W O R G H C N U A L E R I INSP
h g r u b n i d E ty of i s r e v i e s n i r U p e r e h t t n g E n row Helpi G d n a h c n Inspire Lau
Oonagh Mannix & Helen Williams University of Edinburgh Alumnae Founders of Polorum 2015 Inspire Launch Grow Finalists
The University of Edinburgh is amongst the most entrepreneurial in the United Kingdom. The ďŹ rst class support provided by the University and the wider enterprise support network play an important role, not only in the student experience but in delivering impact for the world class research coming out of our University. Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea, University of Edinburgh Principal
EDINBURGH ENTERPRISE ECOSYSTEM
Incubation Training Pre-start support Events Post-start support Funding Competitions Investment
INFORMATICS VENTURES BETTER CONNECTED
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Taking part in last year’s ILG competition helped kick start Photon Force onto success, giving us the resources to establish the brand and experience, which helped us go onto win other competitions and funding.
Dr Richard Walker University of Edinburgh Alumnus Founder of Photon Force Ltd 2015 Innovation Cup Finalist
INSPIRE Marty and eventually Robotical Ltd. actually started out as a side project during my PhD. I wanted to get a robot toy for my niece but couldn’t see one which I was happy with as a roboticist (or at least not one I could afford) - so I made one. The first prototype was way too complicated, but it got me speaking to people, and Marty developed over time, with a bit of a lightbulb moment when I figured out how to make the cool, new leg mechanism. My first proper validation came when I won the innovation cup at Edinburgh University’s Inspire, Launch, Grow Competition - the uni’s main annual startup award. That was an indication that other people besides me believed in the vision and the product! Being a student entrepreneur is great - the support infrastructure at Edinburgh Uni in particular is top notch, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be running a company now if they hadn’t helped me out. Working on a company part-time while you’re a student is a fantastic hobby and a great way to supplement your studies without risking too much.
HELLO
ROBOTICAL Dr Alexander Enoch University of Edinburgh Alumnus Founder of Robotical Ltd. 2015 Innovation Cup Winner
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LAUNCHING STARTUPS June 2015 - June 2016
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Edinburgh Research & Innovation supports a wide range of entrepreneurial talent across The University of Edinburgh. We contribute to a thriving start-up ecosystem with a range of events and training opportunities. We also invest heavily in 1-2-1 resources and dedicated support.
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Often startups have very little access to traditional funding in their early days. So we focus on helping new starts win competitions to bridge the gap between idea and their first big grant or proper investment. The students, staff, and postdocs of the University of Edinburgh have won an impressive number of competitions and used their wins to grow even more impressive ideas into businesses.
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The University of Edinburgh attracts talent in staff and students from the four corners of the earth, and we want to keep that entrepreneurial talent here in Scotland. Entrepreneurs bring inspiration, innovation, knowledge sharing, and sometimes jobs and economic benefit. Therefore, we’ve been strengthening our relationship with the International Office over the past few years to endorse Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visas, which means great entrepreneurs have time to stay here in Scotland and develop their ideas. In the past 12 months alone we’ve endorsed 18 entrepreneurs to continue working on their startups in the UK.
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Winning Big The Two Big Ears team leveraged competition and grant wins to pave their way to success, both before and after forming the company, accumulating an impressive list of accomplishments along the way. • Shortlisted for the 2012 LAUNCH.ed Business Ideas Competition • Innovation Cup Finalist for the 2013 Inspire Launch Grow Awards • Selected for the 2013 LAUNCH.ed & Santander Summer Entern Programme • Pitched and exhibited at the 2014 EIE Competition • Abesh won a 2014 Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellowship • Won a 2014 SMART Award of £66,000
Starting Up in Scotland After meeting with an advisor from LAUNCH.ed and several months of hard work, Abesh and Varun applied for and received Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneurship Visas in late 2012 to officially turn their idea into a business. In 2014, both Abesh and Varun qualified for full Tier 1 Visas.
