Two Fingers Brewing Co.
Representing the UK in global million dollar Social Enterprise contest.
The global final of The Venture, Chivas Regal's contest to find the best up and coming social enterprises in the world, has begun – with 16 start-ups from across the globe shortlisted to compete for a share of $1m funding.
The finalists have been chosen to represent their local countries for not only their potential to be profitable as a business, but also their ability to offer scalable and sustainable impact solutions.
Following the UK final in April, Two Fingers Brewing Co. was chosen as our home finalist. Two Fingers Brewing Co. is the only beer brand that gives back to the guys that drink it, by giving all its profits to Prostate Cancer UK. Their first beer, Aurelio, went on sale last year in Morrisons, Tesco, Ocado and Booths, selling over 80,000 bottles and raising over £8,000 for charity. Buoyed by this success, Two Fingers Brewing Co. has set its sights on becoming a global brand, so that people around the world can help mankind, just by having a beer.
From May 11th to June 14th, the finalists will go head to head in a public vote and compete for an initial share of $250,000 (from the $1 million fund).
Chivas Regal's search will then culminate in San Francisco on July 24th when finalists pitch for the remaining share of the $1 million fund at The Venture Final Pitch event. Sonal Shah, former Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in the White House under US President Barack Obama, is the latest judge to be announced alongside Adrian Grenier (actor, producer and social entrepreneur), Morgan Clendaniel (Editor of Fast Company’s Co.Exist) and Alex Ricard (Pernod Ricard Chairman and CEO).
"It's an honour to be representing the UK and we’re determined to do all the social enterprises back home proud"
Matt Sadler, Co. Founder of Two Fingers Brewing Co. said: "The Venture is a huge opportunity for Two Fingers Brewing Co. to take its fight against prostate cancer, one beer at a time, to the next level. It’s an honour to be representing the UK and we’re determined to do all the social enterprises back home proud. Everyone’s been so supportive to get us this far, so we’re really hoping people will rally around one more time – and vote every week for the next five weeks, to help us win as much as possible, so we can help as many men as possible."
Adrian Grenier commented: “As someone who is hugely invested in social enterprises myself, it’s really eye opening to see what other entrepreneurs around the globe are up to and the issues they’re attempting to tackle. We have uncovered 16 amazing finalists whose vision, passion and commitment to the greater good should be an inspiration to us all. I encourage everyone to find out more about them and their stories and get voting…they need your votes!"
Richard Black, Chivas Regal Global Brand Director, added: “Due to this being a global competition across five continents we’ve discovered an incredible collection of social entrepreneurs that are aming to tackle a broad array of issues. As a brand we’re very proud to be putting a spotlight on these talented and driven business people and we can’t wait to see how the public respond with their votes.”
In the week leading up to The Venture Final Pitch, the finalists will attend an Accelerator Week in Silicon Valley, the epicentre of the start-up world, where they will receive mentorship from influential figures in social enterprise and companies such as venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Google, Duarte and IDEO.
To vote for Two Fingers Brewing Co. visit: theventure.com
