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- Invest in Creative Enterprise 2025
Welcome to the Investment Readiness 2025 Cohort showcase! This year’s group of trailblazing creative businesses, selected and nurtured through Creative Enterprise’s Investment Readiness programme, are set to take the stage at our upcoming pitch event.
Over the last five years, Creative Enterprise Investment Readiness programme has helped over 50 screen industry companies learn the ins and outs of investment, pitching and securing investment. Over 60% of companies that have participated in the programme have gone on to raise funding.
Each company represents the cutting edge of innovation across industries such as gaming, immersive technology, VR, AR, and TV & Film production. With strong growth potential and a clear vision for the future, these founders are ready to share their stories and ambitions with the investor community.
Explore the profiles of these exceptional creative enterprises and get a glimpse of the next generation of industry leaders who are redefining the UK’s creative landscape.
If you are en investor, make sure you join us for our Invest in Creative Enterprise on 27th November in London.
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Welcome to Investor Club, your essential guide to navigating and investing in the creative industries. Brought to you by Creative UK, this newsletter is designed to bridge the gap between investors and the dynamic world of creativity.
Every edition will provide insights into emerging trends, spotlight high-potential opportunities, and demystify the complexities of investing in sectors like film, gaming, digital media, fashion, and more. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just starting out, Investor Club is your gateway to understanding and accessing one of the UK’s most innovative and rapidly growing markets.
Stay ahead of the curve with us and be part of the future of creativity-driven investment.
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Investment Readiness Cohort 2025
During the Invest in Creative Enterprise event we’ll showcase a selection of some of the most exciting and high-potential screen businesses in England. These companies represent the forefront of innovation across gaming, immersive technology, VR, AR, software, and TV & Film production. Having completed Creative UK’s rigorous Investment Readiness programme, they are poised for significant growth and are eager to connect with investors who share their vision. Discover dynamic ventures that are shaping the future of the creative industries and explore new opportunities to support and invest in groundbreaking creative enterprises.
“More people are working on films that are more expensive than ever but they’re making less money,” explains Oliver Park, one-half of the disruptive movie-making start-up Altt Productions. Together with his co-founder Ashley Porciuncula, the pair are using tech to help filmmakers realise their creative visions in cost-effective ways. “There are so many new creative tools that should be making things easier – so obviously something’s going wrong.”
It was a pain-point that both Oliver and Ashley had experienced first-hand. The former is a filmmaker and writer with a track record of selling horror projects to big Hollywood studios. Meanwhile, the latter is a data-driven creative producer with years of hands-on experience bringing projects of all sizes to life. “We had this shared frustration that so much creative talent is being overlooked,” adds Ashley. “We thought, ‘What if we took our skills and gave people the opportunities that they’re not getting in the current studio system?’ What would that look like?”
The answer was Altt Productions. It’s the duo’s horror-film incubator that uses digital tools to streamline production, de-risk projects, maximise return on investment and most importantly, make a good end product. At its core is a focus on using technology to assist with preparation, something that’s perhaps been overlooked in an ease-of-access age that often leads to a ‘shoot-from-the-hip’ style.
Continue Reading Here
“We’re building an online service that provides animations that inspire children to play along with toys, and through that play, learn something new,” explains David Smee, founder and CEO of Animazing Toys. “The company is built on the use of state-of-the-art AI voice and motion capture technology to slash the costs of animation production, and we wanted to first use this innovation to playfully teach children about animal conservation.”
By partnering with animal orphanages, Animazing Toys’ stories authentically teach children about an animal’s wellbeing and care, all while being entertained. “We use animal toys as the physical element of play. Our animations link them to real animals and allow children to play through their rescue, rehabilitation and release into the wild,” he explains. “While they play, they are learning a great deal about the animal behind the toy and covering a number of useful areas, including local languages.”
Founded in 2021, Animazing Toys is launching this planet positive service for young conservationists this year. Previously, Innovate UK funding allowed Smee and his team to create the first seven episodes of the brand’s animated animal stories piloted with children through a mobile app. These episodes have grown and iterated into their first online service. Focusing initially on the rescue of a baby African bush elephant, viewers can watch along with their matching animal toy over several weeks. Once the animal is fully rehabilitated, they’re even encouraged to sustainably recycle their toy, ready for their next adventure.
