TECH
Backing – those attending the demo days hope to attract funding or other support to help them get their ideas off the ground.
Networking – businesses involved in both The Stable and The Forge also offer support and advice to each other.
With 14 businesses completing the latest cycle, most of the activity takes place at Flok. These are companies looking to scale up significantly or develop a brand-new product or service.
Instead of a survival stipend, businesses in The Forge can apply for up to £ 25,000 in direct grant funding to inject straight into their operations, bridging the gap between early revenue and significant investment funding.
Imran Anwar, CEO of Alt Labs, said:“ Over the past year, the Tees Valley Labs team has worked closely with founders across Pre-Flight, The Stable and The Forge, backing them through the realities of building at every stage of growth.
“ To see early-stage founders strengthen their foundations and scaling companies sharpen their path to investment is exactly why we built these programmes.
“ I’ m looking forward to seeing what this next chapter holds for every business.”
While digital technology is the heaviest element of the initiative, the sheer diversity of the ideas coming out of Tees Valley Labs proves that Teesside’ s innovation isn’ t limited to software.
Key digital tech companies making waves this year include Film Phones Pro, Evidence Informed Performance and Cineplatform. However, the cohorts also feature founders working on groundbreaking physical products.
There is a patent-pending solid-state battery design in the works, alongside Kona Clean Teknologies, a firm developing a specialist paint that reduces degradation on wind turbine blades by a factor of 10.
The medical technology sector is also heavily represented, showcasing solutions that could change lives. Innovative MedTech start-ups that have taken part include Southe, RoboHive, Salvify and URO3 Healthcare.
Tees Valley Labs has intentionally worked with external partners to ensure these founders receive the best possible advice across every facet of business.
Partners including AbacusBean, Pneuma Legal, Mediaworks, Strategy House, Barclays Eagle Labs and Brewin Dolphin have all thrown their weight behind the programme.
The peer-to-peer support and the involvement of seasoned local business leaders such as long-time advocate Bill Scott OBE – listed as the region’ s most inspiring business leader – has been just as vital for mentoring the cohorts.
Dan Watson, head of ecosystems and operations at Alt Labs, said:“ We have brought investors and other funders, as well as business owners who can add value to the businesses on our programmes and wider ecosystem.
“ Partners like Bill Scott, who takes pride in paying his time and expertise forward with the hopes of seeing the businesses, and the wider region, succeed.
“ The founders have gone through their programmes together, they all want to support one another. They want each other to succeed and make introductions and build networks for people in the cohort with them, which is nice to see.”
All of this hard work culminates in Demo Days for both The Stable and The Forge. For weeks, the founders prepare to stand before a room full of investors, mentors and potential commercial partners to pitch their visions.
That provides the perfect launchpad. It is their chance to announce themselves to the local business community, initiate critical funding conversations and explore commercial collaborations.
Dan said:“ Last year, we saw some quite significant investor conversations taking place on the back of the demo day, as well as lots of different collaborations, connections and mentoring introductions.
“ It’ s a great experience for The Stable and The Forge businesses and allows them to get in front of people who are potentially sector experts or can offer advice or support in other ways.
“ Getting the businesses in front of investors at an early stage encourages them to look at different opportunities and gets the ball rolling for the next stage of their business’ s growth.”
Over the last two years – spanning three cohorts of The Stable and two of The Forge – the programme has generated roughly £ 4m in equity investment for Teesside tech start-ups.
Alumni have secured significant grant drawdowns from Innovate UK and other national funding pots. There has been debt finance secured, robust job creation, international market expansion and even one successful exit.
In a staggering display of confidence and valuation, one start-up from the programme recently turned down investment offers of $ 2m and $ 2.7m.
Sarah Walker, TVCA’ s director of business solutions, said:“ It’ s inspiring to see how The Stable and The Forge programmes have empowered our local business owners and innovators.
“ They help refine their ideas to deliver confident pitches on demo day, and the progress these businesses make through targeted, focused support, just shows what’ s possible when expert guidance is offered. It really highlights the depth of talent and innovation we have thriving here.”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 85