The Funding Edge: How to Support Your Creative Case

Ever wondered how games get funded? Creare Capital are on a mission to help.

They have built an app for the creative industries to better access finance and are looking to revolutionise game developers' access to capital.

They are currently making improvements and upgrades to the app and they are looking for feedback to ensure that the platform is built to serve your funding needs. This is your chance to get involved and co-design the platform to tailor it to your specific requirements.

We want to help our community of devs better understand how to get access to funding for their games and so have partnered with Creare to bring you a workshop that is geared towards helping you to understand the funding landscape and getting funding ready, as well as to help them build the best product they can to better support game devs!

Creare Capital will help us settle in with a brief icebreaker and then move into an introductory talk. We will then move on to a panel with Finance and Creative professionals, where they can share their expertise.
Come along and get involved to learn about games funding and shape the future of access to capital for the creative industries!

Find out more about Creare Capital here.

Our Panellists:

Ali Kazmi – Startup Founder and Creator of Angel Investment Simulator
Ali Kazmi is a startup founder, investor readiness mentor, and creator of Angel Investment Simulator. He works globally with founders, accelerators, and investors to make early-stage funding more accessible and transparent. Ali also serves as the Lead Investment Readiness Mentor for Creative UK, in the West Midlands.

Xinyi Gao – Founder, Creare Capital
Xinyi Gao studied Finance & Risk Management at King's College London. She has been working at Creare Capital for the past three years and is passionate about applying financial insights to the landscape of AI and Open Banking.

Sarah Brewster – Managing Director and Founder of Fresh Seed
Sarah Brewster is Managing Director and Founder of Fresh Seed, the leading People & Culture business to the Creative Sector in the West Midlands. Fresh Seed works with creative companies of all sizes, providing expertise in building happy, thriving teams, companies, and leaders. Their extensive work has supported numerous businesses to grow from seed to established companies, and they continue to share best practice in this space and all things People & Culture across the sector.

Rob Bartholomew – 20 Years in Gaming and Senior Leader at Creative Assembly
With over 20 years in games, Rob was most recently part of the senior leadership team at Creative Assembly, the largest games studio in the UK. As Chief Product Officer, he played a pivotal role in the studio's exponential growth, overseeing the strategic product roadmap and brand communications globally. Now a consultant and advisor to start-ups and established studios in the sector, he is also co-founder and managing partner of a new venture, working to realise unconventional and alternative funding and production models for games.

Schedule:
6:00–6:30 PM – Doors open, Drinks and Networking
6:30–6:45 PM – Welcome & Introductions
6:45–7:30 PM – Interactive Icebreaker Activity
7:45-8:15 PM – Panel Discussion (TBA)
8:15–8:30 PM – Audience Q&A and Closing Remarks
From 8:30 PM onwards – Informal Networking