Light show entrepreneur secures venture fund backing

A creative sound, light and video business started by a young entrepreneur has secured a £175,000 investment from The North West Fund for Venture Capital, through fund manager EV.

Sound2Light Productions (S2L), founded by 29-year-old Mark Rivkin, provides bespoke technical services for live events. The company combines original concepts, innovative thinking and the latest technology to provide its clients with exciting and imaginative designs for their events or installations.

Mark, who graduated from Imperial College, London with a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering with management, has managed a number of high-profile projects. They include lighting a performance by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Buckingham Palace and a project for the BBC’s Election Night Special, which involved beaming the live election results on to Big Ben via a complex and long-distance video projection before 17 million viewers.

The £175,000 investment is part of the wider £185m North West Fund, provided jointly by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank.

Following an introduction from EV, managers of The North West Fund for Venture Capital, the company has appointed Charles Moyle as Chairman. Charles developed his own events business from a start-up before selling it in 2008 to Grass Roots Group, where he is now Managing Director of Communication and Events Production.

S2L has recently moved to new premises near Chester and is now planning to extend its team with the appointment of a business development manager and technical manager in the near future.

EV investment director Will Clark said: “Mark is a creative entrepreneur who has built a business with an impressive client list and now wants to grow it into a successful and internationally respected company. This investment, from The North West Fund for Venture Capital, together with the strategic input from the new Chairman, will help him along the road to achieve his goal.”