BrewDog's chief executive has announced a shortlist of the 20 companies to be involved in his Next Unicorn investment programme.
Posting on LinkedIn, James Watt explained that he received more than 750 applications, with help coming from his judging panel to whittle that number down.
The panel includes Crowdcube chief executive Matt Cooper, Scottish Edge chief executive Evelyn McDonald, comedian Dom Joly and Contrarian Thinking founder Codie Sanchez.
The next step is to reduce this shortlist to the final 12 businesses that will be invited to in-person pitches in London on 15 and 16 May.
Watt plans to invest up to £5m of his own money in three businesses, while inviting the public to invest alongside him via Crowdcube.
More than a dozen of the shortlisted start-ups are based in London, while one - a bus tours company - is from Scotland.
- OCEANR
- ROAM FOODS
- Mous
- VACAY
- Basket
- LoveRaw
- Xplore
- fussy
- Tred
- Unplugged
- AllotMe
- Flexi-Hex
- Axioma Europe
- Yum Bug
- Ambl
- HelpBnk
- Petit Pli
- Tallow + Ash
- Nouveau Wine
- UNCOUTH
Watt added: "All the applicants, whether they make it to the final stages or not, will receive a copy of my book, Business For Punks, some BrewDog vouchers and an invite to an online Q&A with myself and other leading entrepreneurs."
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