Busy Year Ahead For Kids Insights As Company Gears Up For Global Expansion
3 January 2018
Six-figure investment secured at Venturefest event helps to create jobs and drive growth at Manchester-based market intelligence company
Kids Insights, a Manchester-based market intelligence and consumer research company which was founded in March by entrepreneur Nick Richardson, secured a six-figure investment from an angel investor at the Hub’s Venturefest event in September.
Nick was encouraged to enter Venturefest’s Innovation Showcase’s ‘Best Start-Up’ competition by the Hub’s financial advice team, giving him the opportunity to pitch his dynamic trend-spotting and consumer behaviour company to a team of investors and business experts.
Since launching Kids Insights, the service has attracted some of the UK’s biggest brands, including DC Thomson, Finsbury Foods, Guinness World Records, Penguin Random House and Turner.
These and other firms now subscribe to the Kids Insights online portal and receive quarterly insight reports into young people’s attitudes and sentiments. This helps them to understand the often fickle and rapidly changing views of both children and teenagers in a highly-fractured, peer-to-peer driven marketplace.
Nick also impressed the Venturefest judges with the progress of his Bee Industrious market research and insights agency which provides leading brands and companies such as Brookson, Quintessential Brands, International Trade Council and the National Food & Skills Academy with bespoke market intelligence and insights.
Despite not winning the Innovation Showcase Best Start-Up category, Venturefest judge Adam Kara was so impressed b Nick’s pitch that he approached him to discuss a possible funding opportunity.
As a result, the business secured a substantial six-figure investment from Adam which will help to both scale the business in the UK and accelerate their plans to expand the business internationally next year.
Adam said: "As an angel investor I look for start-ups with innovative products, great teams and strong leadership. Kids Insights ticks all the boxes. Nick and the team have come up with an incredible product which has the potential to scale fast and completely disrupt the market insights sector.
“Like most start-ups, Kids Insights just needs some funding to kick-start their journey and personally, I'm delighted to be on board with such an exciting business and to be supporting the ever-growing tech start-up scene in Manchester."
Nick and his management team have also enrolled on a series of the Hub's innovation masterclasses linked to commercialising ideas and creating breakthrough products.
“It’s been a phenomenal 12 months for us,” explains Nick. “The Hub has been with us every step of the way and, quite simply, without them we would not be in such great shape to take the business forward so rapidly, and with such confidence.”
“Since working with the Hub we have grown to a highly talented team of six, raised six figures of investment, launched our highly successful Kids Insights service and have the foundations in place for a phenomenal 2018.”
Find out further information and receive a free 5-day trial to Kids Insights.