BREWDOG co-founder James Watt has announced two new members will join the advisory panel that will help him choose three companies that will benefit from a total investment of £5 million as part of his The Next Unicorn project.
More than 400 applications have already been received and the competition window has now been extended to Wednesday, April 19, for businesses seeking funding.
The world-first investment competition allows the public to invest on the same terms as the BrewDog boss via a Crowdcube partnership.
Watt will be joined on his advisory panel by “investment guru” and Contrarian Thinking founder Codie Sanchez and “comedian and confidant” Dom Joly.
After creating one billion-dollar business already, the Scottish entrepreneur’s “Next Unicorn” search aims to create the next generation of Unicorns, following in the footsteps of his beer company, which reached the landmark valuation in 2017.
The BrewDog boss has partnered with the world’s largest equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube to receive pitches from a range of European entrepreneurs.
Excited by the quality among the 400-plus applications received so far – the most successful campaign of its type in Crowdcube history – Watt has decided to give businesses an extra two days to get their entries in, submitted in the form of a 10-slide pitch deck.
He will whittle down entrants with the help of Crowdcube chief executive Matt Cooper and Scottish Edge CEO Evelyn McDonald – who helped BrewDog get started 16 years ago – before shortlisted businesses are invited to pitch live to Watt, Sanchez and Joly at his home in London next month.
Watt was inspired to create The Next Unicorn after having been rejected twice by Dragons’ Den when he was starting out and more recently when he was approached and shortlisted to become a Dragon himself.
Spurred on by his double rejection, and with a passion and track record for scaling start-ups, Watt decided to create his own competition, which will see him invest £1m in three firms, with a further £4m to be unlocked as the winning companies reach certain milestones.
Watt said: “I have been incredibly impressed by some of the entries received already and it’s encouraged me to extend the application window to discover what other amazing enterprises are out there.”
“I’m also so excited to be announcing new members of the advisory panel. Codie has achieved so much – from building billion-dollar companies to running firms with an annual turnover of $50m.
“Dom is a trusted friend who will provide a totally different outlook to the judging process. Business pitches can sometimes get a bit heavy – I am sure Dom can provide some great insights, as well as helping to ensure everyone has a smile on their face.”
Three final companies will then be invited to Las Vegas, where they will receive their funding at BrewDog’s stunning rooftop bar. Following the Vegas announcement, the three winning businesses will be live on Crowdcube.com for the public to invest in the deal, too.
