For any university spin-out company, raising capital is one of the most difficult challenges. Science|Business can help, through its network, by introducing nominated spin-out companies to multinational and individual investors.

INVESTORS – Would you like to join the Investment Connection? Email Terri Robinson, Marketing Manager, for more details.

Science|Business has launched the first pan-European awards for academic enterprise – to result in a jury prize on 2 December 2008 in Stockholm. As an added value, we are providing an opportunity for nominees and investors to connect with one another – on their own terms. While we hope some deals will result, they will be independent of the formal process of submission, evaluation and selection for the awards.

Here’s how it works

For investors, it’s a convenient way to broaden their net to find promising new, research-based companies. For the companies, it’s a simple and cost-free way of getting in front of some potential funders. Science|Business makes the introductions. You make the deals.

1) Subject to consent from the nominees, nominations for the Science|Business awards are entered in a password-protected online database. The documentation includes only non-confidential information about the spin-out companies ’ so there is no risk to intellectual property or business strategy. What is included is top-level description of company aims, technologies, and progress to date.

2) Invited investors and sponsors are provided password access to the database, to review at their leisure. Direct contact information is provided, permitting easy follow-up. Any resulting discussions happen direct between the parties, on their own initiative, without involvement by Science|Business.

3) Regardless of what may have happened “off-line” between investors and nominees, Science|Business will provide an additional, formal opportunity for all parties to meet at the Science|Business Academic Enterprise conference, on 2 December 2008 at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. A facility for requesting one-on-one meetings will be provided. And a panel of investors and nominees will appear during the Stockholm conference, to share tips for investing in and starting up companies.

4) After the awards ceremony, Science|Business will publish a full list of nominees and a summary of their activities – opening the door to a wider range of investors.

Benefits for investors

• A simple way to scan the latest crop of promising spin-out companies at many of Europe’s leading universities.

• An advance look at these opportunities. All information provided is non-confidential – but not necessarily publicised previously. The added value is in getting an early view, months before publication.

• An opportunity to network directly with potential investees at the Stockholm conference on 2 December.

• For sponsor-investors, an opportunity to speak at the Academic Enterprise conference.

Benefits for nominees

• An easy way to reach out to an important set of potential corporate and individual investors.

• No-risk and no-cost contacts. The information you provide about your company is entirely in your control, on a standardised, password protected Web interface. Only non-confidential information can be included in the database.

• A chance at investment, as an added potential benefit to the publicity that would come with making the list of award finalists.

• An opportunity to network with potential investors at the Academic Enterprise conference on 2 December.

INVESTORS – Would you like to join the Investment Connection? Email Terri Robinson, Marketing Manager, for more details.