Preview application

2024 preview application

Welcome to the DBACE 2024 preview application. Please note, that this is a resource that is being made available. Whilst it may appear that you can input answers, please refrain from doing so. Any information inputted will not be considered and you will not be able to retrieve it either.

Applications open on January 31, 2024. On this date, you will be able to create an account so that you can start inputting your answers and saving your progress.

DBACE is open to all creative entrepreneurs aged 18 and above. From those at idea stage to those who are much further along and have already launched their ventures, the programme is designed to support growth for all creative enterprises.

As applicants will be coming from a range of starting points, we understand that some respondents will be further ahead than others in being able to answer some of the questions. You should plan to fill in as much as you can according to what is relevant and where you are at with your creative enterprise.

The maximum word limit for each question is 300 words.

Remember to refer to the Application process page to take note of key dates, and to make use of the various resources pages (Understanding my business, Finances, Application writing and pitching, videos) as well as the live, virtual and in person events available.

You can also sign up to the DBACE newsletter here for updates and tips.

DBACE 2024 preview application.

No submission will be received nor saved. This form is created for viewing purposes only.

DBACE 2024 application form (preview only)

Step 1 of 7

14%

Personal information

Lead applicant name

First name Surname

Enter Email Confirm Email

Address

Postcode

Region

Phone number

Age range

18-21

22-25

26-30

31-35

36-40

41-50

51-55

56+

Enterprise information

Name of enterprise

If you're not officially launched as an enterprise, please provide an appropriate name

Enterprise website & social media handles

Please select all the platforms you have available for your organisation.

Website

Instagram

Facebook

X (formerly Twitter)

TikTok

Website

Please add the link to your organisation's website

Instagram

Please add the link to your organisation's Instagram account

Please add the link to your organisation's LinkedIn account

Facebook

Please add the link to your organisation's Facebook account

Please add the link to your organisation's X account

TikTok

Please add the link to your organisation's X account

What is the legal status of your organisation?

Stage of business (please select the appropriate choice)

Business Stage:

Pre-start up/idea stage - You have identified an existing problem and understand how your product or service solves the problem, you have done initial research to explore the need and idea, and may have done some early development.

Emerging start-up - You are a young organisation formed around a product or service that is in early development, you have some structures in place and some utilisation of your product, including sales.

Scale up/growing - You are an organisation with an established product or service. You have been trading for 3+ years, and are ready to scale your business.

Emerging start-up

Pre-start up / idea stage

Scale up / growing

Are you applying as an individual or group?

Individual

Group

If you are applying as a group, how many are in your group?

Please select the creative industry below in which your enterprise operates

If you selected "in support of the creative industry", please tell us which creative industries you support.

If you selected "multidisciplinary", please list the creative disciplines which apply

Please select the key area of impact your enterprise is focused on

If "other" was selected, please clarify which key area of impact your business is focused on

If you selected “multi-issue focused”, please list your key areas of impact.

Where is your enterprise based?

Where does your enterprise operate and provide services?

The idea

Question 1. Give a brief description of your idea or enterprise. What is the product and/or service being offered?

Question 2. What is the societal challenge you are addressing and the positive social outcome you will create?

— Think about what the societal problem or need is that you have identified?
— Think about what the solution you are providing through your business is and what will success look like?
— Check our FAQs for examples of creative organisations that have addressed a social, cultural or environmental issue with their work.

Question 3. Who are your main competitors?

It’s important to know your competition so you can establish yourself as a unique alternative.
Your competitors can be direct (same product/service delivered in the same way), secondary (same product/service delivered in a different) or indirect (different product/service which satisfies the same need).

Question 4. Describe how your idea or enterprise is different and original to what exists already in this area.

Of course, there may be others already offering a similar product or service.
However, if you can offer something unique that improves a product or service currently on the market, you still have a viable business idea.

Question 5. What proof do you have of the demand for your product or service? Please select as many of the boxes below that apply and then provide more detail in the text boxes that appear for each option you select.