“Teachers love it, young people love it and educators love it,” says Rebecca Franks of Flock XR, the new 3D creation tool created by Flip Computing Ltd. “We’re at the point now where we’ve got this amazing open source tool that’s completely free to use – and always will be. We’ve quickly realised that this absolutely needs to be out there in the world. It has to happen.”
Together with company co-founders Liz Jackson-Smart and Tracy Gardner, Flip Computing has spent the past few years delivering technical education consultancy work. After sharing their expertise on a variety of learning topics with an inclusive focus, it didn’t take long for the trio to build their own tool to sit in this space. The end result was Flock XR, an open-source 3D creation platform aimed at kids aged 9-14. Colourful, interactive and easy to use, it introduces youngsters to new creative skills and in doing so, prepares them for future creative careers.
Despite being a free-to-use tool, the company plans to monetize the service through structured learning courses that can be purchased by schools and used in classrooms. It’s a method that has already been put into practice. “At the moment, the business model is selling units of work which I’ve taken out into schools, taught and tested” explains Rebecca. “It’s a really robust product that educators can buy and one way that we can monetize the content we’ve made ourselves. We’re looking to do less consultancy and more Flock XR work so we were very much in need of an investment readiness programme that could help us navigate that.”
“More people are working on films that are more expensive than ever but they’re making less money,” explains Oliver Park, one-half of the disruptive movie-making start-up Altt Productions. Together with his co-founder Ashley Porciuncula, the pair are using tech to help filmmakers realise their creative visions in cost-effective ways. “There are so many new creative tools that should be making things easier – so obviously something’s going wrong.”
It was a pain-point that both Oliver and Ashley had experienced first-hand. The former is a filmmaker and writer with a track record of selling horror projects to big Hollywood studios. Meanwhile, the latter is a data-driven creative producer with years of hands-on experience bringing projects of all sizes to life. “We had this shared frustration that so much creative talent is being overlooked,” adds Ashley. “We thought, ‘What if we took our skills and gave people the opportunities that they’re not getting in the current studio system?’ What would that look like?”
The answer was Altt Productions. It’s the duo’s horror-film incubator that uses digital tools to streamline production, de-risk projects, maximise return on investment and most importantly, make a good end product. At its core is a focus on using technology to assist with preparation, something that’s perhaps been overlooked in an ease-of-access age that often leads to a ‘shoot-from-the-hip’ style.
Continue Reading Here
“We’re building an online service that provides animations that inspire children to play along with toys, and through that play, learn something new,” explains David Smee, founder and CEO of Animazing Toys. “The company is built on the use of state-of-the-art AI voice and motion capture technology to slash the costs of animation production, and we wanted to first use this innovation to playfully teach children about animal conservation.”
By partnering with animal orphanages, Animazing Toys’ stories authentically teach children about an animal’s wellbeing and care, all while being entertained. “We use animal toys as the physical element of play. Our animations link them to real animals and allow children to play through their rescue, rehabilitation and release into the wild,” he explains. “While they play, they are learning a great deal about the animal behind the toy and covering a number of useful areas, including local languages.”
Founded in 2021, Animazing Toys is launching this planet positive service for young conservationists this year. Previously, Innovate UK funding allowed Smee and his team to create the first seven episodes of the brand’s animated animal stories piloted with children through a mobile app. These episodes have grown and iterated into their first online service. Focusing initially on the rescue of a baby African bush elephant, viewers can watch along with their matching animal toy over several weeks. Once the animal is fully rehabilitated, they’re even encouraged to sustainably recycle their toy, ready for their next adventure.
“Teachers love it, young people love it and educators love it,” says Rebecca Franks of Flock XR, the new 3D creation tool created by Flip Computing Ltd. “We’re at the point now where we’ve got this amazing open source tool that’s completely free to use – and always will be. We’ve quickly realised that this absolutely needs to be out there in the world. It has to happen.”
