ENTREPRENEURSHIP INSTITUTE
IMPACT REPORT King’s20 Accelerator 2016-17
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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................3 ABOUT THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP INSTITUTE ...........................................................................................3 Our Mission..................................................................................................................................... 3 What we do ..................................................................................................................................... 3 ABOUT THE KING'S20 ACCELERATOR....................................................................................................................... 3 What is the King’s20 Accelerator? .................................................................................................. 4 Our Impact...................................................................................................................................... 4 How we select our cohort .............................................................................................................. 4
2016-17: THE YEAR IN NUMBERS .............................................................................................................5 Demographics ................................................................................................................................ 5 Student Experience ........................................................................................................................ 5 Leadership Skills ............................................................................................................................. 5 Job Creation, Wealth Creation & Social Impact ............................................................................. 5
OUR REPUTATION ...................................................................................................................................... 6 What we delivered in 2016-17 .......................................................................................................... 6 External engagement & recognition ............................................................................................... 6 How we compare to other universities ........................................................................................... 6
KEY LEARNINGS & HOW WE CAN IMPROVE ............................................................................................... 7 SPOTLIGHT ON….........................................................................................................................................8 Our Experts in Residence ............................................................................................................... 8 The leadership retreat at the UK Defence Academy ...................................................................... 9
CASE STUDIES ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Bhavagaya Bakshi, C the Signs ..................................................................................................... 10 Ross Lindgren, UniShoots .............................................................................................................. 11
ABOUT THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP INSTITUTE ......................................................................................... 12
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King’s20 Accelerator changed my life forever. Honestly, I was directionless before I had applied but, after getting accepted I developed not just my product but myself, month after month. Thank you.” - David Wexler, Founder & CEO, GripBeats
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INTRODUCTION This report outlines the impact of the King’s20 Accelerator programme at the Entrepreneurship Institute that ran between October 2016 and September 2017 The report looks at the impact of the programme on the development of entrepreneurial individuals, the nurturing of successful and impactful ventures and the growing reputation of the Entrepreneurship Institute and King’s College London as a whole. Further information about the programme as well as an overview of each venture in the cohort can be found here:
ABOUT THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP INSTITUTE Our Mission At the Entrepreneurship Institute, King’s College London, we believe that entrepreneurial mindsets are vital if we want those at King’s to flourish in the future, contribute positively to global challenges and create a better society. We exist to support entrepreneurial thinking, skills and experiences amongst King’s students, staff and alumni. No matter the sector or career, skills to innovate and to be entrepreneurial are invaluable. We support people to have careers as entrepreneurs and start up innovative new businesses and social enterprises, and also develop the next generation of corporate intrapreneurs, public-sector innovators and enterprise educators. Our vision is that by 2029 everyone at King’s with our help will have had the opportunity to make entrepreneurship part of their DNA.
What we do We run three programmes to support and inspire King’s students, staff and alumni, from those at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey all the way to those with existing ventures that they are ready to build and scale.
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ABOUT THE KING’S20 ACCELERATOR What is the King’s20 Accelerator? Building a startup is hard. It involves taking significant risks and maintaining resilience, constantly innovating to outperform your competition and being committed to learning and developing new skills. King’s20 Accelerator offers the community, expertise and funding to make the process of starting and growing a venture easier. Most of all, we use this process to help our entrepreneurs develop critical leadership skills like resilience, self-confidence, assertive communication, and planning and decision-making to prepare our people for whatever the future holds. We aim to achieve our mission by providing the following support:
Our Impact We measure our impact across 3 areas:
How we select our cohort We spend around 6 months per year promoting the programme to alumni as well as staff and students in all faculties online, via email and in-person at events and lectures. Interested entrepreneurs undergo a rigorous selection process: after an initial in-depth application form outlining their business plan and personal motivations, 40 teams are chosen to pitch to and answer questions from a panel of judges. The 20 teams that demonstrate the most innovative idea, strongest capacity to succeed and most compelling entrepreneurial traits are selected.
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2016-17: THE YEAR IN NUMBERS Demographics We had over 100 applicants for the first year of the accelerator. Of these…
The final accelerator cohort was made up of a highly diverse range of entrepreneurs. However, there was a significant drop in the proportion of female founders, and significant rise in the proportion of alumni represented in the final 20 teams.