— If you haven’t launched your enterprise yet, as entrepreneurs you need to know your product or service is what people actually want and the only way to do this is to test it with the target audience itself.
There are many ways to test and get feedback including: focus groups, questionnaires, product sampling, pilots, social media engagement, expression of interest sign-ups. Let us know if you have done any of these and, if so, what the results were.
— If you are already running your enterprise, how much forward progress has been gained since you set up? What has the company achieved in terms of sales made, the number of repeat sales, commercial &/or non-commercial partnerships established, audience or subscriber numbers.
Remember, whilst giving away your product or service for free is a good learning experience, it is not real traction. It doesn’t prove your business model of pricing, distribution etc. Customers / clients are what provides you with real feedback.

Achieved repeat sales

Carried out questionnaires

Audience numbers

Established commercial partnerships

Subscriber numbers

Carried out product sampling

Social media engagement

Press engagement

Made sales

Run a pilot

Other

Achieved repeat sales

Please provide detail

Carried out questionnaires

Please provide detail

Audience numbers

Please provide detail

Established commercial partnerships

Please provide detail

Subscriber numbers

Please provide detail

Carried out product sampling

Please provide detail

Social media engagement

Please provide detail

Press engagement

Please provide detail

Made sales

Please provide detail

Run a pilot

Please provide detail

Other

Please provide detail

Question 6. Please provide evidence of the quality of your product / service (if applicable).

Max. file size: 10 MB.

Your Story

Question 7. What is the inspiration behind your idea or enterprise?

We would like to know your personal story and what is driving you to focus on or start this venture.

Question 8. Tell us why you/your team are well suited to run this enterprise.

This question is focused on understanding whether you can grow with your business idea.
Remember, we understand that you may not yet have all the necessary skills or experience needed.
This is an opportunity for you to talk about you and why you have what it takes to deliver on the idea or business.

Question 9. Please provide links to any media coverage of your enterprise or yourself as an entrepreneur or creative leader.

If your business is up and running or you have been engaging with the public about your product or service, you may have attracted attention from different media sources, we would like to hear about it. Please provide web links to any media coverage your business or idea may have received.

Question 10. Please tell us why you are applying for DBACE and how it will benefit you and your enterprise.

Think about the value DBACE will provide you as an entrepreneur and your enterprise.
Consider what funding could help you achieve and what you would spend prize money on.
Also think about what you would like to get out of the tailored business support which offers mentoring, consultancy, coaching, access to networks and further investment support.

Question 11. Do you currently receive other forms of business support?

Yes

If you answered yes, please provide details.

The financials

Question 12. Have you received any funding to date?

Yes

If you selected yes, please provide topline details of where from, how much funding you have received and what this was spent on.

We only need topline information - the figure received, the category of the donor (e.g. personal savings, family and friend loans, prize money, crowd-funding, donation, grant, bank loan, private investor) and what the funding was used for.

Question 13. Where do or will your sources of income come from?

- Do you have single or multiple ways of generating income?
- Is that income commercial, non-commercial (e.g. grants, donations), or a mixture of both?
- Sources of revenue are the routes through which your business will derive monies income from.

When operating a business there may be more than one way in which you generate monies into your business and this is known as income streams.
What we are asking you to do is outline the potential different routes through which your business does or may make money. For example, a cake shop derives income from selling cakes and pastries to its customers, but it may also run cooking classes, cater for events and run a formal apprenticeship programme.
This example business would have multiple income streams, the first three being commercial income and the latter through a training grant.

Question 14. If you have already launched the enterprise, have you started trading and made any income?

Yes

Please state your annual turnover for each year you have been trading

For the latest year, please provide an estimate if you have not reached your year end.
Mark N/A for any of the past three years you were not trading.

2021-2022

2022-2023

2023-2024

Question 15. Has your enterprise made any profit?

Yes

Gross profit for each year you have been trading

For the latest year, please provide an estimate if you have not reached your year end.
Mark N/A for any of the past three years you were not trading.

