SETsquared Bath Innovation Centre News

SETsquared is the global no. 1 university business incubator and our annual investment showcase has become the must-attend event in the investment calendar. Running for the past 15 years, SETsquared’s Investment Showcase attracts hundreds of investors, seasoned entrepreneurs, corporate investors and VCs, all looking to invest in companies with the potential to become the tech giants of tomorrow. Already, the total raised by companies who have previously participated exceeds £100m.

We are pleased to announce that Laurence James and Grant Calvin, will be joining us here at SETsquared Bath as our ‘Mentors-in-Residence’.

Laurence and Grant will be providing valuable business support to our student and graduate entrepreneurs at the Innovation Centre.

UK businesses doing R&D in immersive technology can apply for a share of up to £2 million grant funding alongside private equity investment.

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will award up to £2 million from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s Audience of the Future programme. This is for immersive technology research and development (R&D) projects.

TfL’s exciting competition challenges businesses to come up with an innovative and technological concept that reimagines physical retail space, meets the needs of their customers, and pushes the boundaries of retail.

They know customers are time-pressed, and with limited space, getting the right offer in place can be a real challenge. If your solution is up for this challenge, then they want to hear from you.

Over the last two and a half years, the Social Enterprise and Innovation Programme has supported more than 300 startups to develop and bring to market new business ideas that deliver positive impact. SETsquared Bath teamed up with DOT PROJECT to deliver a series of start up business workshops to over 150 of the programme participants. During this time DOT PROJECT noticed that women taking part in the programme often struggled with self belief and the confidence to start their own business.

The Bath Women’s Fund who are looking for the their first 60 pioneers who will work together to decide how their first round of funding is allocated.

Bath Women’s Fund launched their Giving Circle in October 2018 with over fifty women attending the launch. Members donate from £25 per month which will then be distributed back into the community.

Brought to you by Barton Hill Settlement and University of Bristol. This workshop is ideally suited to people that are thinking of starting a business or are already running an early stage start-up. 

This workshop covers a broad spectrum of key items you must consider when developing a business plan with the intention of helping you produce a more effective plan.

We are currently looking for a graduating University of Bath student to take up a 12 month full-time role with us at the Innovation Centre in Bath.

The exciting role will support the team in its work to promote the programme’s entrepreneurship opportunities to Undergraduate and Postgraduate students of the University of Bath, and it will also provide an ideal opportunity to learn more about entrepreneurial activities and opportunities.

SETsquared Bath are excited to announce that, following a competitive application process, two SETsquared Bath members, Nia Simpson of Compact Cane and Eoin Sharkey of The BioFactory have been selected to progress to the 2019 semi-finals of the Santander Universities Entrepreneurship competition.

The Sustainable Technologies Business Acceleration Hub (STBAH) supports start up and existing sustainable technology and low carbon businesses in the West of England.  As part of the programme the STBAH also run a number of events and workshops and are inviting organisations and individuals to register for tickets to their next sustainable economy event.

Ufi are offering grants of £150,000 - £300,000 to support projects lasting 18-24 months that show the potential to have a real impact on vocational learning. You'll also be part of a supportive cohort of related projects and a member of the wider Ufi family - giving you access to networks, experts and other funding opportunities.

Following an announcement from event organiser Spin up Science, the judging panel has now selected the category finalists. These are scientific companies at all stages, as well as the members of the community and organisations supporting these businesses. Several of the categories include companies which have developed from the scientific innovation at the University. These are: 

SETsquared Bath members Verv are the Google-mentored startup behind a smart energy hub and green electricity sharing platform, has raised over £6.5m in its Series A round led by environmental fund Earthworm.

The following is a shortlist of Bath member companies who will be taking part in the Graduate Acceleration Showcase. From an original list of 36 applications, they have successfully taken part in an online selection panel and will now take part in regional live pitching event to determine the final 20 companies which will go through to the event on 26th June.

Bristol+Bath Creative R+D is recruiting two New Talent and two Inclusion Fellows to help explore the future of Digital Placemaking.

This is a unique and exciting chance to focus on new and innovative areas of research, exploration and collaboration. The positions are part-time, paid and run from June 2019 until May 2020.

“EZ Education application met all the relevant criteria and were approved onto the programme. Following a meeting with Nicola to discuss the specific business need, it was clear they were keen to enter the next phase of growth by focusing on UK school subscriptions.  They already have a small sales team having some success, but required help on structuring this for scale - things like job descriptions/recruitment, the need to build processes, setting targets and suitable commission models.  The next stage was to match EZ Education with the best mentor who could help assist them with their ambitious growth plans - which we did!”

- Garry Pratt, Entrepreneur in Residence for the DBAH

The SPARKies tech and digital awards, now in its seventh year, shines a light on the amazing wealth of tech and creative professionals, startups and businesses in the West of England. We want to highlight the innovation being created in such abundance in and around Bristol and Bath, and the people and businesses who make it possible.

With fantastic judges set to pour over your nominations in 16 categories, there’s an award to recognise a range of tech and digital achievements this year.