Worcestershire technology accelerator hosts successful virtual pitch event

Published by

Nicky Godding

Worcestershire’s Technology Accelerator, BetaDen delivered a virtual pitch event to seventy invited guests for its second cohort of technology founders.

Currently working with Cohort 2.0, BetaDen has produced a virtual package to the challenges presented by COVID-19 to allow the cohort to remain on track with their acceleration programme.

As part of the commercial route to market development within BetaDen, founders take part in pitch events to promote their innovative technologies and then present their product or solution in a final showcase evening to demonstrate the journey their organisation has made within the accelerator.

The virtual pitch event for the six founders took place online for an hour, and provided each of them with the unique opportunity to present and pitch the technology they are developing to a small invited audience of local industry, investment community and key stakeholders.

The concept technologies being developed within the cohort are a focus point of these events and several of the cohort have even adapted their designs to meet new demands brought on by COVID-19.

Two examples would include, PLINX which has produced wearable technology that can be integrated across several industries like construction and transport to keep workers safe, and Utelize which has developed a secure mobile network solution for the mobile workforce with increased data security.

Both technologies are just two examples of exciting new and emerging technology applications the cohort are developing, and the showcase provides the perfect opportunity to present to industry and investors, all the technologies are being advanced in Worcestershire’s very first commercial technology accelerator launched in 2018 and based at Malvern Hills Science Park.

Linda Smith, CEO of BetaDen, said: "Ensuring our second cohort could continue their development during this time has been a real challenge for the team and I am thrilled at how well the cohort adapted to using a technology solution to enable a virtual version of their pitch event.

“The webinar attracted an invited audience of just over 70 stakeholders, investors and supporters of BetaDen and we have since received some incredible feedback. Cohort 2.0 are still working towards a final showcase event in June, which will be open to a much wider audience.”

The safety of the BetaDen team, cohort members and wider community was the main priority driving this adapted event. The full Cohort 2 showcase evening has also been moved to late June this year and depending on the Government guidance, will be either a physical or another virtual event.

June also is set to see the launch of the third cohort with eight businesses being selected to join Worcestershire’s technology accelerator programme.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.