4Skills Business Boost
Apply now for the opportunity to access essential support to accelerate your company.
4Skills and 4Producers have joined forces to launch Business Boost – a targeted intervention to help small to medium sized Nations and Regions indies to thrive and adapt to meet the challenges of the current economic climate.
They are acutely aware of the challenges facing unscripted indies and are keen to help companies navigate these difficult waters. Business Boost is an opportunity to access vital training and expertise for your company to support any changes and adaptions needed to succeed.
What’s on offer?
Up to 6 indies will be selected to receive bespoke expert training and consultancy. Each indie will take part in a detailed business assessment session with a business consultant, Jen Topping, who will help the indie to identify their critical business needs.
Each indie will then receive the following package of support:
- Funding to cover a package of training, expert advice and other support (see ‘What can the funding cover?’ below)
- C4 distribution, IP sales and acquisitions expertise from Polly Scates, Senior Acquisitions Manager at Channel 4
- Access to the 4Producers, 4Skills, Indie Growth Fund and other teams as needed
What can the funding cover?
The package of support will be bespoke for each company, based on needs identified by the company through assessment with the business advisor. The budget will be drafted by the company with the support of the business advisor and must be agreed with the Channel 4 project team.
Support may include a combination of any of the following, and must include a skills element:
- Access to paid or free skills training courses for company leaders and their teams.
- Consultancy with industry experts in fields relating to business sustainability, eg finance, strategy, HR.
- Freelance support to help the indie generate additional business, eg development producers, production finance support.
- Training and other costs associated with changes to the roles or tasks of existing staff as part of changes to the company’s structure or processes.
- Costs associated with participating in the Business Boost project, including staff time spent engaging with the support.
- Access to business intelligence, data and markets.
Who can apply?
To participate, indies must accept the Terms and Conditions and must be:
- Based in the Nations and Regions.
- An existing supplier, with at least one single commissioned by Channel 4.
- An employer, with between 3 and 15 staff.
- A small to medium company with a turnover under £6m.
- Working predominantly in unscripted content.
Application and selection
Companies can apply through the online application form. From all eligible applications, the indies that most clearly demonstrate their suitability against the following criteria will be selected:
- Strong interest in exploring a range of routes to improve the sustainability of the company.
- Commitment to, and ability to benefit from, skills and training within the company.
- A Channel 4 supplier with a strong track record in unscripted content and a strong slate of ideas.
Key Dates
Some of these dates may be subject to change.
- 18th September, 9am – deadline for applications
- 22nd September – companies selected
- Late September / early October – Business consultancy and start of support
- June 2024 – Package of support completed
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