A GLASGOW-based light company, whose product has been used on the production of hit TV series Outlander, has launched a new fund-raising campaign on Crowdcube.
Blind Spot gear, founded by film-maker Billy Campbell and mechanical engineers Alan Easdale and Jamie Campbell in 2013, has so far raised more than 50 per cent of its £80,000 target on the crowdfunding platform.
It aims to exceed its target by taking the total to £120,000 by the time the offer closes in nine days, and has earmarked the cash for investment in research and development into “products two and three” and to take on three more staff.
The roles, in sales and marketing, graphic design, and electrical engineering, will add to the firm’s current team of three plus two interns.
The campaign is Blind Spot Gear’s second round of crowd funding, with the company already having raised about £50,000 – representing 215 per cent of its initial target – on Kickstarter.
However, while those invested in Kickstarter were invited to buy products, investors coming in via Crowdcube are gaining equity stakes in the business.
A total of nine per cent of the equity is being made available through the offer, under A shares are priced at £5000 and B shares offered for investments below that amount.
Investors in the latest campaign also qualify for tax breaks under the government’s Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.
Mr Campbell, whose firm has been advised by Business Gateway, said: “The Scottish market is really keyed up, unfortunately for us, much more so to the apps and service-based industries. Unfortunately, manufacturing of products is a bit of a rarity here at the moment.
“It has its benefits, though, as we stand out from people creating apps and different kinds of services, so it’s good in that respect. Investors are sometimes looking for a different thing, so it has its ups and downs.
“There are definitely people with an appetite for it – I have got tonnes of investors in the pipeline. I’m just trying to close them down, which is always good fun!”
The latest crowd funding campaign comes as the company continues to headway in the US, where 60 per cent of sales of its signature Scorpion Light are now generated.
Blind Sport Gear launched its first campaign with a US-based distributor last week, having previously focused on selling directly into the market.
The light, which has been embraced for being more flexible, portable and affordable than other products on the market, has been used by award-winning cinematographer Seamus McGarvey.
He was director of photography on Hollywood blockbusters Godzilla and Avengers Assemble, as well as Atonement and the upcoming Pan.
However, while it has been used in the production of major films, Blind Spot Gear said the biggest application for the Scorpion Light is the internet, with the product in demand from film-making enthusiasts, short film makers and video content providers.
Mr Campbell, a previous BAFTA winner in the short-film category, said: “It’s a new sector that has really developed over the past five years. Broadband cameras used to cost around £30,000 – now you can pick up an HD DSLR camera for about £700, which gets you HD footage that you can put online and it’s incredible quality.
“So a whole new industry has opened up of content creators to afford very cheap cameras, but the rest of the industries haven’t kept up. Audio manufacturers and lighting manufacturers haven’t started catering for that type of market, which is what we are catering for.”
He added: “We don’t really see it [The Scorpion] being used by the high-brow film-makers or this year’s professionals. But bizarrely Seamus McGarvey, who is the director of photography on some seriously big Hollywood films has got a set and absolutely loves them.
“We’ve got a set on Outlander as well. There are some pretty big productions using then, but then you have also got people in the background using them. It’s pretty broad.”
Mr Campbell said the company’s second product, which will be complementary to the Scorpion, is scheduled to launch in October. A further two, more ambitious products will follow after that.
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