Media Capital - How to raise and invest media capital effectively Diana Florescu

There’s a reason strongly-spirited frozen cocktails didn’t exist. Xīn and Voltaire was born to challenge the capabilities of alcohol and ice and push the boundaries of how cocktails can be savoured. We spoke to Grace, CEO & Founder about the story behind the brand and how they worked to allow the icy cold temperatures of sorbet to be maintained when adding the heat of an alcoholic cocktail mix. We had the pleasure of working with Grace as part of the MFG Fundraising Programme in 2023 and advising them on their first media capital fundraise. From Selfridges and Soho House to Mandarin Oriental in London, you can find Xin and Voltaire sorbet cocktails featured on London’s finest menus. And very soon you will be able to spot them on TV following their partnership with Channel 4 in the UK.

In this episode, I caught up with André, CEO and Co-Founder of Tryp. A super travel platform that makes multi-destination bookings easy. André is one of the eight founders who participated in the MFG Fundraising Programme in 2023 - a free programme for early-stage founders to raise capital solutions to fund marketing costs. We talked about how their media and fundraising strategy evolved since they left the programme, how Tryp is planning to capture market share from established players using clever advertising, and what’s next for them.

It’s the start of a new year. This means drawing a line and analysing what happened in the media capital sector in 2023, and what founders and investors should expect in 2024.

Join us for this live debrief with Niko Marcel Waesche, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at GMPVC German Media Pool and Ian Whittaker, CEO at Liberty Sky Advisors, moderated by Diana Florescu, CEO & Founder at mediaforgrowth (MFG).

What We Will Cover:
📍Evolution of media capital deals in the last five years
📍How growth-stage founders can take advantage of capital solutions such as media capital to fund marketing costs
📍Key sectors and channels in media capital transactions
📍Differences in media capital activity across markets and leading investors in the space
📍Insights on current trends and future directions in Media Capital

Join us if you are:
📍A growth-stage startup founder seeking marketing funding solutions,
📍A VC or LP interested in the venture ecosystem's media space dynamics,
📍Or a media company and publisher exploring new venture models to diversify revenue, attract new advertisers, and optimise ad inventory.

As media companies strive to succeed in the digital realm, they are progressively turning to the promising domain of start-ups and ventures. However, given the substantial resources required and considering that success hinges on both entrepreneurial spirit and solid backing, how can established businesses identify, invest in, and nurture the digital giants of the future? Featuring senior media leaders who have implemented various forms of corporate venturing to diversify revenue and increase market share, this panel discussion looks to identify the key challenges and trends impacting the media industry, explore the panelists’ learnings and solutions, and ultimately discuss the viability of a new venture model - media capital - as a solution to meet these challenges.


How can established businesses identify, invest in, and nurture the digital giants of the future? 
Key challenges and trends impacting the media industry
Panelists’ learnings and solutions
The viability of a new venture model - media capital - as a solution to meet these challenges

Any founder will tell you that raising funds right now is tough. For consumer startups, it's even tougher. Do you cut down on marketing to save money? Or take another loan? And what's coming up next year?

Join us as we explore PitPat’s story 🐾. They amplified brand awareness and tripled their revenue by getting media capital from UKTV and ITV multiple times. Andrew Nowell, the CEO, and Co-Founder, will share some of the learnings from their first TV campaign with UKTV, working out media deals, and how he convinced their current investors to say yes to these deals.

In this episode, we sat down with Callum Taylor, Head of ITV AdVentures Ignite, ITV’s startup incubator supporting young brands to start their journey into TV. We talked about:


The changes impacting the media industry and how digital startups can turn challenges into opportunities.
Debunking the myths of offline media and why founders should diversify their marketing mix to amplify reach.
Key things startups need to get right for their first TV campaign.
The power of creatives and how to design TV ads that drive profitability.

Callum guided us through some fantastic graphics and insights, so we strongly encourage you to watch the video version of this episode available on our YouTube channel.