TECH FOR EQUITY
You may not need another supplier. You may need an experienced product, technology and marketing team invested in building the same enterprise value.
For a very small number of high-potential ventures, Fresh Digital invests agreed capability in exchange for equity. This is not a cash investment and it is not a route to free agency work. It is a selective, long-term partnership for founders building something that could become genuinely valuable.
TWO EVENTSMAX ONE PER EVENT
CAPABILITY INVESTED ✦ VALUE SHARED
PRODUCT ✦ TECHNOLOGY ✦ AI ✦ DIGITAL ✦ MARKETING ✦ COMMERCIAL EVIDENCE ✦ EQUITY ✦ SHARED UPSIDE ✦ PRODUCT ✦ TECHNOLOGY ✦ AI ✦
PRODUCT ✦ TECHNOLOGY ✦ AI ✦ DIGITAL ✦ MARKETING ✦ COMMERCIAL EVIDENCE ✦ EQUITY ✦ SHARED UPSIDE ✦ PRODUCT ✦ TECHNOLOGY ✦ AI ✦
PRODUCT ✦ TECHNOLOGY ✦ AI ✦ DIGITAL ✦ MARKETING ✦ COMMERCIAL EVIDENCE ✦ EQUITY ✦ SHARED UPSIDE ✦ PRODUCT ✦ TECHNOLOGY ✦ AI ✦
PRODUCT ✦ TECHNOLOGY ✦ AI ✦ DIGITAL ✦ MARKETING ✦ COMMERCIAL EVIDENCE ✦ EQUITY ✦ SHARED UPSIDE ✦ PRODUCT ✦ TECHNOLOGY ✦ AI ✦
WHEN FUNDING IS REALLY A MEANS TO CAPABILITY
Many founders search for angel investors because product, technology, marketing and delivery are expensive to assemble. The cheque is the route to the capability, not the final objective.
Tech for Equity offers a different route. Instead of raising capital only to spend it across several suppliers, a selected founder gains an experienced team with equity in making the venture more valuable.
You keep leading the venture. We invest where our capability can change its trajectory.
Need a product, not just a prototype?
Strong opportunity but a capability gap?
Too early to build a complete internal team?
Want an operator aligned with the outcome?
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF INVESTMENT
Angel investors and venture funds can be the right answer when capital is the main constraint. Tech for Equity is designed for opportunities where Fresh Digital’s direct contribution could create more value than another detached project relationship.
TRADITIONAL FUNDING
The founder uses that money to recruit, commission suppliers, build the product, create demand and coordinate delivery. The investor may also bring guidance, credibility and connections.
Useful when the business primarily needs cash and has the capability to deploy it well.
TECH FOR EQUITY
Fresh Digital agrees the product, technology, AI, digital and marketing contribution, then helps turn the opportunity into something customers use and the market can value.
Useful when our direct execution and long-term alignment can materially improve the outcome.
WHAT THE RIGHT VENTURE CAN GAIN
The contribution is designed around the opportunity. It is not a fixed agency package and it will only include the areas capable of creating meaningful enterprise value.
01
You gain experienced product thinking that turns the proposition into something customers, partners and future investors can understand, test and value.
02
You gain the digital architecture, development and practical delivery required to move from a credible opportunity to a working product or platform.
03
You gain connected marketing, search, media, creative and customer-journey capability that can help the venture prove demand and build commercial momentum.
04
Fresh Digital has equity in what is being built. The relationship is designed around enterprise value and the long term, not completing a project and moving on.
WHAT EARNS A CLOSER LOOK
We are looking for an opportunity where the founder, market and model are credible, and where Fresh Digital can contribute something difficult to replace.
✓
You can explain who experiences it, why it matters and why the current alternatives leave room for something better.
✓
There is meaningful customer insight, early demand, market access, traction or another credible signal that the opportunity deserves deeper work.
✓
The proposition can become more valuable through product, technology, data, distribution, intellectual property or a hard-to-copy position.
✓
You bring relevant knowledge, access, energy and responsibility. Fresh Digital becomes an invested operator, not the substitute founder.
