focus24

Specialist camera hire company Focus24 are seeking a £100,000 investment on Crowd2Fund, with an estimated APR of 8 percent, to invest in RID technology and assist their working capital as they grow the business.

Started in 2009 by industry specialist Ben Mitchell, Focus24 is a London-based camera hire facility offering services for all budgets in feature film, drama, commercial, music, fashion and documentary. Whilst working in post-production on both films and commercials, he noticed how important it was to keep up with technology and stay ahead of the game; thus, Focus24 was born. His aim from day one was for the company to be technology focussed, and creating a vision of how he thought camera services should service the marketplace.

The company have an innovative approach, focussing on enlightening and empowering the end customer through technology. Focus24 is supported by a number of ancillary services other than camera and equipment hire such as technical support, training and repair work.

Focus24 has already attracted several high profile clients, including Vice Magazine and Dazed Digital. They work with a number of mainstream brands and content producers such as BBC and ITV and have grown their revenues and brand by 20 percent year on year since their inception. Mitchell said:

“[We plan to] consolidate some of our existing HP and lease base which will give Focus24 a leaner overhead.”Additionally, they are seeking to use some of the funds from the revenue loan to invest in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to implement leaner operational efficiencies around their hire business.
“We will invest in RFID technology to bring the tracking and checking of our assets into a new age. It involves setting up quadrants with scanners within our facility and vehicles. From here it allows us to “swab” a flight case to determine exactly what’s inside it on a line by line basis. We will do this when assembling goods and upon return.”
Focus24 Founder Ben Mitchell
Focus24 Founder Ben Mitchell

Focus24 is seeking investment to transform itself into a 360 degree production offering, whereby customers can service their entire production under the Focus24 brand.The company’s decision to seek a revenue loan on Crowd2Fund was partly influenced by a bad experience with a more traditional lender for a loan prior to trying crowdfunding. Unlike The process was more protracted and resulted in his focus being taken away from the core business and customers. On Crowd2Fund Mitchell commented:

“There is a keen effort on their part to promote the opportunities it undertakes through research, social media and even making a film for some campaigns.”

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