The end of one thing means the beginning of another.
I’m on the bus back to Bristol for the very last time. This is it. The DCMS Create Growth programme at The Studio in Bath is officially over.
It feels bizarre to write that. For months, these frost-bitten mornings and bus rides have provided a structure I didn’t realize I needed. I walked into The Studio craving in-person support and peer connection, and I got that, along with a significant amount of self reflection and strategic homework.
The final workshop was the perfect summarisation of the entire experience: a quiet, vulnerable moment of introspection, followed immediately by high-stakes, “investment-ready” professional delivery.
Here is how the adventure concluded.
Part 1: The Founders First Aid Kit (Briony Phillips)
We started with a return visit from Briony Phillips, focusing this time on wellbeing—specifically, “Mind, Body, Business”.
In previous finance and sustainability sessions, we established the uncomfortable truth that at this early stage, we (the founders) are the business’s single biggest asset and vulnerability. If we break, Octopus Immersive breaks.
Briony’s session was a direct, necessary intervention. We talked about how hustle culture is a dangerous trap, fueled by perfectionism (the toxic standard we set for ourselves) and self-criticism.
The Takeaway: We worked on building a Founders First Aid Kit—a practical set of rituals, movements, boundaries, and connections that we must treat as non-negotiable business operations. My “kit” involves connecting with my peers (the cohort), setting a hard boundary on evening coding, and literally just standing outside and moving my body. We finished by celebrating small wins—an exercise I’ve been awful at.
Part 2: The Final Pitch (Octopus Immersive Ltd)
Then came the main event. It was time to put the months of pitch refining (the horse racing analogies, the 60-second gauntlets, and the finance reality checks) into action.
The growth was evident immediately. Week 1 felt like polite intros; Week 10 felt like a competitive sandbox.
When I stepped up to deliver the final pitch for Octopus Immersive Ltd (OIL), I was no longer selling just a generic idea or “cool tech.” I was selling a validated opportunity.
The Pitch (Simplified): I hooked the room describing how I was at the Arnolfini in Bristol setting up for the SuperToys exhibition, hearing Bjork on repeat whilst I should have been at my graduation for my robotics BSc. Perhaps a social faux pas, but it felt right to be using my tech in creative ways back in 2008 just like it does in 2026. Now, post pandemic, audiences are bored and want shared, tangible, substantive memories.
Our solution? Immersive interaction. Dynamic audio, interactive robotics, and tactile feedback that generate unique emotional connections. The pitch wasn’t for money, more an intro, and demonstration of how our business has evolved through the program. We have between 2 & 3 minutes to incorporate all of the detail we had been studying over the previous weeks. This time we were allowed slides, and I worked on these first. Once I had something I thought showed enough of my previous and current work off, and also some good stats to demonstrate market awareness I worked on the words. I spent days going over the words for each slides, in my head, on video and to others. After a few days I finally had it all memorised with good flow.
So my turn to get up and pitch. Well, most of it went well, but I still got hit a few times with that old gremlin of catching eye contact and my scripts vanishing from my mind. I did manage to steer the ship back though, and I had a lot of questions from the audience. I think that means despite a few stumbles, the pitch had a good impression. You can see the slides below:
Everyone’s pitch was great, and it was really good to see how everyone had benefitted from the course. I just need to keep practicing and engaging with speaking activities to improve further.
Conclusion: The Real Value
It felt powerful. Terrifying, but powerful. I now have a pitch that doesn’t hide behind jargon; it tells a compelling commercial story.
Reflecting on the entire journey, I’ve gained more than just business frameworks. I’ve gained perspective. The solo solitude I mentioned in Week 1 is gone, replaced by a text thread with a buddy who can check my cashflow logic and remind me to take a walk.
Running a small creative business will always feel oddly solitary. But the DCMS Create Growth programme at The Studio has cut through that isolation. I left Bath not just more hopeful, but armed with the frameworks, the capability access, and the peer support to make something real.
What’s next: The “learning” phase is over, and the “implementation” phase begins
- – The Residency: I’m thrilled to be moving into a residency at The Studio. I’m looking forward to absorbing the energy of the existing residents and finding those unexpected points of collaboration.
- – Strategic Growth: With the support of the programme’s grant, I’ll be working with Lucy Thomson to sharpen our marketing engine. The goal is clear: build robust processes to better serve our existing clients while paving the way for the larger-scale immersive installations we’ve been prototyping.
The hard work doesn’t stop, it just gets more focused.
This is the final post about the programme. But the adventure of Octopus Immersive—now officially pitched, protected, and focused—is just beginning.
Thank you, Bath. It’s been real.
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