Ascension Ventures and Finance Birmingham have partnered to create a fund to support early stage digital media and tech businesses.

1. Ascension
Ventures
Presents
Inves0ng
in
Digital
Media
&
Tech
Start-­‐Ups
February
18,
2015

2. Introduc)on
to
Ascension
Ventures
• Ascension
Ventures
is
an
early-­‐stage
investment
firm
backing
entrepreneurs
in
the
digital
media
and
tech
sectors
• The
UK
Tech
&
Digital
Media
start-­‐up
ecosystem
is
thriving:
• Crea)ve
businesses
in
the
UK
drive
a
hugely
influen)al
entertainment
industry
that
is
predicted
to
grow
to
£65.5bn
in
2017
• Concepts
can
be
tested
quickly
and
at
low
cost
• SEIS
&
EIS
tax
incen0ves
• Booming
talent
pool
• Ascension
currently
runs
yearly
SEIS
Funds
inves)ng
in
digital
media
businesses
(UK
wide)
• Birmingham
City
Council
(‘BCC’)
and
Ascension
have
created
a
joint
venture
• Part
of
the
deal
includes
Ascension
advising
on
BCC’s
£5m
‘Crea0ve
Fund’
and
£1M
‘Hi-­‐Tech
Fund’
(Birmingham
only)

3. Ascension
Ventures
Team
Jean
de
Fougerolles,
CEO
Ascension
Ventures
Jean
has
over
15
years
experience
working
in
media
and
digital
businesses
for
MTV
and
as
CEO
of
a
start-­‐up
called
Two
Way
Media,
which
he
exited
before
becoming
CEO
at
Ascension
Ventures.
Jean
holds
an
MBA
from
INSEAD
in
France
and
was
an
angel
investor
in
Atom
Films,
which
was
sold
to
Viacom
for
$200M
John
Handley,
Chairman
Ascension
Ventures
John
is
an
experienced
Private
Equity
prac))oner
of
over
20
years
and
winner
of
the
Midlands
Dealmaker
Awards
four
)mes
with
Bridgepoint
(once)
and
LDC
(three
)mes).
A
seasoned
Non
Execu)ve
Director
having
held
numerous
board
seats
in
a
private
equity
and
independent
capacity
during
that
period.
Previously
John
was
an
Investment
Commi`ee
member
of
LDC
and
currently
chairs
the
Investment
Commi`ees
of
Finance
Birmingham
and
CCF
(Capital
Crea)ve
Fund)
in
London
Sam
Miller,
Investment
Director
Ascension
Ventures
Sam
has
a
diverse
background
of
10
years
in
banking/venture
capital
and
treasury
management,
having
worked
on
funding
start
up
businesses
to
working
as
part
of
a
team
that
delivered
transac)ons
with
EVs
of
£40m
plus
(largest
being
Steelite
at
£45m).
Sam’s
role
as
Investment
Director
is
to
originate,
transact
and
complete
SME
opportuni)es
that
require
debt
and
equity
investments
Kieran
Hill,
Investment
Manager
Kieran
joined
Ascension
in
2013
and
is
part
of
the
investment
team
analysing
new
business
opportuni)es,
managing
the
companies
communica)ons
and
marke)ng,
and
working
with
the
pordolio
businesses.
Before
joining
Ascension,
Kieran
worked
for
a
proprietary
trading
house
in
the
city
as
deriva)ves
trader,
an
Account
Director
at
an
online
video
start-­‐up
(where
he
and
Jean
met)
and
a
freelance
journalist
for
the
Guardian
newspaper

4. ASCEND
Fund
I
–
Sample
of
Porolio
Companies

5. Ascension
Investment
Criteria
• Digital
Media
Focus
–
21st
Century
Crea)ve
Businesses
give
Brand
Boost
• Scalable
IP,
mainly
B2B2C
• Strong
Team:
2
co-­‐founders
• Pass
the
3D
due
diligence
test:
Development,
Design,
and
Distribu0on
• SEIS
companies:
MVP
built
with
early
trac)on,
well
defined
marke)ng
strategy,
and
clear
route
to
revenues
• Lean
Start-­‐Up:
12
month
runway
• Trac0on
for
next
round

6. Ascension
Mentors
Music,
Sports
Live
Events
Pierre-­‐Jean
Sebert
-­‐
Ex-­‐MD
EUROSPORT
Campbell
Murray
-­‐
Ex-­‐
Director
VODAFONE,
CEO
TAKESTOCK
Fred
Bolza
-­‐
VP
Marke)ng
SONY
MUSIC
Kids
&
Games
Howard
Libon-­‐
Ex-­‐MD
NICKELODEON
UK
Jeff
Jones-­‐
Ex-­‐VP
Digital
Games
DISNEY
Publishing
&
Ad
Tech
Mark
Brandon
-­‐
Ex-­‐
Commercial
Director
VIRGIN
MEDIA
Helene
Panzarino
-­‐
Growth
Manager
INNOVATION
FINANCE
Markus
Malik
-­‐
Ex-­‐VP/CIO
PENGUIN
Online
Video
Peter
Cowley
-­‐
Ex-­‐MD
Digital
Media
ENDEMOL
Mark
Wood
-­‐
Ex-­‐CEO
FUTURE
PLC,
ITN
Jon
Gisby
-­‐
Ex-­‐MD
YAHOO!
UK,
Director
CHANNEL
4
SAAS
&
eCommerce
Robert
Durkin
-­‐
CEO
FUSEPUMP
Eldar
Tuvey
-­‐
Founder
SCANSAFE
David
Caswell
-­‐
Ex
UNILEVER
&
TELEWEST
Alex
Viall
-­‐
Entrepreneur
&
Angel
Investor

7. Strategic
Industry
Co-­‐Invest
Partners

8. Strategic
Corporate
Partners
Finance
Birmingham
co-­‐invest
with
Midlands
based
businesses
–
deal
agreed
Angels
Den
members
inves)ng
into
ASCEND
Fund
II
with
15%
SEIS
open
to
co-­‐
invest
–
partnership
helps
pordolio
obtain
follow-­‐on
funding
during
EIS
round
–
deal
agreed
Pharus
Advisors
is
a
US
based
M&A
firm
with
offices
in
NYC
and
SF.
Industry
focus
on
digital
media
and
tech
with
strong
links
to
US
VC
community
-­‐
deal
agreed
more
coming
soon...

9. Closing
• Ascension
SEIS
Fund
–
digital
media
focus
• BCC
Crea0ve
&
Tech
Funds
–
much
broader
focus
with
£50-­‐400k
investment
sizes
and
seeking:
• Local
businesses
looking
for
funding
• Local
talent
looking
for
start-­‐ups
to
join
• Local
mentors
• Local
co-­‐invest
partners
(angels
&
ins)tu)ons)
• To
foster
more
cohesive
and
vibrant
local
tech
eco-­‐system
• Please
get
in
touch
kieran@ascensionventures.com

10. Ascension
Ventures
Presents
Inves0ng
in
Digital
Media
&
Tech
Start-­‐Ups
February
18,
2015