Cavendish Enterprise launched Cavendish Crowd, its crowdfunding platform, this week in Whitehall following its Celebration of Enterprise held at the House of Lords.
Cavendish Crowd is the first crowdfunding platform to be launched by a consortium of UK enterprise agencies.
In response to demand, for funding options as an alternative to bank loans which new businesses are finding more difficult to access, the Cavendish Crowd initiative aims to support small businesses who are starting up as well as small businesses looking to grow and expand.
Kevin Horne, Cavendish Enterprise Chairperson said of the platform, “In our continued efforts to provide innovative support to new and growing businesses, Cavendish Enterprise is pleased to offer a dedicated crowdfunding platform for our clients.”
The platform is launched in partnership with Crowdfunder UK. Crowdfunder’s vast experience and huge success in the crowdfunding arena is matched by Cavendish’s business support pedigree where each of the seven partners within Cavendish has over 30 years of experience of supporting and growing small businesses.
Nick Underhill from Crowdfunder UK explained, “Crowdfunder is excited to be working on this unique partnership with Cavendish Enterprise, which is enabling a group of national business support agencies to help their clients with current and accessible alternative means of funding. Cavendish, with our support, can provide their huge client database with not just generic business advice but also support to access crowdfunding through their own Cavendish platform.”
The event featured two clients who launched their projects earlier this week on the Cavendish Crowd platform.
Change Please is a social enterprise, training the homeless to be baristas and to manage coffee carts. Developing Experts provides online curriculum support tools for children to encourage and develop deep knowledge and skills through storytelling.
Both have had the benefit of advice from two of the enterprise agencies within Cavendish Enterprise. Enterprise for London worked with Change Please, whilst News, in the East of England, supported Developing Experts from Norwich.
Live pledges were made on the night for Change Please which will help them further their impressive VOOM campaign and for Developing Experts to start their Cavendish Crowd journey and support their business growth.
Cemal Ezel from Change Please said, “As a Start & Grow client Change Please has not only benefited from a hugely experienced Business Adviser but this has been linked to our crowdfunding campaign. It is amazing to have this level of specialist support all delivered by one agency”
Sarah Mintey from Developing Experts added, “Working with Cavendish Enterprise has been a great experience. As a Start & Grow client I have been able to access top-level business support. Being involved in the launch of the Cavendish Crowd crowdfunding platform is such an amazing opportunity for Developing Experts and our primary school’s science resource, as not only are we on the platform but we are being coached by the Cavendish Business Advisers on all aspects “