2021-2022

2022-2023

2023-2024

Net profit for each year you have been trading

For the latest year, please provide an estimate if you have not reached your year end.
Mark N/A for any of the past three years you were not trading.

2021-2022

2022-2023

2023-2024

Question 16. Do you know the value of the ‘cash at bank’ and ‘cash in hand’ held by the business?

This question only needs to be answered if your business is up and running.

Yes

If yes, please provide the approximate figure below.

‘Cash at bank’ refers to funds which are held at a bank in the form of ‘on demand deposits’ such as current accounts and savings accounts. And ‘cash in hand’ refers to amounts which are held by a business in the form of notes and coins (e.g. petty cash).

Question 17. Does your business currently have any debt (e.g. outstanding loans or payments for services)?

This question only needs to be answered if your business is up and running.

Yes

If yes, please provide the approximate figure below and the conditions of your debt repayment plan.

Please answer as honestly and accurately as possible.

Question 18. How long can you forecast your income for?

All applicants need to answer this question.
A forecast is an estimate or prediction of future developments in business.
The cost of sales are expenses that contribute to the production of a product or service, the operational costs are how much a company spends on overhead costs.
Please refer to the resources available on our page focused on Finances for further advice, support and definitions.

1 year

2 years

3 years

I can't

2024-2025

Expected revenue

Expected cost of sales

Expected operational costs

Expected gross profit / loss

Expected net profit / loss

2025-2026

Expected revenue

Expected cost of sales

Expected operational costs

Expected gross profit / loss

Expected net profit / loss

2026-2027

Expected revenue

Expected cost of sales

Expected operational costs

Expected gross profit / loss

Expected net profit / loss

Please add any additional information that might be helpful e.g. details of your sources of revenue and topline item expenses which account for 25% or more of your expected costs.

Please note that if you make it through to the next round, you will be asked for further detail.

Video Pitch

Please upload your max. 1 minute video pitch

Try to keep your video pitch to around 1 minute. If it goes over by 20 seconds, we'll still consider it.
An elevator pitch is named for the time it takes to ride an elevator from bottom to the top of a building (roughly 30-60 seconds).
An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech or presentation that is used to spark interest in you and your idea.
Refer to our Video pitch advice tips found here for further guidance.

Max. file size: 100 MB.

Do you have anything else you want to tell us about your application?

Final information

Have you previously applied to DBACE?

Please note your answer is for monitoring and evaluation purposes only and has no impact on how your application is judged.

Yes

Where did you hear about this competition?

Please select all that apply

MeWe360's Social Media

Instagram

Facebook

Word of mouth

Industry journal,noticeboard or newsletter

Other (please specify)

Please specify "Other" :

Which of these application support events did you attend?

Please select all that apply

Information webinar

Financial forecasting webinar

Virtual meet & greet

In person meet & greet

Application support session

Other

I didn't attend any

Would you like to receive email updates about the DBACE competition?

Yes

No, thanks

I would describe my ethnic origin as:

I would describe my gender as:

Is your gender the same you were assigned at birth?

Yes

Prefer not to say

Do you consider yourself to have any impairment that relates to the following (you can select more than one)?

Learning disability or difficulty

Mental health condition

Long term health or chronic condition

Physical condition or impairment

Other

None of the above

What is your sexual orientation?

Where did you grow up?

What type of secondary school did you attend?

Were you eligible for free school meals at any point during your school years?

Yes

Don't know

Prefer not to say

Are you attending or did you previously attend university? If yes, please state which university you attended.

Yes

I didn't attend university

Prefer not to say

Please enter the name of university

Would you describe yourself as coming from a low socio-economic background?

Yes

Don't know

Prefer not to say

By completing this application, you acknowledge and agree that DBACE is permitted to hold and process personal and sensitive information and data about you, both electronically and manually. We will only contact you regarding this application, unless stated otherwise in the marketing preferences.

By completing this application, you acknowledge and agree that DBACE is permitted to hold and process personal and sensitive information and data about you, both electronically and manually.

We will only contact you regarding this application, unless stated otherwise in the marketing preferences.

I agree to the declaration above.