How Can UK’s Start-up ecosystem be accelerated?

A report commissioned by Telefonica and published in April 2017, the UK’s start-up ecosystem is vibrant and diverse. The report stated that UK start-ups had grown by 80% since 2011. Among the more notable happenings on the tech startup scene have been Ascenta, which was bought off by Facebook, Deepmind Technologies which was acquired by Google, and Semetric which was acquired by Apple. UK start-ups are performing well but in today’s third internet wave with areas like cloud computing, there is still room for more innovation.

Another study by research firm Nesta found out that in 2016, there were:

• 205 incubators
• 163 accelerators
• 11 pre-accelerators
• 7 virtual accelerators

An estimated 3660 new businesses are being supported by these entities each year, with an estimated £33 million in start-up capital being raised annually. Most of these entities supporting new businesses are in the big cities of London, Bristol, Birmingham, and Manchester.

How can the start-up ecosystem be raised to a higher performance level, able to support more start-ups that become viable and sustainable businesses?

• Training

Many startup founders have brilliant ideas in their field of expertise but know little about how to set up a viable business. Offering training on the basics of business planning, fundraising, financial management, sales, and marketing enables start-ups to put in place the structures needed to become viable businesses.

• Workspace

Many start-ups face the challenge of having a workspace, be it an office or a workshop with the right equipment and tools. Providing a working space with the facilities needed enables start-ups to get to work without having to invest in these costs.

• Networking events and demo days

A start-up looking for capital needs to showcase what it is offering to interested parties. Networking events bring together industry players who include older businesses in the sector, and prospective investors. They get to meet innovators face to face and listen to different ideas.

• Legal support

Safeguarding intellectual property rights is one of the biggest challenges for start-ups. Providing legal services helps safeguard these rights as well as help start-ups skirt around risks, for example, modelling products too close to trademarked products.

• Mentoring

Connecting startup founders to people who have been in similar position and succeeded is important in passing on information and knowledge that cannot be acquired in formal training. The start-ups are able to handle different challenges better by depending on this wisdom.

The UK start-up ecosystem is one of the most vibrant in Europe and in the larger world. Entities that can offer acceleration to these start-ups will get into unique win-win situations.