⚡ How this Start-Up is Modernising British High-Streets Through Smart Tech

Morning Innovators ⚡ In less than 5 minutes, we’ll cover…

🥳 The best funding opportunities, events and jobs in the start-up world
📰 The biggest news stories in the start-up world
🛍 How this Start-Up is creating modern British High-Streets with Smart Tech
🏅 How you can use your competition to win customers
📃 A tool that gives you a clear and concise summary of website policies

✨ Last weeks most clicked link was this link taking you through to the Barclays product growth programme

Happy hustling,
Rich

🎤 Events/Opportunities

🕹 a16z are investing $30m over the next 30 days, writing $750,000 cheques into each company they back. They’re looking for companies that collide tech and gaming, though the scope is pretty wide (Read in more detail here). You can apply here.

🌟 Techstars London is open for applications, upon acceptance they can invest up to $120,000. You can apply here.

🕸 Techstars have also opened up their global Web3 accelerator, you can apply here.

💸 Simply Business are offering one business a £25,000 equity free grant, you can apply here.

🤲 Barclays Eagle Labs are running their funding readiness programme powered by Capital Enterprise, you can apply here.

📱 Product Designer, Thingtesting
👷 Head of Product, Klink
🧑‍💻 Software Engineer, Streamba

🔄 Innovate UK reverses female funding decision following uproar following uproar from UK Start-Up community. Sifted

⛽️ Oxylus Energy strikes “beautiful balance” to make e-fuels for aviation and shipping. TechCrunch

🫰 ’Emotion AI’ could be the next trend for business software, and that could be problematic. TechCrunch

🚗 AI Vehicle group Wayve secures new investment from Uber. UKTN

VZTA: Enabling Smart Digital Towns for Local Communities

VZTA is a platform that empowers local authorities to collaborate with high streets and create smart digital towns. It fosters partnerships between local businesses, helping them work together while providing consumers with a streamlined way to navigate town centers. This encourages spending within the community. Additionally, the platform gathers valuable data on footfall, travel, and spending patterns, which helps councils make informed decisions about town design and helps businesses predict customer flows for more efficient stock management.

Securing the First Customer: Learning from Challenges

VZTA initially targeted individual high-street businesses but encountered stiff competition, as business owners often inquired whether their direct competitors were on the platform before committing. The team realized that targeting clusters of businesses was a better strategy. Their first successful trial was with an arcade in Cardiff, which led them to work closely with the Cardiff Business Improvement District (BID). They discovered that their real customer was the local council, prompting a pivot in the product’s development to focus on creating a "digital high-street" for local councils.

Funding was essential for this pivot, and after three unsuccessful grant applications, persistence finally paid off when they secured government funding. This grant opened the door for collaboration with five local councils, leading to Caerphilly Council becoming VZTA's first official customer.

Building the First Product: Collaborative Development

To create the first version of their product, VZTA took a highly collaborative approach, involving all stakeholders—businesses, councils, and consumers—in workshops and exercises to shape the product’s design. This collaborative process not only validated their concept but also generated fresh ideas for future developments. However, the team was careful to use these insights as inspiration rather than letting them dictate the product’s direction. With a clear idea of the product’s needs, the CTO worked with a development agency to bring the first version to life.

Securing the First Investor: Accelerator Programme Success

VZTA’s investment journey began when they participated in a local start-up accelerator. Through the program, they met with various business support services, including lawyers, accountants, and the Development Bank of Wales. Initially, there was interest in investing, but progress stalled. However, after winning a pitch event as part of the accelerator’s conclusion, the Development Bank of Wales renewed their interest and became a major investor in VZTA's first funding round. Additionally, VZTA’s development agency and CTO decided to invest, resulting in an oversubscribed funding round.

Hiring the First Employees: A Passion for High-Street Regeneration

VZTA’s first hire came through a recommendation from a mutual connection. Initially brought on to support with administrative tasks, this employee quickly advanced to Operations Executive and was later promoted to Operations Director. The decision to hire her was driven by her passion for high-street regeneration, a mission that aligned perfectly with VZTA’s goals.

Finding the Co-Founder: A Trusted Working Relationship

Although Victoria founded VZTA alone, her CTO, Martin, became a crucial partner in the company’s success. Victoria reached out to Martin, knowing he was looking for a new and exciting project to work on. Having worked together previously, they both knew they were a great fit for building the business together.

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By highlighting themselves against alternatives to their product, they’ve done a fantastic job of highlighting how durable and long-lasting their product is. As a result of that, they’ve really been able to demonstrate the environmental benefits of using their products rather than using any alternatives.

How can you use alternatives to your product or service to highlight your strenghts?

Each week we highlight our favourite tools - either something we’ve been using in our businesses, or tools that our innovator community have recommended.

DocDecoder gives you clear, concise summaries of any website's legal policies. Generated in real time by GPT-4o.

Next week I’ll be highlighting another awesome Start-Up (if you want us to feature you, drop us a message), as well as sharing all the usuals including funding opportunities, Start-Up news, plus plenty of awesome tips, tricks and tools.

P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn…