Distill Ventures: Accelerator to grow future spirits brands launches in London

Distill Ventures is a collaboration between Diageo and Independents United. Diageo is world’s premium spirits company. Independents United is a London based creative agency. Diageo and Independents have come together via Distill Ventures to identify and nurture the spirits brands of the future.Speaking about the program during launch, Patrick McMeekin, Programme Manager of Distill Ventures said, “The program is more than just about capital investment, it is about the resources and experience we bring to the table along with capital. The selected teams get anywhere between 150,000 - 200,000 pounds for about 5% stake in the companies, and will be accelerated for 6 months.”

The applications are open right now and will close in October. The finalists will be selected in November and the first batch begins in January 2014. Distill Ventures is looking to select 5 ideas to be incubated in the first batch.

Patrick started his career with consumer goods industry, worked with L'oreal for over an year and then moved on to become a certified financial analyst. He also did a sports startup before joining to lead Distill Ventures. During his visit to India before joining Distill, he fell in love with India's Royal Enfield which he still drives on the streets on London.

Patrick is very excited about running the program and making this meaningful for the selected entrepreneurs. He adds, “The idea of an accelerator has worked really well in the tech startup industry, and we believe that it would work great in the spirits industry as well!”

So what are you waiting for? If you want to build the next big spirits brand, you should apply to be part of Distill Ventures right away.

Website http://distillventures.com