High-growth tech entrepreneurs, including six of Southampton’s most exciting start-up businesses, pitched for a share of more than £25 million backing when they came face-to-face with angel investors, venture capitalists, high-net-worth individuals and corporate investors at SETsquared’s annual Accelerating Growth Investment Showcase last week.
The start-ups presented their innovative products and services for a range of sectors, including medtech and social tech, smart cities and engineering, and digital and mobile. Each company sought financial backing from an audience of more than 200 investors and corporates at the event. Each company also exhibited at the event, with the founders available to meet investors throughout the day.
It was the 13th showcase organised by the world’s number one university business incubator, SETsquared, an enterprise partnership between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey which provides mentoring support and comprehensive pitch training for startups.
The Southampton companies pitching for investment were:
David Bream, SETsquared’s programme director in Southampton, said: “There is a real appetite among investors to partner with SETsquared’s high-growth-potential technology companies and their engaging pitches really created a buzz at the event.
Michael Ruzic-Gauthier, investments associate at NetScientific, said: "I came to the showcase for two reasons: I was really interested to see the healthcare companies pitch and see what's happening in the industry, and I wanted to meet new contacts from the SETsquared partnership universities. I was really impressed by each of pitches I watched, and it was very helpful to have so many innovative new companies brought together in one room to speak to.”
Over the past 14 years SETsquared has helped more than 1,000 businesses raise over £1 billion in investment, as well as contributing over £3.8b in GVA (Gross Value Added) to the UK economy, and with £8.6b GVA estimated over the next decade. This achievement contributed to it being named by UBI Global as the top university business incubator in the world at the end of 2015.
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