Helping Across-the-Board Games to become investor ready

19 July 202119 July 2021 3 minutes

Our 2021 Investor Readiness Programme has recently came to an end with another cohort of very talented people. The purpose of the programme is to learn the ins and outs of investment including how you to prepare for it and remembering that it’s okay if it’s not right for you.

We caught up with Pam Bennett, Managing Director at GFI and Across-the-Board Games CIC, to find out the impact that the programme has had for them…

Could you start off by telling us a little bit of the background behind your company?

Across-the-Board Games is a new company with a social purpose – and our aim is to develop a range of games that can be played by children and adults and that are designed from the start to be accessible for people who are Blind or may have reading difficulties.

We have a prototype for our first board game called “Discuss” – a wellbeing game that encourages conversation, which is supported by technology and the magic in a smartphone which provides an audio dice and question reader.

What were your reasons for joining the Investor Readiness programme?

Going into production to be able to reach an MVP and sell a game takes significant investment and something that we’ve been thinking about for a while, however we were unsure on how to go about it.

The Investor Readiness programme offered us the chance to work on a pitch to potential investors and to have feedback from other companies on what we are trying to achieve in a safe space.

What are the main things that you have taken away from the programme?

We have learned more about where we are in terms of our product development readiness and have had very helpful feedback and ideas on the game itself. Plus, we made contact with an Investment Manager from the Key Fund who has followed up with very useful advice.

How did you find the peer-to-peer workshops?

Hearing the other businesses pitch was excellent and meant we could learn from them and how we might improve our own slide decks and presentations.

Not only did we learn about the other businesses, but they also gave us encouraging feedback on our own pitch.

Would you recommend the programme to others?

I would definitely recommend the programme to others – the feedback from the presenter on our slide decks and notes helped us to emphasise the key points more effectively and to make sure we caught people’s attention.

This has meant we have a set of slides and notes we can use when we need to speak to others about the company, and increased confidence in our ability to talk about it.

Do you have any advice for those that are considering joining a programme like this?

Go for it – even if (like us) you are not quite ready for investment yet – it really helps to understand where you are on the mountain you are climbing!

If you’re exploring business growth opportunities and need some advice, we can help. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.