BrewDog’s James Watt announces details of search for next billion-dollar brand

BrewDog co-founder James Watt has announced entrepreneur and founder of Contrarian Thinking, Codie Sanchez alongside comedian and close friend, Dom Joly will join his advisory panel for The Next Unicorn, his search for the next billion-dollar business, and will help him decide which companies to invest £5m of his own cash in.

After creating a $1bn business already, James’ ‘Next Unicorn’ search aims to create the next generation of Unicorns, following in the footsteps of his beer company that reached the landmark valuation in 2017. The BrewDog boss has partnered with crowdfunding platform Crowdcube to receive pitches from a range of European entrepreneurs.

Excited by the quality amongst the 400+ applications received so far, the most successful campaign of its type in Crowdcube history, James has decided to give businesses an extra opportunity to enter. The deadline has now been extended to April 19, giving an extra two days for businesses to get their entries submitted in the form of a 10-slide pitch deck.

James will then whittle down entrants with the help of Crowdcube CEO Matt Cooper, and Evelyn McDonald, CEO of Scottish Edge, who helped BrewDog get started 16 years ago, before shortlisted businesses are invited to pitch live to James, Codie and Dom at his home in London on May 15 and 16.

The BrewDog chief was inspired to create The Next Unicorn after having been rejected twice from Dragon’s Den, once 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 track record for scaling startups, the Scottish entrepreneur 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.

James commented: “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 Sanchez has achieved so much, from building billion-dollar companies to running firms with an annual turnover of $50m, she really is perfectly placed to support me in identifying the Next Unicorn.

“And, as for Dom Joly, he’s a trusted friend and 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 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.

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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