John Spindler

Yesterday, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, on why socioeconomic inclusion is so important for the UK's technology economy, at the kick-off event of the Tech Future Taskforce on Social Mobility With The Sutton Trust and Social Mobility Ventures we brought together 150+ of the UK's leading technology employers and social mobility organisations to move from conversation to real action - addressing why only 9% of the UK's tech workforce come from working class backgrounds. Key Takeaways: 1️⃣ This is not just a moral issue, it's an innovation issue, we're excluding tens of millions of people from the sector 2️⃣ Government must continue work to improve access to opportunities outside of the traditional 'Golden Triangle' 3️⃣ We must prioritise exposure and access to tech careers well before the graduate level to truly diversify the talent pipeline A huge thanks to Google (Gemma Howley, David Black) for hosting us, Lexie Papaspyrou, Nick Harrison and all the Sutton Trust team. Finally a huge thank you to our supporters The Hg Foundation, Atomico, and Phoenix Court Works, and to all those who joined the dialogue. If you're interested in getting involved in Tech Future, please drop me a note, or check out the new website in the comments.

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Good to see the government are pausing InnovateUK smart grants to review the treatment of SMBs versus Startups. I've said in the past that startups are not SMBs, even though they might be small. They are searching for a business model to scale up - growth. A SMB might be a great business but growth is not its purpose, in general. Now I think they also need to purge their pool of assessors for people who understand startups and technology. I'd suggest using ex-founders, entrepreneurs and VCs. VCs live and die by successfully deciding which companies to fund. How many government assessors would that apply to? I had an assessor on my Machine Learning smart grant application, asking why I needed so much funds for "training my staff, aren't they already qualified" - he was referring to our ML-training budget. I'll say no more, this is not unusual in my experience. https://lnkd.in/eXh98YFJ.

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Many FounderCatalyst customers report frustrations with Innovate Smart Grants - with a significant amount of time and effort required to apply for each grant and a very low chance of success; Innovate reporting <10% success rates but it often feels MUCH lower than that. It's with mixed feelings therefore that I read the news that the Smart Grant scheme has been paused pending an overhaul. On one hand, hopefully the scheme can be optimised to reduce the impact on founders, which can only be a good thing. On the other, this pause is switching off a source of funding for early stage startups that are already being impacted by a significant reduction in equity investment availability coupled with a crippling focus by HMRC on R&D tax credits. Lets hope the review is swift... https://lnkd.in/eAeWxfMz

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Report reveals greater success for startups The startup graveyard might not be as crowded as you’ve heard. Contrary to the much-repeated stat that 90% of startups fail, new PwC analysis reveals the failure rate among early-stage UK companies is at its lowest in over a decade. https://lnkd.in/g8A-jwf3 In 2024, startups accounted for just 46% of all business insolvencies – a sharp drop from the 60% average of the past ten years, even as company formations hit record highs. So, what’s going on? It’s a mix of adaptability and austerity. Many founders have tightened costs, embraced GenAI and delayed big bets to protect runway. But with investor caution growing and talk of “zombie” companies surfacing, the real test may lie ahead: can these leaner startups reignite growth – or are they just biding time? ******* For more like this, try my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gBf8n27a

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Breakthrough alert: University innovation is about to move faster. The Deal Readiness Toolkit - created by SETsquared and funded by Research England - is transforming how groundbreaking research from Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton, and Surrey reaches the market. QantX + SETsquared Partnership: A Game-Changing Partnership This powerful alliance combines SETsquared's academic innovation expertise with QantX's commercial acumen to deliver: Investment-ready spinouts Accelerated market validation Direct funding pathways Expert industry mentorship The Problem University breakthroughs too often languish in labs due to complex commercialization processes. Not anymore. The Solution The toolkit delivers standardized legal templates, step-by-step playbooks, and comprehensive checklists that slash time-to-market and reduce friction for everyone involved. The Impact For Researchers: Your innovations reach the world faster For Investors: Reduced due diligence time, standardized processes For Industry: Streamlined access to cutting-edge technology For Society: Faster delivery of solutions to real-world challenges Celebrating Innovation Excellence Delighted to celebrate the launch at a splendid dinner at The Accountants Hall together with distinguished innovation leaders including Sarah Hainsworth OBE FREng , University of Bath, Michele Barbour University of Bristol Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Geeta Nathan, Deputy Director of Start-up Ecosystem at Innovate UK, Mark Spearing, Vice President of Research and Enterprise at the University of Southampton, Jim Shaikh, Managing Director of Innovate Surrey Ltd, Paul Devlin , Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd , and Nathan Guest from VWV. This isn't just another initiative—it's establishing a new industry standard for turning academic brilliance into market reality. Are you ready to be part of this transformation? #InnovationAccelerated #UniversitySpinouts #ResearchCommercialisation

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2 Year Fhunded Snapshot: 💰£21M+ early-stage equity raised through the Fhunded VC community 🧑‍💼 Around 40 new, high-skilled jobs created across Lancashire 🌹 19 leading VC's engaged with Lancashire-based deals via Fhunded events 🪽 Launch of the Fhunded Angel network 💻 Roll-out of Lancashire's bespoke Dealroom platform Read more: https://lnkd.in/eCX353jb

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The RCA has contributed to a UK House of Lords report 'AI and creative technology scaleups: less talk, more action', published today. The report highlights the urgent need for the UK to better support AI and creative technology startups in scaling up. It warns that, without action, the UK is at risk of becoming an ‘incubator economy’ - producing world-class innovation but failing to retain and grow successful businesses. The RCA advised that Higher Education institutions play a vital role in maintaining the UK’s world-leading innovation base and helping to commercialise research, however deriving the full suite of existing and potential benefits from this base requires a sustained, long-term and joined-up approach. Through InnovationRCA, we have already supported exciting, profitable and sustainable CreaTech businesses to create jobs and drive growth in the UK economy. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/ekatd8jS

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❔💡🚀 Interested in finding out more about UK deep tech? Take a look at our Royal Academy of Engineering State of UK Deep Tech report, released today with data from PitchBook. 🗝️ Key findings include: 💷 The UK is facing a shortage of investors with relevant expertise to understand the fundamentals and potential of deep tech start ups. 🦾 Despite this, and other pressures including higher interest rates and post-pandemic inflation, the UK deep tech sector is showing resilience... ✅ The sector has consistently attracted over £5 billion in annual venture capital funding since 2020. 🧪 AI and healthcare continue to dominate, with each securing more than £1 billion in value in the first half of 2024. 📈 Deep tech companies have higher deal values and pre-money valuations when benchmarked against all VC-backed companies. 🤝🏽 The UK has a strong pipeline of new entrants with first time deals: first time VC deal value grew 14.7% between 2022-23.  👀 Explore the report here: https://lnkd.in/eQcWAeef #VentureCapital #DeepTech #Innovation 👏🏽 Thanks and congrats to Ana Avaliani, Helen Ewles, Lorrie Fay, Jane Sutton, Dr Laura IH Bennett, Katie Saddleton, Helen Mincher.

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Big news for founders: SeedLegals has acquired The Pitch, the UK’s largest pitching competition for early-stage entrepreneurs. Since 2008, The Pitch has been connecting startup founders with active investors through its flagship programme, offering participants guidance and support as they refine their pitch to a panel of experts. Now with SeedLegals – the UK’s #1 closer of funding rounds – at the helm, startups can expect greater exposure, boosting both their brand reach and their chances of securing investment. And of course it will always be free to pitch. https://lnkd.in/d_MBgk8n

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