“We feel like we have a partner for life” How West Yorkshire Create Growth catalysed Sticks & Glass’s investment journey
// create growth programme // West Yorkshire
Like any success story, the upwards trajectory of Leeds-based post-production specialists Sticks & Glass is the result of hard work, perseverance and being open to saying yes.
In fact, co-founder Adam Bennett believes this last element is a key contributor to the wins his company has enjoyed so far. “We say yes to everything,” he smiles, discussing the core ethos underpinning the business. “We take big swings and we’re not risk adverse. We keep leaning towards how we can evolve the business.”
This dedication to change has helped Sticks & Glass grow at a rapid rate. It was founded in 2018 by director, producer and post-production specialist Adam and his camera operator and professional post-production pal Verdy Oliver. Their goal? To pour their expertise into a versatile, state-of-the-art space. After receiving Creative Growth Finance support, the pair did exactly that, opening “a world-class post-production finishing house” in Leeds’ city centre. Big name clients followed. So far, they’ve worked with the likes of BBC Music, CBS and NBC Sports. However, the pair were keen to push things even further.
This goal (and an eagerness to welcome a little introspective learning) led them to our West Yorkshire Create Growth Programme. It’s a mentor-led programme designed to help creative businesses in the region scale-up, solidify their offering and prepare for future success in the investment space – and it didn’t take Sticks & Glass long to succeed here too.
“The event was specifically designed for us to pitch to investors”
“We were really lucky to be invited to a number of pitch events,” says Adam, recalling his time as part of the programme’s latest cohort. “At the very first one, some people came up to us afterwards, introduced themselves and now they own 10% of our business. The event was specifically designed for us to pitch to investors, so you couldn’t really get a cleaner or better case study for how these things work well, when they work well.”
While securing investment at their first Creative UK-hosted pitch event is undoubtedly big news, it wasn’t top of their to-do list when Sticks & Glass first crossed paths with our support schemes. “We were part of an investment readiness cohort in 2014 and at that point, we weren’t really thinking about our next stage of fundraising,” admits Adam, detailing a journey with Creative UK that started with Creative Growth Finance. “We signed up [to the West Yorkshire Create Growth Programme] probably not really knowing what to expect but one of its key messages was, ‘If you want money in 18 months time, you really need to start thinking about it now.’ We’ve always been future focused so we started taking it more seriously.”
The West Yorkshire Create Growth Programme gave Adam and Verdy the opportunity to dive deeper into this world with a dedicated industry mentor as their guide. “There were a couple of clear messages around working on the narrative of your pitch and making a really concise picture of what the business is,” remembers Adam. “At that point, we weren’t really clear about those things.” By working with their mentor and the wider cohort of creative businesses, solutions to these narrative issues began to appear. “It crystalised who we were and allowed us to step out of the operations of the business and think about who we would be to an external investment audience.”
“We feel very confident about who we are and the steps we’re taking”
Armed with this refined knowledge, the duo could ensure Sticks & Glass was the best version of itself that it could possibly be whenever it encountered potential investors. “Without Creative UK or similar partners, it’s almost impossible [to get the attention of key potential investors]. When we started looking for funds in 2019, we were basically pitching to a group of rectangles on Zoom without any feedback. It felt very futile,” admits Adam. “That’s in stark contrast to what we did with Creative UK. They brought us alongside a curated group of local investors who were looking to invest the sort of money we were looking to raise. Having a partner like Creative UK to mediate and cultivate those relationships – and to be allies and advocates for the business with those investors – was massive for us.”
Cut to late 2025 and not only has Sticks & Glass secured the investment it needs to grow but it also has a stronger foundation underpinning its future goals. “Before this, we were growing but we didn’t really have a strategy around what that growth looked like. This programme really changed our viewpoint on where we might want the business to be in three, five or seven years,” says Adam. “Our mindset is so much more strategic whereas before we were just taking each day as it comes.” It’s also helped the duo feel validated in this new investment arena. “We feel more at home in rooms of people that we might have previously been in awe of. We feel very confident about who we are and the steps we’re taking in the business.”
Overall, it’s something they’d recommend to other businesses who may be keen to grow but unsure of how to start that journey. “You can spend a lot of time doing mentorship programmes and it can be quite exhausting – but not all programmes are created equally,” explains Adam. “With Creative UK’s West Yorkshire team, it feels like we have a partner for life – and one that’ll continue to advocate for us not just for the duration of the course but the duration of the business.”
The Create Growth Programme is funded by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and is delivered in partnership with West Yorkshire Combined Authority. To hear about opportunities for creative businesses in West Yorkshire, sign up to our mailing list.
