University of Surrey, SETsquared

What makes the space successful?

SETsquared provides a 'pipeline' of business to the Surrey Technology Centre which, in turn, provides a 'pipeline' of businesses to the Research Park/Guildford/Surrey area - creating wealth in the wider area.

Surrey has incubated over 80 start ups, 70 of which continue to trade. Over 150 jobs have been created as a result.

Attention to detail and value added professional customer service, for instance, Reception Staff who look after the switchboard at the Surrey Technology Centre answer incoming telephone calls to each individual company with that company's name, providing an extra layer of professionalism and customer service.

The monthly update meetings with each company take the form of, 'what are you doing?'; 'what are you working towards?'; 'how can we help?' Various networking opportunities (with high profile organisations) are available to companies working within the Centre.

Facilities available in Space

24-hour access to the building available 7 days a week. A full Reception facility is provided Monday-Friday until 5.30 pm after which Security staff take over.

Private and Visitor Parking is available to tenants.

Use of broadband enabled meeting and conference room is available at preferential rates.

The popular Caper and Berry Café is situated within the Surrey Technology Centre. The Café offers a more informal space for one-to-one meetings, lunches and coffee breaks. The Café can also provide hospitality for meetings elsewhere in the building.

Diverse/dynamic/flexible/professional

Business Support is provided in a number of ways including via affiliates (patent attorneys/solicitors/accountants/insurers, etc). SETsquared can provide all levels of advice and support for any business need. It's a 'can do', problem solving approach.

Excellent networking opportunities are available to ventures within the Centre and within the Surrey Technology Centre as a whole.

SET squared provides links to the University for student placements/knowledge transfer partnerships/research/library/funding.

Quarterly University Angel Club (Surrey 100) - attracting HNWI who wish to invest and mentor start up ventures.

Yearly investor readiness course to prepare ventures for Venture Capital Funding.

Flexible Use of Space

The building is designed so that it is easy to reconfigure the internal space. For instance, wet labs can be established if necessary; walls can be moved, taken down etc. This flexibility means that companies can grow within the space - and if they become smaller this can also be accommodated.

There is a grow-on incubator facility providing a bridge between the early stage development of an enterprise and the commitment to taking on a lease (30 day notice). Staff at SETsquared are keen to emphasise that it is not just about cheap office space; it's about the activities and ethos of the space too.

Meeting spaces are also available and all companies have their name displayed on the main signage at the front of the building.

Mentoring

SETsquared provides a mentor network made up of a sizeable pool of local entrepreneurs who, they'll freely admit, love the buzz of starting up a company. The mentors include, but are not restricted to, industry experts, serial entrepreneurs, Chief Executive Officers, Chief Finance Officers and Chief Technology Officers. Staff at SETsquared believe that it is important to match personality as well as skills with regard to assigning and establishing successful mentor-mentee relationships.

SETsquared very much encourages the nurturing of a positive relationship between the venture and the individual mentor. The mentors can join a client company or 'venture' and become CEO/Non-Executives/Commercial Directors, etc.

39 companies have engaged with mentors and 10 of the mentors have joined or invested in individual companies.

Each company undergoes regular quality reviews and the panel for this process always includes a mentor who is not associated with the company. The panel meeting considers strategic issues relating to the company and tends to take somewhere in the region of an hour to an hour and a half.

Cross Partner Activity within SETsquared

There are occasions where companies within one SETsquared location are actually better off strategically moving elsewhere within the partnership, an example of this cross-partner activity is a wave technology company in Guildford, originally a member of SETsquared Surrey, transferred to Southampton

Experts

SETsquared Surrey, like its partners in Bath, Bristol and Southampton, has affiliates working with companies within the Acceleration Centre. These affiliates include patent attorneys, accountants etc, and they are able to provide services at smaller rates to companies within SETsquared. They are also available to give seminars and workshops on areas such as Intellectual Property Rights and other legal advice, marketing tips, etc.

Business plan training is provided in collaboration with London Business School this involves a half day at the British Library followed by a one to one with a consultant.

There is also in-house University expertise and resource available, including in research, knowledge transfer partnerships, and allocation of student placements.

Annual Showcase event selection process.

Investor ready testing- 4 workshops held each summer on how to pitch ideas. The workshops are run by Surrey/Southampton and Bristol/Bath.

The selection panel for the Annual Showcase event is made up of technology transfer and external people. They decide who is going through to the event in London mid-October.

The Showcase event involves the displaying of large poster size marketing boards.

Surrey Technology Centre as a whole -

• Has incubated between 200 and 250 technology businesses over 5 years
• Has generated £2.2 million income per annum
• 40% of tenants located in the other 28 buildings on the Park began life in the Surrey Technology Centre
• 500 employees within the Surrey Technology Centre
• Creates a business environment that contributes to the wider economic development
• An example of a recent successful transition from an incubated company that went through the SETsquared process is that of iKinema a company that recently moved into their own unit in The Surrey Technology Centre

What principles were behind the design?

3 main principles:

• Flexibility
• Professionalism
• Innovation

What is innovative about the design? And use of the building?

30 day notice/meeting rooms/range of units for small to medium enterprises/labs. Providing short notice, flexible, professional, technology-enabled space to encourage business enterprise.