Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.
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Risk Summary

Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  • You could lose all the money you invest
  • Most investments are shares in start-up businesses or bonds issued by them. Investors in these shares or bonds often lose 100% of the money they invested, as most start-up businesses fail.
  • Checks on the businesses you are investing in, such as how well they are expected to perform, may not have been carried out by the platform you are investing through. You should do your own research before investing.

You won't get your money back quickly

  • Even if the business you invest in is successful, it will likely take several years to get your money back.
  • The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
  • Start-up businesses very rarely pay you back through dividends. You should not expect to get your money back this way.
  • Some platforms may give you the opportunity to sell your investment early through a 'secondary market' or 'bulletin board', but there is no guarantee you will find a buyer at the price you are willing to sell.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

  • Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. Learn more here.

The value of your investment can be reduced

  • If your investment is shares, the percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
  • These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don't have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

  • Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker.
  • Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA's website here.

For further information about investment-based crowdfunding, visit the crowdfunding section of the FCA's website here.
Visitor Engagement Iphone
Portfolio News
Dan Smith
· 2 min read
· Updated on

GCV leads investment in tech company set to revolutionise audience experiences

Growth Capital Ventures has led a £150,000 seed investment round into n-gage.io, an innovative
technology company transforming the way audiences engage and experience leisure, visitor, and
sporting attractions.

The funds will be used to drive the development of the technology forward and support n-gage.io’s market entry strategy. The funds are in addition to £150,000 worth of resource provided by Growth Capital Ventures through its GCV Labs venture builder division.

n-gage.io aims to transform audience experiences through a highly customisable, data insight driven Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform with an integrated mobile-web application. This will help operators deepen their audience and visitor engagement, deliver powerful insights, and increase customer lifetime value.

Norm Peterson, co-founder and CEO of Growth Capital Ventures, said:

n-gage.io will give attraction and venue operators at all levels the ability to affordably embrace the power of technology to improve audience engagement both before, during and after a visit, with real-time evaluation tools to gain valuable insights.

This has been a great opportunity to invest at an early stage into a highly scalable business focussed on innovation in digital media and mobile technology. This initial investment will accelerate the development of the technology and allow the company to scale up the team to drive the business forward.

The County Durham-based business, whose team combines market-leading technology with decades of experience in digital media and mobile technology, has already begun work with a range of pilot customers across both the attraction and sports sectors.

Around the world, venues and attractions are constantly evolving. In 2020, 84% of UK adults owned a smartphone. But with over 5,500 visitor attractions in England alone, contributing to over £56 billion in domestic day trip spending, only 18% were using any form of mobile app prior to the
pandemic.

n-gage.io’s founder and CEO Bryan Hoare said:

Mobile optimised experiences strive to increase engagement, yet many are still lacking innovation in technology and content delivery, failing to meet audience expectations. Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of technology more than ever; showing how important it is to maintain links with your audience when business is disrupted.

While the pandemic has accelerated views around technology adoption, more needs to be done to address market affordability and ease of deployment where low levels of technical expertise and lack of resource are often barriers.

Through our technology we’ll be improving the experience, deepening learning and engagement
and building audience loyalty and ultimately revenues for the operator.

 

 

Bryan added:

We have proved the concept and have had constructive discussions with operators across sport and visitor attractions. We’re working alongside a number of local pilot partners including Northumberland Zoo to help develop a digital experience with a focus on education.

 

Kate Dearlove, director of media and content at n-gage.io added:

Our content experiences can also provide focus, delivering engagement in such a way that people’s lives are enriched. We can do so much more with technology for education, bringing our heritage and culture to life for community benefit.

 
Driving Growth.
Creating Value.
Delivering Impact.

Backed by

Growth Capital Ventures (GCV) is backed by funds managed by Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s leading private equity and alternative asset managers.