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Two Big Ears’ start-up journey started when Abesh Thakur and Varun Nair met while they were both on masters courses at Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh. Both originally from India, the two were also studying complimentary degrees with Abesh studying Acoustics and Music Tech while Varun was in Sound Design. With their degrees finished, the two decided to take their idea for augmented reality on mobile devices using sound rather than the traditional visuals from an idea to a business.
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In early 2013, the two cofounders landed a £5,000 grant from Edinburgh Research & Innovation and officially formed Two Big Ears.
LAUNCH
Two Big Ears Joins Facebook From a start-up launched while studying at the University of Edinburgh, Alumni Abesh Thakur and Varun Nair have recently seen the fruits of their labour. In 2016, Two Big Ears was bought by social media giant. The original idea to provide augmented reality via sound has come to fruition, with Abesh Thakur, the firm’s chief executive, saying: “Our mission is to make VR audio succeed across all devices and platforms and continue to help creators make the best experiences for billions of people across the world.”
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As part of the acquisition, the firm’s flagship product Spatial Workstation will be given away for free from Facebook to get the innovative technology in hands of more people creating content for the quickly developing VR space. The team recognised all the support they received in Scotland to launch and grow their company. The team said; “Thank you to our customers, partners and investors, including board members George Elliott and Neil Heywood, the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Enterprise and everybody who has been with us on this amazing journey. We look forward to advancing our mission – and continuing our work with you – from Facebook.”
TWO BIG EARS
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STARTUP CAPITAL RAISED June 2015 - June 2016
Edinburgh Research and Innovation doesn’t just help companies form we also help them grow. A big part of fostering growth is finding the right level and type of investment. We support our start-ups and spin-outs to access the right kind of funding they need and plan for their future funding requirements.
£232 SMART £121K+ RSE £572K HSGP
Over the past 12 months alone, University of Edinburgh start-ups and spin-outs have raised an impressive amount of capital to grow their companies.
£360K Gates Grant
£67K+ Crowd Funding £550K Angel £576K+ Other
£400K EDGE
£535K+ Other
£2,004,691
GRANTS AWARDED
£7M+ OCC
£3.7M VC
£11,899,085
INVESTMENT RAISED
GROW ERI allowed us to materialise our ideas and transform them into a spin-out. One of the reasons to stay in Scotland is to benefit from the company support.
Dr Carlos Labra University of Edinburgh Founder of Particle Analytics
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The Pitch 'n Mix event is the speed networking-based, pitching event that is designed specifically for very early stage startups/pre-starts. Any startups from the University of Edinburgh may pitch their business idea to a group of mentors to receive advice and guidance. At the event, eight University entrepreneurs each give a 5-minute pitch followed by 20-minute round table discussions with different groups of mentors. The event finishes with informal networking over a glass of wine. Mentors are provided with a description of each business in advance of the event, and there are opportunities to follow up and develop a mentoring relationship after the event. Our pool of mentors consists of highly experienced, well networked entrepreneurs and professionals who volunteer their time to support and encourage new entrepreneurs.
MentorShed is a private website designed and managed by ERI that aims to connect University entrepreneurs with experienced mentors. University entrepreneurs post a description of their business and what they are looking for help with. The projects featured cover a wide range of business ideas from pop up shops and e-commerce sites to new products and technology companies. Some are high growth companies looking to raise funding, while others are small startups who are engaging with their first customers and learning what works best for their fledgling businesses. A select group of experienced, professional mentors who have all been interviewed and approved by the Company Formation team at the University of Edinburgh can review the ideas posted and send a note of interest to the business or businesses they think they can help. ERI then introduces the entrepreneurs to those mentors they would like to meet.
Virtual Board Young start-up businesses set up by first time entrepreneurs often have significant growing pains that can prevent them from scaling up and from keeping focus on the strategic direction of the company. Disastrous short-term effects on the company’s ability to grow and ultimately fulfil their potential often result. The stage where a young start-up is most vulnerable is when a company has received grant funding but are ‘pre seed investment’, which means they don’t yet have a management board available to provide the necessary guidance. To address this problem Edinburgh Research and Innovation’s has developed the ‘Virtual Board’ mentoring programme. This initiative gives the University of Edinburgh’s start-up entrepreneurs access to 'virtual board' meetings involving a panel of six experienced entrepreneurs and professionals to help keep inexperienced entrepreneurs focused on the big picture to quickly and sustainably grow their young start-up companies. The virtual board not only gives these entrepreneurs access to the type of high calibre individuals they should expect to sit on their boards in the future but allows them to learn how to build relationships with those future board members.
Pitching for Mentors Pitching for Mentors events are an opportunity for students, alumni and staff of the University of Edinburgh to pitch their business idea to a panel of experienced entrepreneurs from out-with the academic environment. The event is private, confidential and designed to provide constructive feedback on a more involved, 10-minute pitch in a supportive environment. Our aim is to put ambitious and promising entrepreneurs in front of handpicked, experienced and inspirational professionals who can unlock opportunities, make connections or highlight areas where an entrepreneur can develop.
After the first six months of the Virtual Board pilot project, David Hunter of Shot Scope Technologies received his first round of seed investment and ‘graduated’ from the virtual board to the real thing. Of his Virtual Board experience, he said: “The virtual board has been a useful learning experience prior to raising investment. The individuals involved with the board meetings are experts in their field. During an important phase, when the business was recruiting and seeking investment, their guidance made a significant impact. However, I don’t think I will fully understand how valuable it has been until I am involved with board meetings in the future.”
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OLD COLLEGE CAPITAL is the venture investment arm of the University of Edinburgh provides growth capital into early and mid stage spin-out and startup companies as part of syndicated capital rounds.
The University’s Director of Corporate Services, Hugh Edmiston, says, “The investment demonstrates a continued commitment by the University and its Endowment to back growth businesses from the University’s ecosystem by providing essential capital at an exciting and critical point in their development.”
Hamish Mair, Chair of OCC’s investment committee says, “External investors have welcomed the fund and take confidence that the University is backing its own companies and sharing the risk. OCC’s investment partners can work with a trusted partner with the ability to follow-on its investments and benefit from the University’s in-depth knowledge of our investee businesses.”
Of a recent funding round, which included backing from Old College Capital, Sunamp Founder Andres Bissell said: “We are very pleased that these investors have recognised the huge potential that Sunamp has to offer, both to consumers looking for energy cost saving opportunities, and to businesses looking to make efficient use of renewable heat. The board was delighted the round was significantly oversubscribed, helping accelerate our plans. It is an exciting time for Sunamp, with a large customer pipeline and many innovative products being developed.”
The Fund was established in 2011 with support from the University and its Endowment and works in partnership with investors who are interested in high growth potential businesses. Currently the fund typically invests between £250,000 and £400,000 in each company, and adopts a ‘co-investment model’, working alongside venture capitalists, angel groups and corporate investors. OCC has an independent investment committee and operates on a fully commercial basis. Since 2011 Old College capital has invested £2.9m into thirteen student start-ups and academic spin-outs across a broad range of sectors, including software, renewable energy, life sciences, electronics, and communication technology. This investment leveraged a further £24m from private sector commercial coinvestors. The fund now totals £8m.
www.oldcollegecapital.com
ENTERPRISE CAMPUS
Scotland
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postgraduate students engaged with
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24 new high growth companies formed
East Hub
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10 new high growth companies formed
www.EnterpriseCampus.org.uk @ENTCampus #GOSTART 14
INSPIRE LAUNCH GROW
inburgh d E f o y it s r e iv n prises r e t n E Helping the U w o r G d an Inspire Launch
If you have an idea and you would like support, please contact us Dr Andrew Herbert, H Guard, School of Chemistry Dr Eliza Makou, H Guard, School of Chemistry
Edinburgh Research and Innovation Ltd +44 (0)131 472 4700 www.research-innovation.ed.ac.uk