Rachel JAMES is a luxury casual menswear label that featured in London’s men’s fashion week in January this year.
The Creative Director, Rachel James is a British menswear designer and BA (Hons) graduate of Fashion Design from the University of Westminster. During her education she gained invaluable experience working within all areas of the fashion industry, from design to production, pattern cutting to print, PR to Sales at companies including Acne Studios, Todd Lynn and Christian Dior.
However it could be argued her rise in the fashion ranks is owed to a rather fortuitous event during a graduate internship at an Australian fashion house.
People who eventually go on to become huge successes often get a lucky break somewhere along the line. Rachel had hers in 2013 when she was interning at Australian fashion designer Josh Goot in Sydney. While working in the fashion label’s studio, the brand’s design co-ordinater unexpectedly went on leave, leaving Rachel to take charge of many of his duties as well as her own – leading a team of around 10 employees and overseeing both design and production of the collection at that time. She performed her impromptu role so impeccably well that she was instructed to lead a project to re-define and re-design the whole design process within the company – ultimately setting her on the path to understanding what it takes to become a fully-fledged menswear designer.
Fast forward a few months to 2015 and Rachel’s passion for her work and hunger for recognition were two characteristics that helped her secure an invitation to show her new collection at men’s fashion week in London (LC:M) earlier this year. For a graduate designer this is unheard of; applicants typically have 4/5 seasons behind them before they are considered for any space at such a prestigious event. The exhibition proved a great success for showcasing, networking and publicising the brand: Rachel JAMES has since been invited to showcase again this season, has been featured in Italian Vogue and has had pieces requested to style British artists Calvin Harris, Tom Odell, Mark Ronson and Skepta.
From the debut, the label’s PR team have been inundated with press requests and website traffic was given a huge boost. The company is now ready to start making sales with the online shop having just opened for business.
The designer is offering a 25% equity for £50,000 investment.
This is a brand that designs and produces creative, exciting, casual menswear, using luxurious fabrics and impeccable 100% British manufacturing. It is offering investors the chance to come onboard at an early stage.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£8,050
Balkerne is designing a commercial insurance product based on Risk Management technology and Property & Casualty Insurance. Through this way, the company helps enterprises defend their property and people. The company will make sure that no property owner suffers from theft, fire or flood. It has generated net revenue of £21K in January 2019. The revenue model of Balkerne is to charge a percentage of the premium to distribute insurance and support customers with risk management by managing claims. The company has come up with an exit strategy that is to improve the performance of the acquiring company and to quickly acquire the skills and technologies at a lower cost.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£150,000
We provide a unique toolset that measures and tracks ship emissions from a computer on land or at sea. 75 countries have signed up to the UN's "MARPOL" regulations, but none of them have an automated system that can cope with the numbers of ships involved, or can measure emissions to the level of accuracy required. We have a patent pending on our design for the monitor and the tracking software which allows regulators - coastguards and port authorities - as well as shipowners to track vessels.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£57,519
Turning homes into renewable energy generators by offering homeowners the ability to create, accumulate and redistribute electricity via an app. Resilience is enabling customers to sell electricity generated from their homes to the National Grid and potentially reducing their energy consumption bills by up to 80%. The company will provide customers with the necessary software, hardware and means to produce electricity that can be stored and sold, as well as monitored through an app.
Resilience's technology is designed to be future-proof and integrate with upcoming and emerging tech. Their monitoring system can also detect any faults in advance to allow action to be taken before issues arise. The company is developing sales channels by working alongside housing developers and energy firms. The initial target market is the 23m homes that used traditional energy suppliers in 2017, as well as the 800k homes that are fitted with solar PV panels.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£151,900
Altr is an e-commerce startup that specialises in male grooming and cosmetics. It is a brand that is committed to helping men look and feel more confident. The company adopts a B2C business model with the aim to reconstruct male cosmetics from a niche into a mass-market essential. The company retails through its own website and supplies across the UK, the US, Italy, and Spain through Amazon. In December last year, the company recorded a monthly turnover of £45k, doubling sales month on month (Oct-Dec). The funds raised will be used to increase product range and expand internationally.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£103,530
Big Day helps couples looking to get married find, compare and book the ideal wedding venue. Users are able to search wedding venues based on a number of parameters such as location, budget and venue capacity. You are able to choose from a number of different products and services. You can then see an online price estimate including the overall pric eand then the price per person.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£696
TradeZapp is a collaboration of experienced tradespeople and leading technology professionals. The company has a close understanding of its target market and the challenges associated with it like connecting consumers with professional trade services for latest work opportunities. TradeZapp provides the market with on-demand home services in the UK as well as all over the world. The company's V1 pilot app is available for download on both Android and iOS. TradeZapp also has a fully developed: V2 working prototype that is ready for cross-platform development. It might have the opportunity to raise series A funding and grow into other key international markets.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
Withheld
Drone Ag makes farming more productive with limited environmental impact through a new and practical approach to AI technology and drone automation. In the past three years, it has provided hardware and market-leading training to its clients such as Syngenta, Yara, agronomy firms and farmers. Additionally, Drone Ag has also worked closely with institutions such as Harper Adams University. Its training courses are LANTRA certified and BASIS registered. This company has already launched a trial application with which over 200 farmers are working, and agronomists have signed up to test it. Once launched, the commercial version will operate as SaaS and run two subscription tiers, for farmers and crop consultants. With the proceeds, it is aiming to develop full AI integration and live mapping that exports to farm machinery, permitting targeted applications only where needed.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£298,770
Alert Technology Limited is set to transform health and safety best practice for asbestos management by introducing ALERT - a new generation of real-time asbestos monitoring. With the large potential market, Alert will give market priority to the sectors who have demonstrated the greatest need. ALERT is the only solution to the global problem that impacts 30+ industry sectors. Till now, they have successfully launched the ALERT PRO 1000-the first model in the range and won an industry award in the asbestos category. With the investment, they will strengthen their team by recruiting a new Sales Director, Technical Sales Support, Technicians and Service Engineers to boost the in-house team, expand distribution, drive sales, scale-up assembly and service customers.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£10,000
Wild & Stone (W&S) is on a mission to make sustainable and stylish items the natural alternatives to commonly used plastics with products like bamboo toothbrushes and reusable steel razors. W&S stresses that its products carry a 30-day no-quibble returns policy, and for every order, it donates to the Marine Conservation Society. W&S argues that it has completed over 100,000 orders, grown its range to include over 85 products, and earned over £850,000 in revenue since its launch. It also points out that it is listed on major marketplaces including, Amazon, NOTHS, Wayfair, eBay, and Etsy. W&S products have been nominated for multiple Amazon choice awards. Its founder, Kathryn Jonas, was shortlisted for the 'Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year, Southeast region' at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2021. The company has featured in publications such as Vogue, The Times, Tatler, Elle, and The Independent. They state they will use the investment to increase its product range and level of inventory.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£250,460