Together with company co-founders Liz Jackson-Smart and Tracy Gardner, Flip Computing has spent the past few years delivering technical education consultancy work. After sharing their expertise on a variety of learning topics with an inclusive focus, it didn’t take long for the trio to build their own tool to sit in this space. The end result was Flock XR, an open-source 3D creation platform aimed at kids aged 9-14. Colourful, interactive and easy to use, it introduces youngsters to new creative skills and in doing so, prepares them for future creative careers.
Despite being a free-to-use tool, the company plans to monetize the service through structured learning courses that can be purchased by schools and used in classrooms. It’s a method that has already been put into practice. “At the moment, the business model is selling units of work which I’ve taken out into schools, taught and tested” explains Rebecca. “It’s a really robust product that educators can buy and one way that we can monetize the content we’ve made ourselves. We’re looking to do less consultancy and more Flock XR work so we were very much in need of an investment readiness programme that could help us navigate that.”
“If I’m honest, I was probably slightly naive when I started this journey,” admits Sophie Morgan, the creative founder behind Go Girl Games. “I was naive about how much blood, sweat and tears it takes to get your company to the stage where it can credibly raise investment and also about what investors expect in return. But as well as helping me realise the sweat’s been worth it, it’s allowed me to inhabit this world with a more realistic sense of what’s required,” she adds, “and to shape my business accordingly.”
The journey Sophie’s referring to is her time on Creative Enterprise: Investment Readiness. It’s designed to help screen-based start-ups learn the skills needed to tackle the world of investment but it’s not the first time she’s called upon Creative UK’s help. After hearing a gaming expert talk at a Female Founders alumni event, Sophie was convinced her idea of bringing her cross-genre TV experience to the games sector was a hunch worth pursuing – and a chat with a games industry expert spurred her on even further.
“I’d done my research and knew that the mobile gaming audience segment for females over 45 was enormous. It’s a growing market – both in terms of global mobile takeup and in terms of older women taking up gaming,” she explains. Having spent years both as a commissioning editor and as an award-winning TV and multi-platform content creator, Sophie had spotted a new market that was ripe for reinvention. “Females in this demographic are gaming already but the games available to them tend to fall into the hypercasual ‘cozy’ category,” she says, referencing the puzzles and sims that tend to dominate this sector. “It felt like there was a real gap in the market.”
“Some technology has made things a bit generic,” suggests Iain Funnell, music industry pro and co-founder of live-sector start-up Immersiv.es. “We used to have beautifully artworked concert tickets that we’d keep as mementos but what we’ve ended up with is a QR code. It’s functional but also pretty boring. Weirdly, we can actually use technology to enhance the most emotional element of this whole process, connection. That’s what I’m really interested in,” he says, “creating emotional connections between audiences and talent.”
Together with co-founders Ornagh Lynch and Ben Dawson, Iain set out to deliver on this goal by creating a company that specialises in making areas of the live-event journey more connected and meaningful. “When we buy a ticket, what happens? We spend lots of money, get a QR code and then nothing happens for months until you enter the arena,” he adds, unpacking the thought process behind the Immersive Ticket. “We buy tickets further up-front than ever before and they’re costing more than they’ve ever done. I thought, ‘Why don’t we create a journey that builds excitement, anticipation and storytelling from the moment you buy a ticket?’”
Here’s how it works. Say you’re Olivia Rodrigo’s biggest fan and snap up a ticket for her new tour. Those opting for the Immersiv.es ticket tier would receive a host of exclusive interactive content and AI-powered personalized moments that build anticipation. From the moment of ticket purchase, it connects with venue technology and leaves fans with a memory wallet of content they can keep and share on their own platforms post show.
Continue Reading Here
“There’s plenty of production companies making great shows and YouTubers building loyal audiences but very few organisations sitting at the intersection of these two worlds,” suggests producer and self-professed TV Whisperer Ed Sayer. Having worked in the entertainment sector for over thirty years, he’s seen lots of changes – enough to inspire him to create a new company that’s better suited to a new media landscape. Enter Legend Entertainment, his freshly-launched venture that’s leading by example when it comes to innovative content creation models.
