Birmingham entrepreneur reaches final stages of TV competition

Young media executive aims for success in ITV’s Studio 55 Ventures.

In 2020, ITV announced a brand-new collaboration with Founders Intelligence called Studio 55 Ventures, which saw hundreds of applications from various business ideas from inside and outside of ITV.

Paying homage to ITV’s origins and rich cultural history, Studio 55 Ventures is a scheme that eventually seeks to invest in a select number of new-business ideas aimed at materially enhancing ITV’s reach amongst 16-34 year olds. The collaboration was essentially created to be used as a platform for building the media and entertainment businesses of tomorrow; and after a vigorous selection process, a small number of teams, including solo-founder Scott Campbell, have progressed to the final phase of the investment process.

Scott, who currently works in the commercial team across ITV’s Central region, has already impressed the judging panel with his pitch back in December; and he hopes to do the same later this year as he attempts to secure full investment for his business.

It hasn’t been a straightforward process with many of the teams working remotely; and when asked about Scott’s progression during the first phase, ITV’s Group Strategy and Transformation Director, Dan Colton, said “We’re truly excited about what Scott has created so far, and can’t wait to see what he’ll go on to achieve.”

When asked what it felt like to have made it to Phase 2 of Studio 55 Ventures, Scott said “It’s absolutely fantastic to be given this opportunity, and I just want to make sure that I continue to relish every second of it. It’s been an amazing experience, and Founders Intelligence have been really supportive in helping all of us on our individual journeys. Presenting to Carolyn McCall was probably one of my career highlights, but I just want to do everything I possibly can to give Carolyn and ITV full confidence in investing in my business after the next pitch.”

Scott, and the other finalists, will continue to work on their business ideas for the coming months as they look to further validate their propositions and bring in key appointments to help them run their business.