Member Article

Middlesbrough product design studio receives £125k investment

Mustachio, a Middlesbrough-based product design studio, has received a £125k investment from Newcastle and Darlington-based Northstar Ventures, via its Finance for Business North East Proof of Concept Fund.

The company created the brand ‘Ojee Golf’ and developed a digital training aid to help improve and refine a fundamental component of every golfer’s game: the set up.

The training aid, called the Talon, uses a digital display unit that easily attaches to the grip of any golf club.

The technology allows the Talon to measure and clearly display four critical angles of address: spine angle, club shaft angle, club shaft to spine angle and rotation angle of the club face.

The funding will enable the company to implement its production process and produce an initial run of units whilst also enabling it to ramp up marketing.

Matt Hulbert, co-founder of Mustachio, said: “We have been going from strength to strength recently, and thanks to the investment from Northstar Ventures we are going to be able to push ourselves to the next level.

“We have been to some large golf shows recently, including London and Glasgow, where we exhibited the Talon and had some great reviews but the main reason to be there was to gain customer feedback so that we can improve the product even further before the official launch in July 2015.

“We knew that we had a great concept when we first formulated the idea last year, but seeing the product come to life with the help of Northstar’s investment has pushed our expectations beyond belief.”

James Foster, investment manager at Northstar Ventures, added: “Mustachio is a great investment opportunity for the Proof of Concept Fund.

“The product is highly innovative, easy to use and will help users address issues with the fundamentals of their game.

“There is a growing trend of golfers using technology to help them enhance their performance on the course, and the Talon is clearly catering for this need.”

The Proof of Concept Fund is backed by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank.