Getting the start-up infrastructure right to support tech entrepreneurs

By Linda Smith (Pictured), founder and CEO of UK tech accelerator BetaDen

Europe is home to a vast eco-system of incubators, accelerators, innovation labs and projects, all specialising in different areas of technology and with differing rules of engagement. This can make it a confusing landscape to navigate and means many early-stage tech businesses need help to identify the support they really need. Incubators - often tied to universities - are a good initial port of call. Developing technology-led ideas arising from undergraduate and postgraduate studies, or hosting R&D projects as part of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, this is where the foundations of new tech businesses can be firmly put in place. But what next for those early-stage businesses that have completed the incubator process and are ready to scale, go to market and prepare for investment? Accelerators, Government-led initiatives and scale-up support programmes are all designed to help businesses test and develop their offer, build business relationships and, ultimately, create real value in their company. The approach, type and level of support varies from programme to

programme; from resources and lab space, to business mentoring, industry-specific skills development, access to technology test beds, development partners and simply being part of a wider network of entrepreneurs, sector specialists, customer and investor networks. The key to success lies in choosing a programme that places commerciality front and centre of its offer. Almost every tech development has a multitude of potential applications but this means it can be all too easy for founders to get lost in the tech itself, worry about the needs of the end user too late, or be pulled in too many different potential directions to maintain focus. One of Europe’s biggest responsibilities to early-stage businesses is to make sure there is a real world need for their product - right from MVP or concept stage. Keeping sight of who the end customers are, what their needs are and which of those potential customers may be best placed to take advantage of the technology at an early stage, are crucial to informing the route to market. Without this focus, there is a real tendency for early-stage businesses to simply react to whichever initiative, trial or project is most pressing deadline-wise or offers the next available batch of funding. So, what can the start-up ecosystem do to help early-stage tech businesses scale successfully? Geography has a part to play, with real potential for complementary programmes to work more collaboratively to attract and support businesses at various stages of their development. This has the added benefit of providing a clear focus and building on existing skills and knowledge-bases in a region or nation to speed up the development and adoption of new technologies. By playing to the existing strengths of a local population - be that in manufacturing or security expertise, for example - tech innovators can identify real world challenges and opportunities more quickly than would be the case when working in isolation. More exposure to different requirements drives the creation of more-effective solutions, all while building a critical mass of demand that allows exciting concepts to move more quickly off the screen and into reality. Returning to the theme of putting the customer at the heart of the eco-system, one of the biggest barriers to adoption of new technology is supporting the end customer to make the transition to new ways of working. This is where digital technologies and the programmes supporting them can really come into their own. The creation of digital twins allows companies to combine two worlds - one ‘real world’ and the other, a digital copy where they can test and prove both the technology itself and possible end use cases. This is a real benefit when it comes to building the business case for investment, from both the entrepreneur’s and customers’ points of view. Building relationships between accelerators and industry bodies that allow their members easier access to such ‘bridging’ technology can also be a real win win; allowing more traditional companies to trial and shape the technology they need, while informing the route to market for tech entrepreneurs and adding value for industry body members. Crucially, commercial acceleration means being genuinely agile. 2021 has delivered a real gear change here with the growth of remote working, which has shifted the focus of investors onto deep tech entrepreneurs who can demonstrate how their technologies enable businesses to reap the benefits of the agile working revolution. There’s no reason the next Amazon, Apple or Microsoft shouldn’t come from a European nation. We just need to join the dots to make it happen.