Yachting Ventures celebrates its fourth anniversary with the announcement of significant advancements in strategy, to continue supporting innovation and startups in the global leisure marine industry.
Yachting Ventures (YV), the global growth platform for startups in leisure marine, is introducing a new consolidated community and a media-focused website, designed to provide enhanced visibility and credibility for early stage ventures. These new initiatives, alongside expanded event collaborations at major boat shows worldwide, reaffirm an unwavering commitment to nurture and support the next generation of industry innovators.
Introducing an all-in-one community platform
The YV Community, specifically designed for founders in leisure marine, now boasts +160 global members. To better serve this growing network, YV is thrilled to announce the launch of a new, all-in-one community platform. Previously managed through a number of different SaaS tools, the community operations will now transition to a dedicated platform, ensuring a more seamless onboarding and user experience.
This new platform will offer year-round networking opportunities, 1-1 support and masterclasses for startups to learn, connect and grow, regardless of their location or stage. It will also feature a Fundraising Bootcamp for founders interested in raising investment, as well as a Business Bootcamp for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Another key feature of this new platform is a dedicated investor login for streamlined access to deal flow opportunities. Startups, once vetted by Yachting Ventures, will be able to upload their pitch decks and video pitches, with monthly investor newsletters reaching a network of +3000 investors. In the current challenging fundraising environment, this feature is designed to help startups get feedback from, and connect with, potential investors.
Revamped media-focused website
Recognising the need for startups to build strong brands, effective communication strategies and a growth narrative, YV is also revamping its website and building a new site from scratch. Working with an award-winning website agency in London, the redesigned site will prominently feature editorial content and videos, highlighting the milestones of the startups in the community, ensuring that their efforts are noticed. By facilitating media coverage and press features, YV ultimately aims to help startups secure partnerships, attract investors and drive commercialisation efforts.
The revamped website will also include a comprehensive startup directory, allowing visitors to search for startups by location and vertical. This feature is designed to further raise the profiles of startups in the industry, providing them with a badge of credibility and signifying their verification by Yachting Ventures as a startup to watch in leisure marine.
The breakdown of the YV audience of +20,000 across social and newsletters is currently 33% investors, 22% startup founders and 45% industry players. As the following continues to grow, the aim is to leverage this reach and support startups through compelling and consistent storytelling. To this end, three new newsletters will be launched: an investor newsletter, a startup newsletter, and a comprehensive industry newsletter. These publications will keep the YV following informed and engaged with the latest developments and opportunities that are relevant to them and their priorities.
Continued emphasis on events
Events continue to be a cornerstone of the YV strategy. YV has been actively involved in key industry events, building Start-Up Pavilions at the Palma Superyacht Village, Abu Dhabi International Boat Show, METSTRADE, and IBEX. These events align boat shows with innovation, draw media attention, and forge valuable relationships between startups and the broader industry.
Another focus has been hosting pitch competitions for startups to present their ideas to investors, both online and offline. YV now hosts a quarterly pitch competition attended by over 90 investors and industry professionals. In-person pitching events include those sponsored by Volvo Penta at the Miami International Boat Show and the Blue Innovation Dock at boot Düsseldorf.
Looking ahead, YV plans to expand event collaborations in 2025 and beyond, providing more platforms for startups to pitch their ideas, gain exposure, and connect with partners, customers, and investors. For more information about the community offerings, events, or to collaborate with Yachting Ventures, please email us at hello@yachtingventures.co
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