Steffan Aquarone

Steffan Luke Aquarone is a UK entrepreneur in the film and technology sectors. His projects involve collaboration between large groups of people with a common interest[1] and are often crowd-source financed,[2] the most notable example being feature-film Tortoise in Love which was made by a village in Oxfordshire.[3]

In 2014, Aquarone was named by the Daily Mirror as one of the Top 20 most influential media figures under 30.[4]

Education

Aquarone was educated at home as a member of Education Otherwise until the age of 12, before attending Norwich School. He then read Politics and International Relations at the University of Warwick, graduating with a BA in 2006.

Business

In 2004, Aquarone co-founded media business Ephex Media Limited with two fellow students at the University of Warwick. Ephex Media received investment from the Advantage Early Growth Fund in 2007[5] in order to acquire regional post-production facility Oakslade Studios.[6] The company made and edited corporate films for brands including Land Rover, Vodafone, Massey Ferguson and American Express. The business was placed into administration in 2008.[7]

Aquarone co-owns feature film production company Immense Productions with author Guy Browning,[8] whose first feature Tortoise in Love on which Aquarone was producer[9] released in the UK in 2012.[10]

In 2011, Aquarone co-founded peer-to-peer[11] mobile payments platform Droplet[12] which allows users to load funds to an app on their mobile phones and send payments to other people or merchants.[13]

In 2013, Droplet was named among the 'Top 25 UK Startups' by influential technology blog Mashable.[14]

Writing

Aquarone writes on digital marketing topics including online video. In 2012 he wrote "Online Video: A Best Practice Guide" for digital publishers Econsultancy.[15]

In 2017, with his sister Freya, he published "Fourth to First: How to win a local election in under six months". It recounts how he won a council ward for the Liberal Democrats at his first attempt, even though the party finished fourth in the previous contest for the ward.[16]

Politics

On 4 May 2017, he was elected as county councillor for the Melton Constable division of Norfolk County Council.[17] He is deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council.[18]

Personal life

Aquarone lives in Norwich with his wife Jill, and is a practicing Quaker, involved in local politics with the Liberal Democrat party.

References
  1. Roxborough, Scott "How an English Village Bankrolled 'A Tortoise in Love'", The Hollywood Reporter, 12 May 2011. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  2. MIPDoc 2011, "Crowdsourcing: the frontier of documentary and funding", Cannes, 3 April 2011. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  3. "British comedy funded by village residents to show at Cannes", The Daily Telegraph 13 May 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  4. "Top 20 most influential media figures under 30", Daily Mirror 4 December 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  5. "Think Enterprise Case Studies", 15 September 2010. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  6. "4RFV", 2 October 2007. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  7. , The London Gazette, 22 July 2008. Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  8. "Immense get a funny idea about business" The Birmingham Post 21 July 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  9. IMDB "IMDB". Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  10. British Board of Film Classification "Tortoise in Love". Retrieved on 9 June 2012.
  11. Cockburn, Russ "How traditional banking is failing people technologically" 4 April 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  12. Crunchbase "Droplet". Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  13. Birmingham Post "Birmingham entrepreneurs launch payment app for smartphones", The Birmingham Post 31 March 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  14. "25 Top UK Startups." Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  15. "Online Video Best Practice Guide", January 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  16. "Fourth to First: How to Win a Local Election in Under Six Months", Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  17. "Conservatives take control after results of Norfolk County Council elections, but UKIP and Greens wiped out". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  18. Scott, Geraldine (7 May 2017). "Norfolk's Liberal Democrats appoint new leadership team following local elections". Thetford and Brandon Times. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.