The Sidemen, a group of British YouTubers with a combined following of over 150 million, have launched a new venture capital firm targeting consumer tech startups.
The new firm, known as Upside, will aim to find up-and-coming consumer tech firms to invest in and promote across the group’s popular social channels.
The firm has already made 12 investments in the £100,000 to £500,000 range, including calendar app ‘Howbout’ and luxury product deals app ‘Mile’.
The influencer group, which includes one of Britain’s most popular YouTubers KSI, has started this venture through a partnership with entrepreneur Jamie Elliot, who previously co-founded the fintech startup ‘Layup’.
This is not the first time the social media stars have started an enterprise; from KSI’s viral energy drink ‘Prime’ to ‘Sides’, a fried chicken restaurant named after the collective.
Elliot, speaking to The Times, described meeting the Sidemen for the first time in 2023.
“I knew I wanted to embark on this entrepreneurial venture and get a fund moving, so walking in – I met them in the studio – I was nervous.
“You walk onto this set with cameras everywhere and all of this chaos. I stood in front of seven of them and it was the most chill conversation I have ever had.
“All of my fears were dispelled and I realised that unlike a lot of celebrities that I have met, these guys are real, genuine, fantastic human beings. The version of them that you see on screen is the version of them that you get in person.”
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