✓
There is a believable path to repeatable revenue and enterprise value, not simply a job or lifestyle business that needs a website.
✓
Our technology, AI, product and marketing capability must be capable of materially increasing the venture’s chance of success.
TWO OPEN DAYS EACH YEAR
We run two selection events each year. The process is intentionally selective so founders receive a serious conversation and Fresh Digital only commits where there is genuine shared potential.
Up to one venture may be selected from each event. We are under no obligation to choose anyone.
01
Tell us about the problem, evidence, founder, market, commercial model and where Fresh Digital’s capability could make the decisive difference.
02
We review every credible application against fit, defensibility, founder commitment and our ability to create meaningful value.
03
Shortlisted founders are invited to a focused private session with the Fresh Digital team. It is a working conversation, not a public competition.
04
If the opportunity earns deeper consideration, we test assumptions, define the contribution and examine commercial, technical and legal alignment.
05
We may select up to one venture from each event. We are under no obligation to choose anyone if no opportunity meets the standard.
A GOOD APPLICATION MAKES THE OPPORTUNITY CLEAR
You do not need theatre or a perfect pitch deck. You do need to show that the opportunity has been thought through and that you understand your responsibility as the founder.
Register your interest ↗01
The customer problem and why it matters now.
02
Who the founder or founding team is and what you bring.
03
The market, commercial model and route to customers.
04
Evidence of demand, traction, access or meaningful validation.
05
What has already been built, tested or learned.
06
Why a capability-for-equity partner could create more value than another supplier.
SELECTIVE BY DESIGN
Fresh Digital works with a small number of clients and only has the capacity to make this level of venture commitment where the evidence, people, timing and opportunity align.
We may choose nobody from an event. We will not lower the standard to fill a place, promise investment before due diligence or accept a venture simply because it needs a lot of work.
Scarcity is not a marketing device. It is how we protect every business involved.
CONNECTED CAPABILITY
AI & automation
See how Fresh Digital improves operations, connected systems and practical AI.
Explore this capability ↗
Full-service marketing
Understand the connected search, media, website and creative capability behind Fresh Digital.
Explore this capability ↗
Websites & digital products
Explore the customer-facing digital capability that can help turn an idea into a usable experience.
Explore this capability ↗
TECH FOR EQUITY FAQs
No. Fresh Digital does not simply provide a cash investment. For a selected venture, we invest agreed product, technology, AI, digital and marketing capability in exchange for equity. It can be an alternative or complement to external funding when the venture primarily needs the capability that funding would otherwise be used to buy.
Tech for Equity is built around capability rather than a cash cheque. Any partnership will define exactly what Fresh Digital is contributing, what the founder remains responsible for and how that contribution supports the agreed route to enterprise value.
Yes. Angel investment and Tech for Equity solve different needs and can sometimes sit alongside one another. Your application should be clear about existing shareholders, current fundraising and how you believe Fresh Digital would change the outcome.
There is no single stage label. We need enough evidence to judge the market, founder and commercial opportunity, while there must still be meaningful value for Fresh Digital to create through product, technology and execution.
There is no standard percentage. It depends on the venture, stage, risk, value of the agreed contribution and the work required. Any terms would be discussed transparently and documented before a partnership begins.
There will be two application windows and two private pitch days each year. Dates and application deadlines will be announced in advance. You can register your interest now so we can contact you when the next window opens.
No. Applications are reviewed first and only shortlisted founders are invited. Pitch days are private so both sides can discuss the opportunity properly and protect commercially sensitive information.
No. Fresh Digital may select up to one venture from each event, but there is no obligation to select anyone. The standard remains the same even if that means making no investment.
A request for free execution, a general service business seeking a website, a lifestyle business without a scalable model, an unclear proposition or a founder expecting Fresh Digital to carry the entire venture will not fit this programme.
THE NEXT OPEN DAY
Register your interest and tell us enough to understand the founder, problem, evidence and commercial opportunity. We will contact you when the next application window opens.
Register for the next open day ↗