helping academic institutions find funding for themselves or
their spin-out companies
Stephen Bence is managing director of Transentia, a consultancy that
advises universities and businesses on technology transfer and
commercialisation. He is also a founder director of GradFutures
Ltd, a graduate recruitment website.
In this issue, we talk to Stephen about Transentia's new venture
UKFunders.
what is UKFunders?
UKFunders is an online database of sources of finance for
businesses and commercialisation projects. It incorporates almost a
thousand sources of funding from both public and private sector
funders and covers grants, equity investment and loans from
£100-£10m. It is used by businesses and academic institutions who
are looking for funding for themselves or their spin-outs, as well
as professional advisors assisting their clients with
fund-raising.
what inspired you to create UKFunders?
We were often being asked to compile lists of properly qualified
funding sources for a particular project or company. We found these
tasks incredibly time-consuming because the information could not
be found in one place – not to mention the complexity of fund
eligibility rules. UKFunders is our solution to that problem: a
comprehensive and detailed database of funding sources, with a very
sophisticated matching system.
what message would you give to public-sector business
funders?
I honestly think that public-sector business funding is a total
mess and that it needs root and branch change. In brief, there are
three major problems. The first is that the eligibility rules for
specific funds are far too complicated: most of the time one can
understand the rationale, but in aggregate they make it very hard
for an individual business to determine their suitability. The
second problem is that there are far too many uncoordinated
initiatives leaving gaps and overlaps (and one presumes a great
deal of inefficiency). The third problem is that the application
process/terms of award are far too onerous compared with the size
of the award: however much it is important to ensure proper use of
public funds it is simply inappropriate to apply IPO-level due
diligence to a £100k investment.
what's the most surprising thing you found creating
UKFunders?
The bizarre funds that some local authorities promote. My
favourite is the Community Toilet Grant Scheme, closely followed by
the Manure Efficiency Technology Sub Programme (which, if you're
interested, aims to encourage uptake of specific advanced slurry
spreading distribution systems). It seems like there should be some
synergies between these two funds!
what tips would you give to those seeking funding?
I could say a great deal here, but let me limit myself to just
three. The first tip is to think very carefully about where you
locate your operations: the generosity of local authorities, county
councils and regional governments varies considerably, and there
can be substantial support for disadvantaged areas. The second is
that once you have raised funds, look around for opportunities to
use this to leverage more investment ("matched funding" schemes in
particular). The third tip is to take professional advice when
applying - there are no end of ways to render your application
invalid, and quite a few ways of maximising your chances.
If you would like any further information regarding this article
please contact Stephen Bence, managing director of Transentia Ltd
at
stephen.bence@transentia.com
or call him on 07880 715829
