INSIGHTS / News

From left to right: Monika Radclyffe; Centre Director SETsquared Bristol, Jenny Griffiths; Snap Tech

UK entrepreneurs behind high-growth potential technology companies, including Bristol-based Snap Tech Ltd, gathered in London yesterday to pitch for a combined £18m to an audience of investors at SETsquared’s annual Accelerating Growth Investment Showcase.

Running for the past 14 years, SETsquared’s Investment Showcase has become a huge success; attracting 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.

The 20 start-ups pitching for investment have all received mentoring and support from SETsquared, and were seeking financial backing, ranging between £150k and £5m, from an audience of more than 100 investors and corporates. Already, the total raised by companies who have previously participated exceeds £100m.

Of the 20 companies that participated this year, eight have female founders, the largest number in the event’s history.

Jenny Griffiths, CEO and founder of Snap Tech, which revolutionises ecommerce and publishing using world-class visual search and discovery tools, said:

“Getting the opportunity to present our business proposition to a room full of investors is a great opportunity. When we are successful in raising the £2m we’re looking for today, we will use it to expand the team in London and the South West to deliver on our vision to become the global standard for visual search.”

Monika Radclyffe, centre director for SETsquared Bristol, added:

“We work with some amazing entrepreneurs and start-ups and this event is our way of getting them in front of investors and business experts who could really help to develop these ventures and take them forward.”

“The companies participating this year have all put a tremendous amount of effort into getting their businesses investment ready and their pitches attractive to potential investors.”

Other Bristol-based companies who pitched for investment at the showcase included:

• Industrial Phycology – an award-winning enterprise that specialises in sustainable water recycling and valuable nutrient recovery.
• iCOMAT – a University of Bristol spin-out that has developed a patented manufacturing process for making advanced carbon fibre composite parts that are lighter, stronger and more cost-effective.
• Vitamica – who is developing a novel diagnostic technology to test pathogenic bacteria for susceptibility to antibiotics within one hour, transforming the way clinicians make decisions on antibiotic choice for the benefit of patients.
• Azul Optics – a University of Bristol spin-out that is developing a an affordable, easy to use and compact device that will enable eye health professionals to rapidly assess macular pigments as an indicator of eye health.

Over the last 18 years, SETsquared has helped more than 3,500 businesses raise over £1.5bn in investment, as well as contributing over £8.6bn in GVA (Gross Value Added) to the UK economy rising to £26.9bn by 2030 – figures that contributed to it being named by UBI Global as the top university business incubator in the world in 2015 and 2018.