“Legend fills this gap by creating vertically branded ecosystems,” he continues, unpacking the ins-and-outs of his company. “We don’t just make one programme. We build entire brands across TV, podcasts, YouTube, publishing, live events and retail. It’s a very different approach to the traditional project-by-project model that most linear companies follow.”
It’s also a proven concept – one that’s been used to great effect by Amazing War Stories, Ed’s brand that brings real historical tales to life originally via the hit history podcast of the same name. “That was my first step in proving a new studio model could be born out of a single intellectual property with multiple potential revenue streams,” he tells us. “With that one brand, I built a digital first IP that spanned podcasts, YouTube, broadcast, publishing and live events – but it all started with just a podcast. Its success showed me that audiences wanted this type of storytelling – and more importantly, that the model was scalable.”
Continue Reading Here
“If I’m honest, I was probably slightly naive when I started this journey,” admits Sophie Morgan, the creative founder behind Go Girl Games. “I was naive about how much blood, sweat and tears it takes to get your company to the stage where it can credibly raise investment and also about what investors expect in return. But as well as helping me realise the sweat’s been worth it, it’s allowed me to inhabit this world with a more realistic sense of what’s required,” she adds, “and to shape my business accordingly.”
The journey Sophie’s referring to is her time on Creative Enterprise: Investment Readiness. It’s designed to help screen-based start-ups learn the skills needed to tackle the world of investment but it’s not the first time she’s called upon Creative UK’s help. After hearing a gaming expert talk at a Female Founders alumni event, Sophie was convinced her idea of bringing her cross-genre TV experience to the games sector was a hunch worth pursuing – and a chat with a games industry expert spurred her on even further.
“I’d done my research and knew that the mobile gaming audience segment for females over 45 was enormous. It’s a growing market – both in terms of global mobile takeup and in terms of older women taking up gaming,” she explains. Having spent years both as a commissioning editor and as an award-winning TV and multi-platform content creator, Sophie had spotted a new market that was ripe for reinvention. “Females in this demographic are gaming already but the games available to them tend to fall into the hypercasual ‘cozy’ category,” she says, referencing the puzzles and sims that tend to dominate this sector. “It felt like there was a real gap in the market.”
“Some technology has made things a bit generic,” suggests Iain Funnell, music industry pro and co-founder of live-sector start-up Immersiv.es. “We used to have beautifully artworked concert tickets that we’d keep as mementos but what we’ve ended up with is a QR code. It’s functional but also pretty boring. Weirdly, we can actually use technology to enhance the most emotional element of this whole process, connection. That’s what I’m really interested in,” he says, “creating emotional connections between audiences and talent.”
Together with co-founders Ornagh Lynch and Ben Dawson, Iain set out to deliver on this goal by creating a company that specialises in making areas of the live-event journey more connected and meaningful. “When we buy a ticket, what happens? We spend lots of money, get a QR code and then nothing happens for months until you enter the arena,” he adds, unpacking the thought process behind the Immersive Ticket. “We buy tickets further up-front than ever before and they’re costing more than they’ve ever done. I thought, ‘Why don’t we create a journey that builds excitement, anticipation and storytelling from the moment you buy a ticket?’”
Here’s how it works. Say you’re Olivia Rodrigo’s biggest fan and snap up a ticket for her new tour. Those opting for the Immersiv.es ticket tier would receive a host of exclusive interactive content and AI-powered personalized moments that build anticipation. From the moment of ticket purchase, it connects with venue technology and leaves fans with a memory wallet of content they can keep and share on their own platforms post show.
Continue Reading Here
“There’s plenty of production companies making great shows and YouTubers building loyal audiences but very few organisations sitting at the intersection of these two worlds,” suggests producer and self-professed TV Whisperer Ed Sayer. Having worked in the entertainment sector for over thirty years, he’s seen lots of changes – enough to inspire him to create a new company that’s better suited to a new media landscape. Enter Legend Entertainment, his freshly-launched venture that’s leading by example when it comes to innovative content creation models.
“Legend fills this gap by creating vertically branded ecosystems,” he continues, unpacking the ins-and-outs of his company. “We don’t just make one programme. We build entire brands across TV, podcasts, YouTube, publishing, live events and retail. It’s a very different approach to the traditional project-by-project model that most linear companies follow.”
