A rapidly growing Manchester-based market intelligence and consumer research company has just launched its innovative online data portal which enables brands to access real-time insights into the world of kids, tweens and teens. Thanks to help from Business Growth Hub, six new jobs have been created since the business was established earlier this year, with it forecasting turnover of £500,000 in 2018.
Kids Insights, which was founded in March by entrepreneur Nick Richardson, secured a six-figure investment from an angel investor at the Hub’s recent Venturefest event. Organised by Business Growth Hub, part of The Growth Company, Venturefest is North West’s annual showcase of business innovation and investment opportunities.
Nick was encouraged to enter Venturefest’s Innovation Showcase’s ‘Best Start-Up’ competition by the Business Growth 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 explained to the Venturefest panel how Kids Insights, with offices in Manchester, New York and Lagos, had set out to change the way in which global market research is conducted; allowing clients to make informed decisions and develop marketing strategies built on quality insight, niche market segmentation and real-time ‘granular’ data.
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 by 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 Business Growth Hub 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.”
Paul Halliday from Business Growth Hub said: “Nick and his team are also now benefitting from our innovation programme, which links dynamic scale-ups with Greater Manchester’s universities, and our fully-funded masterclasses, which help innovative and ambitious firms to unlock the commercial potential of new ideas.
“I genuinely feel Kids Insights and Bee Industrious are going to be a real ‘one to watch’ company as the global demand for immediate, accurate and insightful market intelligence among adults, young people and children is only set to grow in the future.”
