Last year, SETsquared Bristol announced a new diversity and inclusion research project that aims to increase the inclusion and representation of Black, Asian & Minority Ethnicity (BAME) business founders applying to the incubator.

In this episode of SETsquared Downloaded, we speak to two people to learn about the challenges those from diverse backgrounds face in business and why diversity and inclusion in business is so important. We also learn more about the key findings of the research project and how it came about.

In this episode, we interview:

Azir Razzack, MD and founder of Luna HR, who talks about his experiences of being a successful business owner and the barriers he faced that led to him setting up his own company.

Paul Forster, Community Manager at SETsquared Bristol, who tells us about the research project and gives insight into the key findings and actions that will happen as a result.

Music: "Live the World" by Lee Rosevere, used under CC BY / Cut down from original.

In the latest episode of SETsquared Downloaded, we take a look at the challenges businesses and entrepreneurs face when trying to scale-up.

A scale-up is defined as a company that has already validated its product within the marketplace, and has proven that the unit economics are sustainable.

We speak to two business owners who have successfully grown their businesses to get their top tips. We also chat to SETsquared Surrey’s Head of Incubation to find how organisations like SETsquared can help businesses scale-up succesfully.

In this episode of SETsquared Downloaded, we interview:

Steve Cliff, CEO of Ultrahaptics about the challenges scale-ups face and how he achieved it.

Tom Carter, CTO and founder of Ultrahaptics to get his advice about the growing pains business might face.

Caroline Fleming, Head of Incubation at SETsquared Surrey about the needs of a scale-up and what support is available to businesses.

Music: "Live the World" by Lee Rosevere, used under CC BY / Cut down from original.

In the latest episode of SETsquared Downloaded, we look at the challenges that start-ups and entrepreneurs face when trying to secure investment. We speak to an investor and a start-up that has successfully secured investment to get their top tips.

We answer:

What makes a good business plan/proposition?

What makes a company investable in the eyes of an investor?

What funding advice, support services and opportunities are available to entrepreneurs?

How is SETsquared helping to connect start-ups with investors?

We speak to:

Jerry Horwood, Angel Investor and Chair of SETsquared Surrey’s S100 Club, to get his advice for businesses that are looking to raise investment.

Andrei Danescu, Co-founder and CEO of BotsAndUS, about how his company was successful in securing investment.

Gary Smith, Hub Manager for the SETsquared Digital Hubs, about what support is available to start-ups and entrepreneurs from SETsquared.

Music: "Live the World" by Lee Rosevere, used under CC BY / Cut down from original.

In the latest edition of SETsquared Downloaded, Karen Brooks, programme director at SETsquared, interviewed iGeolise’s co-founder and director, Peter Lilley, at the UK Space Conference.

iGeolise makes locations searchable by travel time and enables thousands of locations on any website or database to be searched by the users’ choice of travel time and transport mode.

Karen spoke to Peter about the company’s use of state-of-the-art space technology, its journey from idea to business and how it is continuing to expand.

In the latest episode of SETsquared Downloaded, Amy Grinstead spoke to Mike Austin of Fresh Relevance, one of SETsquared’s Top 50 entrepreneurs.

Fresh Relevance has developed a marketing hub for online retailers that gives users a personalised customer experience. It allows marketers to control the real-time experience with a cost-effective platform, using a range of contextual marketing tools.

Amy spoke to Mike about the company’s successful journey from start-up to scale-up, its work with SETsquared and how it plans on tackling the post-Brexit landscape.

The Wessex Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) uses an in-depth and hands-on approach to identify best practice in healthcare and to drive the adoption and spread of innovation for a healthier nation. By working in partnership with its member organisations and the industry, it is uniquely placed to support the NHS in increasing its contribution to the economy.

Amy recently spoke to Frank Ratcliff, the senior project manager of wealth and enterprise at the AHSN about the big innovations in healthcare and the future of medical technology.

Music: "Live the World" by Lee Rosevere, used under CC BY / Cut down from original

The inaugural Med Tech Investment Showcase from the Wessex Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and supported by SETsquared, explored the merging of the pioneering medical and tech industries that has created a wealth of opportunities.

16 entrepreneurs were given the platform to realise their ambitions by exhibiting and pitching for significant investment to develop their innovative ideas and push them out to a wider market.

Amy and Luke attended the event and spoke to two of the exhibiting entrepreneurs, Jane from the creators of a ground-breaking compact and wearable cough monitor, Quvium and Joel from award-winning bionic hand makers, Open Bionics.

The pair also had a roundtable discussion with three of the event organisers, Frank Ratcliff and Kevin Brooks from the Wessex AHSN and Karen Brooks of SETsquared.

Music: "Live the World" by Lee Rosevere, used under CC BY / Cut down from original

The fashion industry contributes £26bn to the UK economy, but developments in fashion technology have been few and far between. In the first episode of SETsquared Downloaded fashion industry expert Matthew Drinkwater explains why this is set to change and how a new partnership with SETsquared is bringing designers and technologists together.

Matthew is Head of the Fashion Innovation Agency at the London College of Fashion. The agency partners the most exciting designer talent in London with the very latest fashion-tech to create ground-breaking brand collaborations and consultancies across the fashion, retail, lifestyle, cultural and digital industries.

Music: "Live the World" by Lee Rosevere, used under CC BY / Cut down from original