An entrepreneur who has made millions from his digital enterprises aims to fund hi-tech ventures

A leading entrepreneur is hoping to unlock millions of pounds to invest in innovative new digital ventures in the Peterborough area.
Scott Weavers-Wright at his Stamford based  Haatch Hub. EMN-190325-105108009Scott Weavers-Wright at his Stamford based  Haatch Hub. EMN-190325-105108009
Scott Weavers-Wright at his Stamford based Haatch Hub. EMN-190325-105108009

Scott Weavers-Wright, who was the former chief executive of Kiddicare.com - the internet arm of Peterborough-based baby care supplier Kiddicare - has founded Haatch to support the growth of novel hi-tech ventures that have huge growth potential.

He says the aim is to tap into the exciting innovation that has been unleashed by the growth of the internet and digital devices.

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While e-commerce is proving to be a battle for survival for many traditional businesses it is proving to be a wealth of opportunity for tech-savvy entrepreneurs.

The creation of Haatch, based at Blackfriars Street, Stamford, comes hot on the heels of the sale of Mr Weavers-Wright’s four-year-old business Elevaate.com

It was sold for a significant sum’ to the California-based Quotient Technologies Inc, which is one of the leading digital promotions, media and analytics companies based in Silicon Valley.

Mr Weavers-Wright said: “It was a significant transaction running into tens of millions of pounds.

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“It has really raised the profile of Haatch and what we are trying to achieve.

“It’s for this very reason that we have now launched our new fund Haatch Ventures.

“The idea is to open up our investments to others, and we are now actively looking for others to join the club and invest with us.

“We’ve just closed tranche one and are now looking for more people to join us on the journey.”

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The aim is to raise a growth fund of about £50 million to invest in businesses across the area.

Mr Weavers Wright said: “We want to invest in digital.

“We are in the era of the digital economy.
“If we look at where the most exciting new businesses are being built now, the vast majority are in this space.

“The UK is also very quickly becoming a real hub for such startups, and as we have designed Haatch Ventures not just as an investment company but one that offers hands-on expertise and support, as well as cash, it made absolute sense to focus on the strengths of our partners and team.

The Haatch team includes Fred Soneya, the co-founder of Haatch and who runs the investment process, Simon Pension, founder of Peterborough-based digital marketing company Zazzle, Mark Bennett, whose CV includes leading roles at Google, Blinkbox Music, HMV and Microsoft, and Elaine Weavers-Wright, who focuses on the challenging startups about customer experience, and Sophie Weavers-Wright, who is responsible for the running of The Hub.

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Mr Weavers-Wright said: “Between us we have experience across every possible area of the digital space; from e-commerce and apps to B2B and the very latest cutting edge technology.

“We also have world-class marketing and advertising expertise and are able to ensure that any investment cash spent in this area maximizes returns.

“Couple that with the fact that the Government has now rightly focused the Enterprise Investment Scheme tax breaks on knowledge intensive’ industries, of which digital is the heartland, it made absolute sense.”

The online world has quickly established itself as an exciting and innovative area of business ideas.

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Mr Weavers Wright said: “Thanks to that extraordinary migration of intellectual capacity towards the online opportunity’ we continue to see pioneering ideas and concepts to this day.

“If we look now, for instance, we are really excited about emerging trends such as voice, mixed and virtual reality, blockchain and the ongoing Uberisation’ of many services.

He added: “It’s a space that never, ever stops and it’s why it is so exciting.

“It’s also the hunting ground for the next billion dollar idea, and why we are so interested as investors.”

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The amount of investment that takes place each month is expected to fluctuate.

It will depend on the number of inspirational business ideas the Haatch board encounters as well as on the number of investors who sign up.

Mr Weavers-Wright said: “At present we have raised around £1.5 million and we are in the process of investing that in six to eight high growth startups per year.”

Among the first enterprises to benefit from Haatch investments were the grocery delivery service Buymie, a mobile app for On-Demand Groceries where users can order goods from a selection of local stores and have them delivered by a personal shopper in about one hour, and Mr Weavers-Wright’s own company Elevaate.

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In addition, there are another three enterprises going through due diligence.

Mr Weavers-Wright said: “Elevaate was one of Haatch’s first investments and as such was a test bed for much of what we were setting out to do.

“We firmly believed that there was a major gap in the current business funding ecosystem as very few were able to offer anything more than cash.

“Anyone that has started a business will know that while that is a helpful component it is only that, a component and the real value is in working with people that have been there and bought the T-shirt.

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“In many ways I wish I had that at the start of Kiddicare.com as we would undoubtedly have grown faster.

“And so to see Elevaate acquired by a major American business was all the justification we needed to open Haatch Ventures out to other people looking to join us in investing in future successes.”

Devan Hughes, founder and chief executive of Buymie, said: “If I’m very honest, the impact that Haatch has had for us has gone far beyond just funding.

“In fact back in 2017, even before we had officially closed our funding from them, they pro-actively supported us in our crowdfunding campaign, sharing their insights on the market and the potential Buymie had as a disruptive player in the grocery retail space.

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“They have been as hands on as we wanted/needed them to be and their passion for business and approach to risk management has made them the ideal early investor and sponsor for Buymie.”

However, Haatch Ventures is more than just a funding system.

It sits alongside the Hub, which is the first in a planned number of flexible workspaces that are designed to cater to the changing needs of each workforce.

Mr Weavers-Wright said: “With more people now able to operate remotely and launch startup ideas backed by funds such as Haatch Ventures the demand is rising for the workspace to suit.

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“Haatch Desks, as the wider brand is known, is easy in, easy out, hire-by-the-desk space that gives you the ability to network with like-minded people.

Our funding arm, Haatch Ventures, is a natural extension of that as we can offer both advice, support and funds to help grow the very best ideas into brilliant businesses.”

Mr Weavers-Wright said: “Getting involved is simple. We understand almost everyone would have questions so we are very happy to spend time walking them through the process of investing and to further explain how it all works, and what we are looking to achieve.”

For details contact Fred Soneya on [email protected] or via website haatch.com/ventures
Mr Weavers-Wright said: “We continue to see amazing ideas every day however so we are keen to really accelerate fundraising now to allow us to take advantage of those opportunities.

“Anyone wishing to join us can invest from as little as £20,000 and we aim for up to 10 times returns from each fund.”

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