Lancaster business to pitch to Richard Branson for share of £1m prize fund

After an extensive nationwide search, 3,000 entries, half a million votes and one Guinness World Record title, Lancaster start-up, Vibe Tickets, has made it through to the finale of the Virgin Media Business ‘VOOM 2016’ competition.

Vibe Tickets is an ethical marketplace that connects fans so they can buy and sell tickets at face value. It allows users to transact on their own terms, cuts out the middle man and ensures ticket prices aren’t over inflated. The tech company was founded by 23 year old Luke Massie who saw that fans were being exploited by secondary ticket sellers increasing the ticket value, so built a platform that would challenge the industry giants and provide users with fair prices.

Boost Business Lancashire ambassador Luke will be pitching to Richard Branson and a panel of business heavyweights including Tyra Banks, Sara Blakely Marcus Butler and Virgin Media Business Managing Director, Peter Kelly, at the live finale on the 28^th of June. Vibe Tickets will go head to head with two other businesses in the Start-up category for a slice of the £1million prize fund.

Luke Massie (pictured), founder of Vibe Tickets said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have made it this far in the competition and can’t wait to pitch my idea to Richard Branson. The Vibe team worked extremely hard to get here and it’s been such an incredible experience so far, we are really excited for the finale and the future opportunities this will bring.”

Richard Branson, Virgin Founder said: “Congratulations to Vibe Tickets for making it through to the finale of the Virgin Media Business ‘VOOM’ competition. They’ve shown they’ve got the determination and innovative flair we’re looking for in a winner and I can’t wait to meet them at the final on the 28^th.”

‘VOOM 2016’ – run by the ultrafast business broadband company – is hunting for the UK and Ireland’s most exciting and innovative businesses. A winner will be chosen from each of the two categories, ‘Start-up’ and ‘Grow’.

The two winners will receive:

• A cash prize of £50,000 to help grow their business
• Mentoring from Virgin StartUp and from our VOOM Professionals recruited via LinkedIn
• A £250,000 marketing campaign, with advertising on JCDecaux’s Waterloo Motion (the biggest indoor screen in Europe)
• A Virgin Media Business broadband package, with speeds of up to 300Mbps
• Financial advice from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

In addition, two runners-up from each category will each receive a cash prize of £20,000, a Virgin Media Business broadband package, mentoring, financial advice and brand support.