EBar was established in late 2016 after Sam Pettipher, co-founder and managing director, missed a winning try during an international rugby match due to being caught in a bar queue.
Frustrated with his experience, Sam and his business partner, Nick Beeson, set out to dramatically improve consumers’ experiences at music and sports events by using innovative technology to reduce the time people spend waiting in bar queues.
Looking to take this initial idea to market and validate it with real customers, Sam and Nick joined the Elevator Programme in early 2016, which led to the creation of EBar®.
EBar® is a modular, self-service beverage dispenser which allows customers to complete a transaction for two drinks in just 30 seconds. Fitted with the latest contactless payment technologies, the dispenser can serve pints or soft drinks up to three times faster than traditional bars.
Laying the foundations for EBar Initiatives, our 12-week programme provided a safe space for Sam and Nick to grow their business with support and advice from key individuals in Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Commenting on his experience Sam said: “The programme and team provided fantastic support in helping us validate our business problem and build our resources in a structured way to manage risk appropriately.”
Sam and Nick also entered an 18-month service and received growth support from a Business Gateway adviser in Aberdeen.
To date, the speedy, automated, self-service drink dispenser has been successfully trialled at a string of high-profile events including Twickenham in the Rugby Six Nations tournament.
EBar has also secured £228,000 from private investors, following direct support from Elevator’s Flagship Accelerator, who realised the ‘tremendous potential’ of EBar’s technology. Most recently, the company launched an equity crowdfunding on Seedrs with an aim of raising more than £175,000. It successfully raised over £276,000.
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