START-UPs and existing businesses across the region can now benefit from the tools and insight-led business development models that have been tried and tested by Newcastle Science City’s successful Innovation Machine.

A new business development team has been set up at Newcastle Science City’s central offices in Gallowgate to externalise the business understanding and tools used by the innovation managers – the team of entrepreneurs developing cutting-edge businesses based on plugging unmet market needs. Over the summer, a series of high-growth businesses developed by the innovation managers are expected to fly the nest, confirming the machine’s success.

Business development team project manager Simon Green said the assistance would be a huge advantage for North East entrepreneurs looking to commercialise science-based innovation.

He said: “There are a number of business support programmes out there, but ours is specialist – it’s geared for those with innovation and insight at their core, where an unmet need has been clearly identified.

“Launching a new business is always tricky, but it is especially so at the moment. However the Newcastle Innovation Machine is on the cusp of spinning out a series of high-growth, tech-based firms, so we know we’ve got a model that works.

“What we’re doing now is extending those resources to entrepreneurs, and people with the spark of an idea, outside of the machine which plugs an unmet need – the more businesses created in the science and technology space, the faster our city’s economy will grow.”

Business development programme manager Caroline Findlay said the array of assistance and access to resources was wide-ranging.

“We really want to start working with potential businesses at the earliest opportunity so we can provide as much added value as possible.

“Whether it’s securing external investment, conducting market analysis, intellectual property mapping or product trials, tech-based start-ups face serious challenges prior to launch. What we can offer is tailored support to identify insights about the major drivers of those new businesses, helping them to get fighting fit and ready to go to market.”

Caroline added that a business’s needs would be assessed on a case-by-case basis and candidate firms had to meet eligibility criteria set down by Newcastle Science City.

“We’re not here to offer one-size-fits-all solutions – each business is different and has different requirements. Once we’ve interrogated the enterprise to ensure our support can help it grow, we’ll develop a progression plan using the tools and insight principles of the Newcastle Innovation Machine to help that business maximise its potential,” she added.

Peter Arnold, Newcastle Science City’s chief executive, said the Business Development Team was a resource for the city’s entire science enterprise community.

He said: “Our business support function is the latest tool we have for the entrepreneurial scientists and researchers and it’s great to have it out there. It’s a bespoke service for insight-led businesses and we need to ensure our assistance is well-directed in terms of securing value for money and ensuring our offering will be constructive.

“Our approach is consistent with Newcastle’s areas of scientific excellence – stem cell and regenerative medicine, ageing and health and sustainability, but is not exclusive in that respect. While we’ll help businesses with high growth potential in these sectors, we will also offer support across a broad range of science and tech businesses, providing they have the potential to grow and would benefit from our help,” he concluded.

For more information on Newcastle Science City’s business development offering, visit www.newcastlesciencecity.com

Services on offer

Caroline said the Business Development Team could provide almost any service a science or tech start-up might need.

“We’re specialising in helping science and tech companies and have developed a suite of core services we can carry out in-house and, if there are any extraordinary requirements, we’ve got the contacts to deliver them.”

Core services include business development programmes, investor engagement strategies, market research and analysis, sourcing technical assistance, product trialling and niche marketing.

The Newcastle Science City frontline team profiles

Caroline Findlay

Caroline’s role is to manage the programme of business development activities, as well as working directly with entrepreneurs herself.

She has more than 10 years’ commercial experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a further three managing and delivering business creation initiatives in the ageing and health sector. During her career she has worked for multinationals like Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis providing project management support for the development of new drugs through to phase II clinical trials.

Before entering the pharmaceutical sector, Caroline graduated from Nottingham University with a first-class degree before completing a Research MSc at the John Innes Centre at the University of East Anglia.

Simon Green

Simon’s role is to provide support to entrepreneurs and help them turn their ideas into viable businesses.

His first degree was in chemistry and he spent five years working on product development for Procter & Gamble, based in Newcastle and Beijing. Following completion of an MBA at Durham, he set up a number of businesses based in the North East, including an information systems company for the dental sector, an educational software company and a specialist consultancy in the aviation safety sector.

Simon has also provided consultancy advice to businesses in sectors as diverse as offshore engineering, jewellery design, fire vehicles, car maintenance and child care.

Caroline and Simon are further supported by the wider business development team which includes: Vivek Unnikrishnan, business support manager; Rachel Orange, project manager; and Newcastle Science City’s chief executive Dr Peter Arnold.