It’s also a proven concept – one that’s been used to great effect by Amazing War Stories, Ed’s brand that brings real historical tales to life originally via the hit history podcast of the same name. “That was my first step in proving a new studio model could be born out of a single intellectual property with multiple potential revenue streams,” he tells us. “With that one brand, I built a digital first IP that spanned podcasts, YouTube, broadcast, publishing and live events – but it all started with just a podcast. Its success showed me that audiences wanted this type of storytelling – and more importantly, that the model was scalable.”
Continue Reading Here
“There are so many immersive digital projects and experiences that aren’t being made simply because the tools producers need aren’t there,” reasons John Rose-Adams of the issues impacting the immersive digital studio sector. “Despite having strong creative ideas, there isn’t always an easy way of expressing what you want to express so having an out-of-the-box solution creatives can subscribe to, pick up and use is amazingly useful,” he adds. “That tool would solve so many of their problems.”
It’s a topic he knows a lot about. As a long-time creative producer driving innovation in immersive technologies and as part of digital storytelling house Megaverse, John has helped bring film and theatre creators’ imaginations to life by blending live performance with state-of-the-art game engine tech. Now, with co-founder John Ingle and their new venture – a software-as-a-service product called MegaStage – their team aims to take things even further by putting that power directly in the hands of creators.
“The technologies in this space are brilliant on their own but they’re designed for specific purposes, whether it’s motion capture, game engines or broadcast technologies,” he tells us, detailing the various ways in which creators can use these digital tools. “Up until now, there was no way of creating full productions quickly and cheaply. Every project required people essentially making things from scratch and we thought that was very wasteful.”
“We know we need to get our product to market and do it in an efficient way,” says Victoria Holden, co-creator of one-stop media platform MotionHub. Designed with indie production companies in mind, this new product uses AI tech to help connect media companies with key tools and new revenue paths. “We just feel that now is the right time to look for investment,” she adds. “We have a product that’s ready to go and if we don’t act now, someone else might get there first.”
When it comes to bringing new products to market, speed is everything. Victoria and her MotionHub co-founder Bruce Buxton know this well. As an award-winning director and producer, Victoria spent years developing social-first stories, working with a range of production companies. After setting up her own indie TV production house a few years back, she quickly spotted a gap in the market – one she and IT expert Bruce plan to fill with MotionHub.
“I realised we were subscribing to loads of different subscriptions for things like transcribing and storage and there was really nothing out there for TV production companies where you could store everything all in one place,” she tells us, detailing the problem facing the sector. After receiving an Innovate UK grant, the pair began work on creating a solution. As Victoria explains, “Using AI, we knew we could create something that was specifically designed for indies.”
“SMASH is like a dating app for creative projects,” explains Fiona Gillies of the film and TV company she co-founded with creative partner Christine Hartland and product expert Mahesh Ramachandra. “A creator might have a project that fits another person’s brief so we make it easy for them to find each other. The platform helps new voices telling different stories to get their projects taken seriously by the industry while providing an industry that’s under pressure to find fresh projects that connect with new audiences with an effective, streamlined way to reach beyond their traditional commissioning circles,” she adds. “We’re an IP matchmaking platform.”
Having met on a Creative UK scheme a few years ago, film producers Fiona and Christine both had first-hand experience with the struggles of getting the right projects seen by the right people. Naturally, they swiftly decided to do something about it and the end result was My SMASH Media, an innovative AI tool that solves this industry snag while retaining a human-edge.
“It’s an industry built on relationships so at the heart of SMASH, we have our SMASHCupid team,” continues Fiona, discussing her crack group of industry professional inbetweens. “They’re award winning writers, a BAFTA-nominated producer… Together, they have a really strong take on what makes a good project, they find the projects that fit a brief and then do the matchmaking.”
“There are so many immersive digital projects and experiences that aren’t being made simply because the tools producers need aren’t there,” reasons John Rose-Adams of the issues impacting the immersive digital studio sector. “Despite having strong creative ideas, there isn’t always an easy way of expressing what you want to express so having an out-of-the-box solution creatives can subscribe to, pick up and use is amazingly useful,” he adds. “That tool would solve so many of their problems.”
