Watt announced the shortlist in a social media post on LinkedIn yesterday (Wednesday 3 May).
From food products, to booking apps and protective phone cases, to engineering and laundry products, the list includes a diverse range of business.
Notably, sustainable edible insect brand Yum Bug, which BrewDog recently considered working with to add cricket burgers to the menu at its sites, made the list.
Incredibly difficult
Flex-Hex, a sustainable packaging brand, eco fashion brand Ocean R and wine brand Nouveau Wines were also named on the shortlist.
Watt said in his social media post: “We received more than 750 applications and I was blown away by the quality of the applications – shortlisting down to 20 was incredibly difficult.”
The list will now be reduced to the final 12 businesses, who will be invited to an in-person pitch in London later this month.
Watt’s LinkedIn post continued: “All the applicants, whether they make it to the final stages or not will receive a copy of my book, Business For Punks, some BrewDog vouchers and an invite to an online Q&A with myself and other leading entrepreneurs.”
Launched earlier this year, Watt teamed up with funding platform Crowdcube with a view to find the “next billion-dollar company”.
New investment model
Seeking start-ups with the Crowdcube model, Next Unicorn allows the public to invest in firms under the same terms as Watt.
Crowdcube described Next Unicorn as a “new investment model for the 21st century”, while Watt stated it aimed to “disrupt the investment model and make way for the next high-growth businesses to thrive”.
Three winning companies will be flown out to Las Vegas for an all-expense-paid trip will also be guaranteed at least £100,000 of investment each.
A further investment of between £500,000 and £900,000 will then be invested across these businesses.
Watt said: “I’ve got a lot of experience and skill. I want to take everything I’ve learned and help someone else on their journey to do exactly the same. This is my $5m search for the next billion-dollar company.”
