‘the uk track record of academic enterprise’ a presentation by marcus gibson, editor, gibson...
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‘The UK track record ofAcademic Enterprise’
A presentation by Marcus Gibson, editor,Gibson Index Ltd, London, UK.
June 13-15th, 2008 – EUPRIO, Stavanger, Norway.
[email protected] – +44 207 629 4064
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UK’s record of University Enterprise• Second only to the US in terms of the number of
spinout companies and licensing deals• 780 spinout companies created from 1985 to 2008• Significant UK Government ‘pump-priming’
funding, the ‘University Challenge’ Funds, 2002-6• Total value of UK University spinout companies: in
the range of £1.8bn - £4.5bn (estimate in 2007)• Some 4,500-plus higher technology jobs created,
with 75% located in London, East and South East
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Some noted academic SME successes
• Oxford GlycoSystems – Oxford University’s first• Essential Viewing Systems Ltd – Strathclyde• Wolfson Microelectronics plc – Edinburgh• Turbo Genset plc – Imperial College London• Ark Therapeutics plc – University College London• Renovo plc – Manchester University• Filtronic plc – University of Leeds• Southampton Photonics - Southampton University
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And ‘The Ones that Got Away’..• DNA fingerprinting - Leicester University: genius of Prof Sir Alec
Jeffreys – worth £1bn in IP annual revenues, 1984• Development of Ultrasound - Glasgow, Prof Ian Donald, 1950s,
“the most important paper on medical diagnostic ultrasound ever published”.
• Active Navigation Ltd - Southampton; universal search software that could have been ‘Google.. 10 years earlier’
• Fibre Optic Amplifier, Prof Sir David Payne, Southampton• Penicillin - Fleming, Florey & Chain, St Mary’s, London; but
industrial production patent granted to US laboratory..• Gene profiling and DNA microarrays: Sir Edwin Southern, Oxford
Gene Technology Ltd v. Affymetrix Inc. of the US.• Magnetic Resonance Imaging - Nottingham; work of Sir Peter
Mansfield, worth millions per annum.
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Cambridge University – ‘The Exception’?
• Autonomy Software plc – a student venture• Cambridge Silicon Radio plc – a spinoff
from PA Consulting Group in Cambridge• ARM plc – No.1 firm in terms of global
influence, but independently funded• Monstermob plc – no links with University• But.. TeraHertz Photonics Ltd is one of the
first University spinouts with real potential
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How to Promote Your Academic Ventures?
• Start with the national and regional Press
• Then the trade sector and magazine Press
• International trade eNewsletters – important
• The whole range of Blogs, Podcasts and Webcasts, YouTube, and web conferences
• International science Press, eg ‘Nature’
• International newspapers, eg. IHT, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Le Monde
• Regional Radio and TV
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Technology Example No. 1:- just this month – June 2008
• At Bath University, 180km west of London
• Self-replicating Rapid Prototyper: ‘RepRap’
• Printer that squirts thin layers of molten plastic which solidifies into 3D layers..
• Pioneering work of Dr Adrian Bowyer, at the Faculty of Engineering and Design.
• Video: http://uk.youtube.com + ‘RepRap’
• Result? Instant publicity and global coverage
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Enter those Business Competitions!
• Your National Business Awards contest• Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 SME awards,
and the D&T Fast 500 European awards• Your local, regional, city and trade sector
awards: ‘Best Newcomer’, ‘Best Startup’• Top level exhibitions and trade shows: eg.
CeBiT, Hannover; 3GSM; Bio2008 (US)• World Economic Form: Top 30 SMEs
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Maximise your PR ‘Web’• Your PR network is much wider than you think..• Use your company’s customers’ PR leads• Tap into your company’s partners’ PR leads• eg. Acsian Ltd: Loughborough University software
spinout, high value client of Rolls-Royce plc• Local, regional and national economic development
offices – Get them ‘On Your Side’• Overseas trade promotion office (eg. UKTI)• University photo office must do their job, and sell
the company as a ‘photo and caption-only’ story
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Vital: Choose your PR ‘Leader’• Duplicate the ‘Branson’ Effect by sourcing that
fluent, charismatic speaker for the SME• Someone who likes talking to the Press, Radio and
TV – for him or her it’s not a chore• This person may not be CEO, chief scientist or a
co-founder – he’s just great with media• Charismatic spokesmen/women make ‘best copy’• Train your main speaker to talk on a host of
different business and technology subjects: ‘My Preferences’, ‘My Holiday’, ‘My Car’, ‘My PDA’, ‘My Views on the Economy’, ‘My View on Bruce Springsteen’.. Anything in fact!
