Pitching for a Place
Entrepreneurs from across the region took a step closer to securing their place on Southampton Science Park’s business accelerator programme, Catalyst, when they were invited to pitch on Wednesday 3rd August.
The Science Park team have been on the hunt for the early-stage businesses that they deem to have the greatest break-through potential, keen to provide the world-class coaching that will help them build profitable, sustainable businesses.
“We had a great pitch day and there are some difficult decisions to make, I think,” commented Lucinda Lamont, Business Development Manager at the Science Park. “Although I had heard much about the prestigious Catalyst programme, this was my first experience of it ‘in action’ and I was curious to see what kind of businesses it attracts. I wasn’t disappointed! The diversity and quality of the presentations was eye-opening but also a reassuring reflection of the entrepreneurial spirit that exists here on the South Coast.”
Robin Chave, CEO of the Science Park sat on the judging panel, along with coaches from the Catalyst programme.
He reflected: “As judges, we were assessing not only the businesses and the technology behind them, but the character and drive of the business leaders themselves. The standard of presentations today was remarkably high, so it was vital that our approach was robust to evaluate the likely success and growth potential of each. There will inevitably be some disappointed applicants, but with limited places available for our fully-funded programme, that’s the nature of a competitive process.”
Southampton Science Park offers support to start-ups and early-stage businesses in various ways throughout the year from its events programme with free-to-attend lunch and learn sessions to formal coaching and membership programmes like Catalyst and SETsquared.
Applications for Catalyst are welcome any time for programmes that commence annually in September.
