Backed by the resources and expertise of the Midwich Group, Will Fenby and Alex Kemanes are casting their investment-focused eyes on the world of AV and tech startups

AV has traditionally been seen as a fairly homegrown industry. In audio, for example, many of the now prolific and world-renowned brands enjoying success started out as nothing more than a spark of genius in a garden shed. If you were a touring engineer trying to accomplish a specific goal, there weren’t many resources to turn to and you were likely left having to invent a new tool to get the job done the way you wanted it done. You were left to knuckle down and figure out a solution on your own.

That’s far from the case today. The industry (and the world it resides in) has changed massively. It’s no longer just a collection of microphones and loudspeakers, and there is no shortage of helpful partners and resources on-hand to guide newcomers through appropriate procedures and next steps. But who you look to for help can be the difference between a make or break. A major challenge today is finding the right partner to help move your idea to the next stage.

Enter Will Fenby and Alex Kemanes, the team behind Midwich Group’s new venture arm Midwich Ignite. Operating as a standalone enterprise targeting innovative seed-stage investments, while utilising the group’s global connections and expertise garnered over nearly half a century, the team has had a busy year since launching at ISE 2024. The focus is primarily on investments in high-growth startups within AV and the wider technology ecosystem, such as smart and connected spaces, hospitality and event technology, and robotics and automation.

Fenby recently joined the group from Alantra Corporate Finance, a mid-market mergers and acquisitions business where he focused on the technology market having previously qualified as a chartered accountant. Kemanes, meanwhile, is regional director for the Middle East at Midwich Group-owned NMK Electronics. “Between the two of us I think we offer very complementary skillsets,” Fenby explains. “I’m fairly new to the AV industry itself but have lots of relevant experience in the financial and deal execution side of things. On top of this, we have the Midwich Group’s global network of vendors, integrators, consultants and technicians at our fingertips.” It’s a rare blend of skills that the pair feel makes Midwich Ignite uniquely positioned to help new companies get their foot in the door.

Despite several high-profile success stories over the last few years, Kemanes believes the industry is ripe for investment from an insider. “We’ve identified that the AV market is still very small in terms of investment,” explains Kemanes. “Private equity firms are looking to place their money in more established places. For companies that we would classify as startups, there’s really not many touching this space. For a traditional VC [venture capitalist] that wants tech multiples, AV is still a bit too niche. We slot into that gap perfectly. We have a large network within the group and that’s a big advantage for us: we can pull any resource,” notes Kemanes. “That was really a major impetus for starting the fund. We have all these resources, let’s utilise them in a way that benefits the whole business and the wider industry.”

With Fenby jumping onboard in late November 2023 to assist with initial activities and getting everything up and running, the fund launched officially at the end of January last year and “it’s been all guns blazing since,” he says. “We’ve been delighted at how quickly we’re able to move as a fund, despite being part of a large business. We think we’ve managed to overcome the classic pitfalls of corporate venture investing – namely, the layers of red tape and conflicting investment criteria that seem to feature in so many corporate VCs. We are a very lean team with a lean reporting structure, and we are committed to keeping our investments at arms’ length to the group; we don’t want anyone thinking that an investment from us is going to tie them into the wider distribution business. We want to leverage the network and expertise to help our investments grow, while the group itself gets the benefit of seeing the latest technology trends ahead of our competition. Our aim is to position Midwich at the heart of the audiovisual innovation ecosystem.”

Less than a year on from the initial launch and Midwich Ignite has enjoyed several success stories, with five investments under its belt already. As the pair sit down to discuss the topic with Pro AVL MEA, the news comes through that they’ve closed another big investment – this one into Ciqurix, a UK-based company that develops video flame detection technology. As part of the drive to support their portfolio beyond mere financial investment, the Ignite team will be working closely with Ciqurix to support its go-to-market and marketing strategy and drive forward regulatory backing under the UK’s newest fire industry accreditation. Similarly, earlier in the year it was Midwich’s network that helped hybrid workplace platform Kadence, based in the US, to announce an integration partnership with a major UC hardware vendor.

As Fenby notes, “when we started out on this journey, we had a theory of how it would work with our combined background and our value add as a big group. But the proof is in the pudding, and I think 12 months on, we can confidently say it has worked. Our goal has been to support innovation (and innovative entrepreneurs), and we truly believe our ‘pay it forward’ approach can help drive positive collaboration in the industry as a whole.”

The Midwich Ignite team will be back at ISE this year as they celebrate their first anniversary as a fund and look ahead with excitement to 2025. The pair urge anyone interested in learning about the fund to visit them on the Midwich stand.