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Getting into the US market..• Entry into US market is a fundamentally key step
for any University spinout..• Validation in the US market is crucial to success• Your job in PR is to accelerate that pathway – as
early as possible in the company’s career• 96% of successful Irish Republic tech firms have
their sales and marketing all sited in the US• Contact US trade journals and leading exhibitions
– always keen to have overseas stories, visitors
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Reach the cutting edge of PR sophistication
• Quality of website is crucial, in addition to speed, clarity and topicality of content
• Put up high quality series of ‘White Papers’• Fix all-important speaker slots at key US events• Eg. Sponsor the Annual Directory of your sector’s
US trade association: very cheap, very effective.• Contribute to Blogs, Discussion Groups, and
attend ‘horizon-scanning’ events such as FiRE in San Diego; New Hampshire, Massachusetts, etc.
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Maintaining long-term interest..• Keep the ‘Press’ section of your website up to date!• Issue a minimum of one PR release per quarter• Offer profile features of key employees• Offer profiles of staff’s leisure activities (eg. UPS)• Organise a Press Day once a year, every year• Put your Contact Details on front page – always• Don’t use Flash intros, PDFs, excessive numbers of
irrelevant images that cripple website upload• Don’t ever use tiny type sizes.. Unreadable!
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Example 2:Success of MTEM Ltd,
recent spinout company ofEdinburgh University
Supply of hydrocarbon prospecting services using a novel geophysical method
“Multi Transient Electro-Magnetic”
Raised sufficient finance for a rapid and ambitious expansion
Land and marine surveying services are now proven
Now in operation with exploration companies around the world
Progress after three years:Turnover from nil to $20mEmployees up from 4 to 67.
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1991 - 1998 $4 million grant from the European Union to perform field tests. Extensive data sets collected but the modelling is unsuccessful at extracting meaningful images.
Sept 2000 PhD studentship begun
July 2001 Eureka moment by the PhD student! By approximating the equipment response and allowing for timing errors, reservoir imaging is successful – and the MTEM method was born.
August 2001 Mathematical model refined, and a new optimal method developed – Leading to the disclosure of inventive material
MTEM Ltd:The Core Data Processing Unit:
-----------------------A long gestation period from
Eureka moment to technological and commercial success
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Land based MTEMA series of source and receiver electrodes is pushed into the ground. The source is fired, and the voltage across the pairs of receiver electrodes recorded.
MTEM’s Technology
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Location of MTEM profile relative to reservoir and monitoring wells.
Contours indicate the top surface of the reservoir, with the gas cap at about 500 m depth.
MTEMTechnology
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Processed MTEM results over the gas storage reservoir
Show the clear delineation of the gas cap at 4 ms.
MTEMTechnology
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Gibson Index: UK SME database
• First database of tech-led SMEs of any major nation
• A total of 26,200 SMEs researched, rated and profiled
• 45 ‘hard’ tech sectors logged: up to 98% of SMEs
• A 40-page Monthly ‘eNewsletter’, Comprehensive Monthly ‘Events Diary’, quarterly ‘Awards Monitor’
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The 45 Technology Sectors include:• Agriculture & Plant Sciences• Design & Prototyping• Telecoms, Mobile Comms • Advanced Computing• Biotech & Pharma• Medical Devices• Industrial Processing• Chemicals• Software• IT - Hardware, Systems, Services
• Instrumentation• Automotive Engineering• Aerospace• eHealth
• Materials: plastics/composites,nanotech, metals
• Imaging & Photonics• Security Technologies• Engineering• Environmental technologies• GIS Systems• Instrumentation• Electronics• Robotics & Automation• RFID• Radio Technology• Marine Engineering• Energy technologies
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Top 100 SMEs
Key Revenue
0 – 249,999
250,000 – 499,999
500,000 – 749,999
750,000 – 999,999
1,000,000 – 2,500,000
2,500,000 – 4,999,999
5,000,000 – 7,499,000
7,500,000 – 9,999,999
10,000,000 +
Count
37
14
6
4
21
2
0
2
Collins/Bartholomew © Collins Bartholomew Limited 2004 Postcode Information © Royal Mail Group Plc Microsoft © Corp
Location of Top 100 SMEs – by revenue
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Top Revenue Postcode Areas
Key From To
Unbanded
0 1,301,687
1,301,688 2,603,374
2,603,375 3,905,062
3,905,063 5,206,749
5,206,750 6,508,437
6,508,438 7,810,124
7,810,125 9,111,812
9,111,813 10,413,499
10,413,500 11,715,187
11,715,188 13,016,874
13,016,875 14,318,562
14,318,563
15,620,250 16,921,937
16,921,938 18,223,624
18,223,625 19,525,312
19,525,313 20,827,000
Top 100 SMEs –
Postcode location
15,620,249
Collins/Bartholomew © Collins Bartholomew Limited 2004 Postcode Information © Royal Mail Group Plc Microsoft © Corp
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No. of SMEs per Postcode Area
Key No. of Businesses
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16+
Top 100 SMEs – by postcode location
Collins/Bartholomew © Collins Bartholomew Limited 2004 Postcode Information © Royal Mail Group Plc Microsoft © Corp
The UK track record ofAcademic Enterprise
Marcus Gibson, editor, Gibson Index LtdLondon, UK.
Thank you.. Your views are always welcome.
[email protected] – +44 207 629 4064