Standing out from the crowd(funders) in Tech City

We've heard some good news! On The Line, the global web show from Virgin Media Pioneers has returned for a second series and is now available online.

This series looks at London’s Tech City and stars the founders of a young fintech startup, Volpit, who are looking to simplify startup investment.

Using ground-breaking technology designed by another British startup, Storygami, viewers can interact with the show to find out more as they watch.

Both Volpit and Storygami are members of Virgin Media Pioneers, an online community of over 8,000 entrepreneurs that enables peer-to-peer collaboration and mentoring to help support British business. Any entrepreneur can join the Pioneers community, where they gain access to exclusive events, enter once-in-a-lifetime competitions and network with truly enterprising people.

Launched in July 2014, Volpit aims to make small equity investment fundraising simple and intuitive for both entrepreneurs and investors. The company has already raised £200,000 pounds for startups and has over 2,000 registered investors.

On The Line: Tech City follows Volpit’s journey to a successful launch and explores the opportunities and challenges its founders tackled along the way. The series also features commentary from investors in Tech City, who offer insight into how London’s technology startup space has matured and where it is heading.

Volpit co-founders and Virgin Media Pioneers members Patrick O’Flaherty and Simon Oberman are entrepreneurs on a mission to change the way startups and investors connect.

Patrick O’Flaherty said: “We’ve come a long way since we first came up with the concept behind Volpit and the support we’ve received from the Virgin Media Pioneers community has been incredible. In filming On The Line: Tech City we hope to give something back by sharing our experiences and learnings with other aspiring entrepreneurs.”

Peter Kelly, Managing Director at Virgin Media Business added: “This series of On The Line shares some great insight into the workings of London’s vibrant Tech City, and it seemed only natural for us to tell Volpit's story using the power of digital. It’s truly exciting to see the collaboration between some of the UK’s best small businesses to create content that’s so unique and compelling.”

Each episode of On The Line: Tech City offers articles, image galleries and other extra content within the video player as part of the interactive experience.

Tieing in well with Virgin Media Pioneers, Virgin Media Business has recently launched a range of new communications packages specifically designed for startups and small businesses. These are accompanied by targeted digital support from The Big Digital Skills Hub, a free online resource packed with information about everything from setting up an online presence, to social media, to digital marketing.