held a crowd-funding event and to date have raised £130,000 from CrowdCube and another £370,000 from angel investors.

Paus TV founder and CEO, Rishi Kapoor, said: “The demand for streaming services has really increased because of the pandemic and our community is growing quickly, especially with our crowdfunded campaign.

“Being a sole founder is challenging but it’s important for me to share with others that there is support and help out there, and how to access it.

The hour-long session will cover the post-pandemic investment landscape, available investment opportunities plus more in-depth advice for those who would like to fine-tune their current investor interactions.

Along with Kapoor, the event will feature GC Business Angels investment director Damian Mohammed who has launched an online investor portal for companies across the north.

Sue Barnard, North West British Business Bank senior manager, will be on hand sharing her insights and intel on the region.

Delegates will also hear from UK Business Angels Association CEO, Jenny Tooth, who has more than 20 years’ experience of facilitating SMEs’ access to investment.

Completing the panel is Guy Weaver, Praetura Ventures director – a venture capital firm which focusses on investing in early stage high growth businesses.

The Hub’s head of digital, creative and tech sector business support, Sarah Novotny, said: “If you are looking to grow your business and want to explore different ways to secure investment, this event is a must.

“Greater Manchester has a £5bn digital economy, which employs more than 86,000 people and is home to the largest creative and digital cluster outside London.

“Over the past 12 months, Covid-19 has really accelerated the digital economy’s rise, and this session is a unique opportunity to hear first-hand and learn from a panel of industry-leading experts.”

Businesses must register for the Unlocking and Maximising Digital Economy event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unlocking-and-maximising-digital-economy-investment-tickets-146570559489.

The event is part of a series of panel discussions and webinars which the Hub is hosting as part of its wider involvement in the Digital City Festival, developed specifically for digital economy businesses based in Greater Manchester.

See the Hub’s full programme of events here:  https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/digital-city-festival-2021

Businesses looking to access specialist support can visit www.businessgrowthhub.com for more information about the organisation’s extensive range of services. This and other GC Business Growth Hub projects are part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the GM Business Growth Hub project designed to help ambitious SME businesses achieve growth and increase employment in Greater Manchester. The Hub is also supported by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Greater Manchester local authorities.