Sapien kicked off its venture ambitions by leading a six-figure funding round for Manchester based sports VR company, Rezzil to support the development of its consumer platform, launching on Facebook’s Oculus Quest platform.

Sapien has been inspired by over a decade’s worth of Tivey’s own business experience as both a strategic partner and investor and offers two main services. The venture arm combines capital and creativity with the team’s network and knowledge to create startups and accelerate early-stage businesses. The studio arm integrates strategy, design and technology in a holistic Business Design offering, that services Sapien’s own ventures and external businesses seeking support.

At launch, Sapien is supported by its first two employees, Amanda Hargreaves, co-founder of the Manchester PA Network, as Executive Assistant and Amelia Camilleri, formerly of GG Hospitality as PR & Communications Manager. Tivey is already looking for further recruits in design and digital development.

Tivey explained: “We’re passionate about driving change and believe that innovative, purpose led businesses are the vehicle for doing so. As such, our goal is to build and help build as many as we can, hence the hybrid approach of Venture Building and Business Design. This allows us to maximise our impact and accelerate the kind of change we want to see”.

Adam Dickinson, Co-founder at Rezzil commented: “Sapien were a breath of fresh air. It was immediately apparent that they cared as much about the people, as they did the business and the numbers. Additionally, Ged’s ability to distil ideas, clearly and concisely from us and present these impactfully to investors, made the investment process much quicker and much more enjoyable. We’re delighted to have Sapien on board.”

Tivey concluded: "To have invested into and raised investment for such an exciting business as Rezzil, it’s been an amazing start for us. Aspirations for your own business are one thing but the response we got from Rezzil in terms of our approach was what told me we had a place in the world. We’re really excited about what the future holds for Sapien."