It’s a topic he knows a lot about. As a long-time creative producer driving innovation in immersive technologies and as part of digital storytelling house Megaverse, John has helped bring film and theatre creators’ imaginations to life by blending live performance with state-of-the-art game engine tech. Now, with co-founder John Ingle and their new venture – a software-as-a-service product called MegaStage – their team aims to take things even further by putting that power directly in the hands of creators.
“The technologies in this space are brilliant on their own but they’re designed for specific purposes, whether it’s motion capture, game engines or broadcast technologies,” he tells us, detailing the various ways in which creators can use these digital tools. “Up until now, there was no way of creating full productions quickly and cheaply. Every project required people essentially making things from scratch and we thought that was very wasteful.”
“We know we need to get our product to market and do it in an efficient way,” says Victoria Holden, co-creator of one-stop media platform MotionHub. Designed with indie production companies in mind, this new product uses AI tech to help connect media companies with key tools and new revenue paths. “We just feel that now is the right time to look for investment,” she adds. “We have a product that’s ready to go and if we don’t act now, someone else might get there first.”
When it comes to bringing new products to market, speed is everything. Victoria and her MotionHub co-founder Bruce Buxton know this well. As an award-winning director and producer, Victoria spent years developing social-first stories, working with a range of production companies. After setting up her own indie TV production house a few years back, she quickly spotted a gap in the market – one she and IT expert Bruce plan to fill with MotionHub.
“I realised we were subscribing to loads of different subscriptions for things like transcribing and storage and there was really nothing out there for TV production companies where you could store everything all in one place,” she tells us, detailing the problem facing the sector. After receiving an Innovate UK grant, the pair began work on creating a solution. As Victoria explains, “Using AI, we knew we could create something that was specifically designed for indies.”
“SMASH is like a dating app for creative projects,” explains Fiona Gillies of the film and TV company she co-founded with creative partner Christine Hartland and product expert Mahesh Ramachandra. “A creator might have a project that fits another person’s brief so we make it easy for them to find each other. The platform helps new voices telling different stories to get their projects taken seriously by the industry while providing an industry that’s under pressure to find fresh projects that connect with new audiences with an effective, streamlined way to reach beyond their traditional commissioning circles,” she adds. “We’re an IP matchmaking platform.”
Having met on a Creative UK scheme a few years ago, film producers Fiona and Christine both had first-hand experience with the struggles of getting the right projects seen by the right people. Naturally, they swiftly decided to do something about it and the end result was My SMASH Media, an innovative AI tool that solves this industry snag while retaining a human-edge.
“It’s an industry built on relationships so at the heart of SMASH, we have our SMASHCupid team,” continues Fiona, discussing her crack group of industry professional inbetweens. “They’re award winning writers, a BAFTA-nominated producer… Together, they have a really strong take on what makes a good project, they find the projects that fit a brief and then do the matchmaking.”
On paper, a small regional Dorset studio might not have seemed the most likely candidate to build a globally successful children’s brand, but that’s exactly what LoveLove Films achieved with Pop Paper City, a joyful, craft-led preschool series now airing in over 179 territories, translated into dozens of languages, and broadcast on major platforms including Channel 5 Milkshake!, CBeebies, ABC, and HBO Max.
What began as a homegrown idea has grown into a globally recognised IP and now, Pop Paper City is entering its next chapter.
With a feature film, Roblox game, publishing line, live events, and AI production integration all underway, the team are now actively raising investment and seeking the right strategic partners to scale.
“From day one, we had a big vision,” says creator and producer Georgina Hurcombe. “We didn’t just want to make a show, we wanted to build a universe. A brand that children could not only watch but do and experience across every platform. That’s what Pop Paper City is. And now, we’re ready to grow.”
Participation has always been at the heart of the brand. Whether it’s through on-screen crafting, off-screen activities, or in-game building, Pop Paper City encourages kids to get creative,with their hands, their minds, and their imaginations. It’s a 360-degree entertainment universe where the joy of making is core.
