Finding cash to ignite the market
Some cash will be required by each Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) participant to get going, but the objective is to move as far as possible to the right of the diagram below. That is:
- to use that cash to secure as much matched funding and as much grant and equity investment as possible
- to tap into a broader range of motivations for entrepreneurial activity
- to adopt collaborative and co-creation approaches to business development
Given the centrality of the KTO as the buyer, certain things follow:
- the need to be good at using others cash
- it does suggest that some Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) funding might be held by KTO to use for matching or that profit might be retained to use for this propose (if no other university budget)
- the need to reduce transaction costs of and find the correct and quick way to engage externals
The University of Leeds has developed a 'funding pathway', as have others, which guides the user along the spectrum of research to Proof of Concept (PoC) and equity funding. There's nothing novel in this except for the format which is the ability to aggregate this information and share it with potential external agents so allowing those agents to see potential funding pathways that they might not have been aware of. The University of Leeds has commonly asked the external agent to provide an organogram of the team, the project plan (in Gantt) and also some indicative view as to the potential funding pathway when consultants are being considered for work allocation. This tool has now been adopted by RDinfo Ltd (at the University of Leeds) and is provided as an updated service on a freemium basis.
Commercialisation funding streams
Pre-company formation
Post-company formation
