The Blue Earth Summit, a breakthrough gathering of the best people in business with shared values around people and planet, has returned to Bristol in its second year, with a mission to radically rethink what a successful business looks like.
At the heart of that mission is the Pitch Tent, where investment deals get done and the impact of the Blue Earth Summit becomes measurable. The Pitch Tent connects aspiring entrepreneurs and impact-led ventures with world class investors. Presented by Wavelength Ventures, over 250 founders have applied for the chance to live pitch to more than 30 of the world’s best impact funds for millions of pounds of investment, with the organisers aiming to facilitate over £10m raised during or after the sessions.
The finalists announced represent a diverse selection of businesses in very different stages of their journeys; they all share the collective ability to positively disrupt their markets. The four finalists are:
Shackleton (Founder: Martin Brooks)
Shackleton designs and develops performance apparel and polar expedition experiences. Driven by exploration and innovation, Shackleton is built on the values of polar titan Sir Ernest Shackleton and exists to inspire, prepare and equip individuals for the challenge.
DAME (Founder: Alec Mills)
DAME is on a mission to make periods positive for people and the planet. The period industry is full of plastic, chemicals and stigma. DAME is changing that, by creating comfortable, sustainable alternatives. They’re chemical-free, carbon negative, and with stylish packaging that can be kept in plain sight.
Bundlee (Founder: Eve Kendleh)
Bundlee is the UK's first baby clothing rental subscription. They are on a mission to give outgrown baby clothes a new lease of life. Parents rent their child's wardrobe and swap outgrown clothes for the next size up. Returned clothes are sustainably shared with the next renting family.
Kvatt (Founder: Gianfranco Bachtold)
Kvatt are building the tech to help customers power circularity and create unique delivery experiences, developing protective & reusable packaging solutions to eliminate waste in the shipping industry.
“With Natwest, Seedrs and Stripe as category partners, the Pitch Tent embodies the heightened focus on the role of impact-led entrepreneurship in driving a more sustainable, circular economy. We want the Summit to be a space where the ideas and investment we help put together make a real difference in the world. With the weight of industry leading investors and financial institutions behind us, the corporate pledge is firming up and, with this investment opportunity, we’re excited to see where these new ventures could go.” says Guy Hayler, co-founder of the Blue Earth Summit and managing partner of Wavelength Ventures. “We bring in investors and sponsors who understand the urgent need to use business as a force for good and enable people and projects to do things differently for the planet and communities. Deciding on the four finalists was a really tough process because of the sheer volume of high quality entries applying for the opportunity to pitch for investment. On that basis we’ve actually expanded the format to six further finalists, opening the stage to pitch to Wavelength Ventures for investment.”
Over the last two years, Wavelength Ventures - the organisation running The Pitch Tent at Blue Earth Summit - has raised over £80 million for more than 20 businesses, including recently supporting outdoor brand Finisterre to raise £4.5 million who have joined the Blue Earth Summit as a partner this year.
Off the back of sponsoring last year’s COP26, NatWest has joined the Blue Earth Summit with a shared ambition to discover and support the UK’s most innovative impact focused businesses as well as driving more awareness of the climate emergency.
Elly Rowley, NatWest Ecosystem Manger South West, said: “Addressing climate change, which is one of the biggest issues of our time, sits at the heart of NatWest’s purpose and strategy. As one of the UK’s biggest banks for retail customers, and the largest lender to business, we have a clear role to play.
“Our climate ambitions are bold but that is because they need to be. As well as getting our own house in order, we are supporting our customers; lending responsibly; and building powerful partnerships to drive positive climate change.
“That is why we are delighted to be working collaboratively with the organisers of the Blue Earth Summit. The Pitch Tent is a fantastic way of recognising the disruptors and pioneers of today who are shaping a better world for tomorrow.”
As Europe's leading online investment platform, Seedrs is a perfect fit as partners for this year’s expanded Pitch Tent format. The platform has overseen more than 1,700 successful campaigns for fast-growth businesses and impact businesses raised on Seedrs, including wonky fruit rescue company Oddbox, sustainable tissue brand The Cheeky Panda, impact investing platform tickr and Urbantz, the last-mile sustainable delivery management platform.
Jeff Kelisky, Seedrs CEO said: “Startups with a mission to protect our planet for the greater good are seeing record-breaking investment figures. Last year, £2.3 billion was raised for these ventures, up £1.71 billion from 2020. The Blue Earth Summit gives the next generation of ESG-focussed ventures the opportunity to be seen by an impact investment community open and ready to support their growth. We are thrilled to be a partner for this important event.”
Keir Carnie, founder of Nuud Plastic Free Gum was one of the successful finalists last year and says “Last year we pitched Nuud plastic free gum at the Blue Earth Summit and we made some game changing connections that continue to support our growth. It was a great experience and I’d recommend it to any business looking for funding and advice. It’s excellent, whether you’re pitching or simply attending to mix with angels and investors. The UK has been crying out for an event like this!”