The 2nd Dorset Business Angels Virtual pitch event takings place on 6th July. The event takes place on the heels of the successful inaugural virtual pitch event in April 2020 which attracted investor interest and immediate investment to businesses pitching.
The 6th July event includes 5 businesses pitching but is boosted by a pitch from a Bournemouth based business that will be pitching their innovative Neuromarketing user-testing suite that maps facial expressions and monitors the emotional responses of a typical viewer to a particular advertising stimulus. The results are compared to a database of responses in order to determine how successful the ‘creative’ is likely to be.
Other pitches include:
· A business in Marine Systems/equipment. The Company’s products are designed to give boat owners real-time load data that will allow them to sail their boats faster. Their system provides wireless load-sensing technology for rigging and soft line/ropes. The rig loading on the vessel has a strong influence on the shape of the sails and hence the speed of the boat. This type of information capture lags behind other technologies in the sailing market and this platform is designed to fill a significant gap that currently exists.
· A Corrugated cardboard manufacture which aims to disrupt the corrugated cardboard market that has seen little innovation over the past 50 years or so. Current manufacturing methods use large scale ‘corrugators’ that are expensive to purchase and run, and require large amounts of gas, electricity and water to operate. The business has developed a ‘steam-free’ corrugator that requires no process water, uses 78% less energy than the traditional manufacturing process and occupies 88% less space than current equipment of a similar capacity. This will allow individual packaging companies to increase their margins by bringing board manufacture in-house, thus allowing them to produce just enough product to meet their short-term requirements.
· A spin-out company from Cambridge University has developed a successful ’fit and forget’ solution for the ever-increasing need for the ‘remote condition monitoring’ of hardware devices. The befits include early warning of equipment failure, increased operational efficiency, energy reduction and regulatory compliance.
· A business in the home cooking space started selling a range of Indian and Italian dishes in late 2019 and had included Japanese and Spanish menus by the start of this year. They now offer a total of 77 recipes across 30 menus to UK customers, with more recipes in the pipeline. Dorset Business Angels Chairman, Don McQueen advised, “We encourage would-be investors to get in touch with us and would urge them to get involved. There is no obligation to invest in any of the pitches. Why not register and come along to see how our pitch events run.” DBA was formed in 2013 with the aim to bring investors and entrepreneurs together to accelerate the growth of early stage businesses. DBA provides quality, private equity investment opportunities to local high net worth (HNW) and sophisticated investors (SI).
Four times a year companies are invited to attend an event at which they pitch their business to the savvy Angels in a Dragon’s Den type scenario. Angel investment might come from a single investor or it could be 2 or 3 Angels pooling funds together to support a company. Any investments are in the form of an equity investment and not a debtor’s loan. Investments are made across all sectors.
DBA is sponsored by Saffery Champness Accountants, Ellis Jones Solicitors and Investec Wealth and Investment. To find out more about Dorset Business Angels or to book on to the pitch event visit www.dorsetbusinessangels.co.uk