Through the Creative UK Investment Readiness Programme, the Pop Paper City team refined their business model and restructured for scalable growth balancing creative ambition with commercial clarity.
“The problem we’re solving is ‘What am I going to watch tonight?” says Rahul Patil, unpacking the very simple yet universal challenge behind his new TV-focused start-up. “We waste lots of time thinking and endless scrolling — and if you are wondering how much, it can be up to 51 minutes,” he continues. “You want to watch one thing, your wife wants something else, and the kids want something entirely different, so you end up saying, ‘Put whatever on, my food is getting cold.’ That’s the story of millions of people – and me as well.”
He’s not wrong. Despite having more choice than ever before, viewers are often at a loss when it comes to finding the perfect content to suit their specific tastes. As Rahul rightly points out, this shouldn’t really be such a struggle – and yet, it’s one we can all relate to. “I started thinking, ‘Why can’t my recommendations serve me what I want?’ They have my watch history, so they should be able to. My initial thought was that someone else needed to fix this problem but that hasn’t happened. So I thought, ‘Well, if no one’s fixing it, I’m going to fix it.’ That’s how we started out.”
The end result is Tellygence, a TV app that does the tricky thinking for you, delivering the content you want to see, minus all the time-wasting indecision. It operates in one of the fastest-growing TV markets, Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television – or FAST, for short. “We stream live TV for free and monetise through programmatic advertising,” says Rahul, explaining the sector. “Think of it as the new cable TV, but there’s no cable, no set-top box and no subscription to pay.”
On paper, a small regional Dorset studio might not have seemed the most likely candidate to build a globally successful children’s brand, but that’s exactly what LoveLove Films achieved with Pop Paper City, a joyful, craft-led preschool series now airing in over 179 territories, translated into dozens of languages, and broadcast on major platforms including Channel 5 Milkshake!, CBeebies, ABC, and HBO Max.
What began as a homegrown idea has grown into a globally recognised IP and now, Pop Paper City is entering its next chapter.
With a feature film, Roblox game, publishing line, live events, and AI production integration all underway, the team are now actively raising investment and seeking the right strategic partners to scale.
“From day one, we had a big vision,” says creator and producer Georgina Hurcombe. “We didn’t just want to make a show, we wanted to build a universe. A brand that children could not only watch but do and experience across every platform. That’s what Pop Paper City is. And now, we’re ready to grow.”
Participation has always been at the heart of the brand. Whether it’s through on-screen crafting, off-screen activities, or in-game building, Pop Paper City encourages kids to get creative,with their hands, their minds, and their imaginations. It’s a 360-degree entertainment universe where the joy of making is core.
Through the Creative UK Investment Readiness Programme, the Pop Paper City team refined their business model and restructured for scalable growth balancing creative ambition with commercial clarity.
“The problem we’re solving is ‘What am I going to watch tonight?” says Rahul Patil, unpacking the very simple yet universal challenge behind his new TV-focused start-up. “We waste lots of time thinking and endless scrolling — and if you are wondering how much, it can be up to 51 minutes,” he continues. “You want to watch one thing, your wife wants something else, and the kids want something entirely different, so you end up saying, ‘Put whatever on, my food is getting cold.’ That’s the story of millions of people – and me as well.”
He’s not wrong. Despite having more choice than ever before, viewers are often at a loss when it comes to finding the perfect content to suit their specific tastes. As Rahul rightly points out, this shouldn’t really be such a struggle – and yet, it’s one we can all relate to. “I started thinking, ‘Why can’t my recommendations serve me what I want?’ They have my watch history, so they should be able to. My initial thought was that someone else needed to fix this problem but that hasn’t happened. So I thought, ‘Well, if no one’s fixing it, I’m going to fix it.’ That’s how we started out.”
The end result is Tellygence, a TV app that does the tricky thinking for you, delivering the content you want to see, minus all the time-wasting indecision. It operates in one of the fastest-growing TV markets, Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television – or FAST, for short. “We stream live TV for free and monetise through programmatic advertising,” says Rahul, explaining the sector. “Think of it as the new cable TV, but there’s no cable, no set-top box and no subscription to pay.”
