- Scale Up Month features a number of events and third party accelerators
- Region-wide invitation to businesses looking to ramp up growth
- Includes launch of Quarterly Investment Briefing
Engine Shed has launched its first ‘Scale Up Month’ in March 2018 as part of the economic hub’s drive to deliver inclusive economic growth. The programme includes three key events: Scale Up Briefing, Scale Up Breakfast and sees the launch of the inaugural Quarterly Investment Briefing session, as well as a series of blogs designed to build understanding and awareness of the challenges faced by scale-up businesses, and equip business leaders from across the West of England region as they accelerate growth.
Kicking off Scale Up Month is the Scale Up Briefing, ‘From Rhetoric to Reality’, to be held on 7thMarch with guest speaker, Uday Phadke, CEO at Cartezia and, until recently, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Cambridge University. Uday is also the author of ‘Camels, Tigers & Unicorns: Rethinking Science and Technology-Enabled Innovation’ which discusses how ideas can be transformed into commercial reality. Sponsored by TLT, the session will cover issues such as developing maturity to scale up, which vectors leaders need to concentrate on, the tools needed to improve success rate and the pitfalls to avoid. The event is a must attend for anyone experiencing the challenges of scaling up, or contemplating the process. Bookings can be made here: https://rhetoric-to-reality.eventbrite.co.uk
This is quickly followed by Engine Shed’s first Scale Up Breakfast workshop on 13th March, ‘Top Tips for Office Relocation Success’. The deep dive session features Q&As plus insight from two previous panellists Phil Morton, Morton Property Consultants and Andy Worley, Ashfords about the ‘let vs buy’ conundrum and how to find and secure the right premises and location for growing teams. Supported by Ashfords and Morton Property Consultants, the event is open to all start ups and scale ups across the region but space is limited. If you are a scale up founder or employee looking to learn about new spaces and how to get ahead in the search, places can be booked here: https://office-space-hunt.eventbrite.co.uk
March also sees the launch of Engine Shed’s Quarterly Investment Briefing event on 22nd March. Aimed squarely at investors including venture capitalists, Angel investors and funders of funds, the session features presentations from Silicon Valley Bank, Invest in Bristol & Bath’s, Matt Cross and Jenny Tooth, CEO at UKBAA. Sponsored by TLT, Smith & Williamson and KPMG, the event is the first of its kind in the region to showcase the breadth of investment opportunities across Bristol and Bath, providing part of the ‘deal mechanism’ crucial for scaling up. The event is notably ‘pitch-free’ however investors will be sign posted to third party pitch opportunities. Any investor interested in participating, should contact Briony Philips, Engine Shed’s scale up co-ordinator briony.phillips@engine-shed.co.uk.
Commenting on Scale Up Month, Briony said:
“Scale Up Month is a really exciting development for Engine Shed and the Bristol & Bath economic region. We’ve been engaging with and listening to a wide range of business leaders and entrepreneurs over the last 9 months and are pleased to put the spotlight on support for scale up businesses for the month of March. The programme of activities reflects the three barriers to growth that are most mentioned by scale-up founders – office space, access to investment and leadership. We are calling on all businesses and investors from across the region to get involved and to play their part in the continued creation of a vibrant, inclusive economy.”
Nina Searle, senior Associate at TLT, focused on FastGrowth companies and those who invest in them added:
“We are very pleased and excited to sponsor the Scale Up Briefings and the new Quarterly Investment Briefings with Engine Shed. The Scale Up Briefings offer great insight for any business looking to take the next step in their business and the opportunity to network with peers in a similar position as themselves. The Investment Briefings are not to be missed, giving investors a real opportunity to see the fantastic talent that exists within the region from university spin-outs to more mature businesses looking for investment to take their business to the next level.”
Engine Shed aren’t the only ones focusing on scale up in March. Briony’s work also focuses on raising awareness of other great initiatives and this month is no different. Three scale up programmes will be launched by Barclays, SETsquared Partnership and Inspire Elite to support scale up activity. Details of a further ten that are open for applications can be found in Briony’s recent blog: http://www.engine-shed.co.uk/scale-up-support-programmes/
To keep up to date on Scale Up Month, use #ScaleUpMonth, visit http://www.engine-shed.co.uk/projects/scale-up/ or subscribe to Engine Shed newsletter http://engine-shed.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=b9e747da9238aeae38a752c8e&id=6ec810f162