Leadership Skills
Student Experience
Entrepreneurs reported significant improvement in these leadership skills…
Participants felt that the programme positively enhanced their experience at the university.
…but less impact on these:
Job Creation, Wealth Creation & Social Impact
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OUR REPUTATION What we delivered in 2016-17 Few other universities offer the quality and depth of support that we offer on King’s20 Accelerator. Last year, this included support worth up to £65,000 in cash and in-kind:
External engagement & recognition Last year, the accelerator played an important role in growing the Entrepreneurship Institute’s reputation and external networks with donors and investors. We won two major, national awards for our work in enterprise education, while nurturing a growing network of donors, investors, corporates and other partners to support us.
How we compare to other universities King’s20 Accelerator has been described by multiple partners as one of the top two university accelerators in the UK, alongside Cambridge University. Other universities with strong reputations in enterprise education include University of Birmingham, Imperial College, UCL and Salford University. The factors that differentiate us in particular are: •
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Leadership Development: no other university accelerator has such a strong focus on leadership development. Our leadership workshops, professional coaches, and retreat to the UK Defence Academy sets us apart in developing these skills. Zero equity: few other accelerators offer such generous support with no commercial commitment from the entrepreneurs
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12-month programme: while most accelerators are 3 to 4 months long, offer long-term support to reduce risks to the venture Open to students, staff and alumni: most universities only support students OR alumni Experts in Residence: our model of a small, high-quality set of mentors is highly effective
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KEY LEARNINGS & HOW WE CAN IMPROVE We learnt 9 key lessons from our work last year to help us continue to refine and improve our support for King’s entrepreneurs. 1.
TARGET FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS: Promoting diversity is at the heart of our work at the Entrepreneurship Institute. By 2020, we are aiming for 50:50 gender parity in our accelerator cohort. Last year, however, only 1 in 4 founders were female, despite female founders representing 43% of applicants. How we are improving: This year, we are setting up a female founders’ community with a range of different support, including a bootcamp for female leaders to develop get them ready to apply for the accelerator. We are also improving our awareness how marketing imagery, language, application structures and interview formats can affect female applicants.
2. EMBED LEADERSHIP EDUCATION THROUGHOUT: King’s20 Accelerator exists to develop entrepreneurial leaders, and we know that successful leadership development can lead to transformative outcomes. Leadership skills are best learnt when clearly explained, embedded into every part of the programme and referred to at every step. How we are improving: this year, we are running regular workshops on specific skills (networking, conflict resolution, resilience and responding to failure, growth mindset), and the group are asked to continually reflect on their own leadership goals and development. 3. ENGAGE INVESTORS EARLY: Bringing investors closer to our work is vital for the cohort’s success. However, this can be time-consuming and arduous, as investors have many demands on their time. Equally, not enough entrepreneurs had met investors prior to Demo Day, which meant they struggled in early investor meetings. How we are improving: we are inviting investors to fortnightly ‘investor breakfasts’, where they can meet our cohort, while helping us to build our investor network. 4. FOCUS ON COMMUNITY: Successful accelerators create a community where entrepreneurs can learn from, and lean on, each other. This requires significant nurturing, through social activity, informal spaces and encouraging collaborative learning. How we are improving: weekly social events and ‘town hall’ group meetings to share progress. 5. EMBED SCALABLE, EFFICIENT PROCESSES: with the right systems and tools in place, programme management work can be minimised to free up time for more contact time and mentorship How we are improving: employing productivity tools like Calendly, Skedda, G Drive and Slack. 6. TEACH FUNDAMENTALS EARLY: teaching startup fundamentals at the start of the programme is vital ensure each entrepreneur has the foundation knowledge they need to succeed. How we are improving: we now begin the programme with a Startup 101 bootcamp. 7.
EXPERTS IN RESIDENCE WORK: employing a small, high-quality team of specialists creates more valuable relationships with entrepreneurs and better learning outcomes. How we are improving: this year, we have added a Growth Expert in Residence, to increase focus on customer acquisition and revenue generation.
8. MAINTAIN REGULAR MENTORSHIP CONTACT: it is important to constantly track the teams’ progress so they don’t struggle in silence or disengage, and so we can offer the support they need. How we are improving: teams now update the Accelerator Manager on progress every two weeks. 9. GET ENTREPRENEURS “OUT OF THE BUILDING: it is common for entrepreneurs to develop products in isolation from their users or customers. Getting out and speaking to them is vital to their success and must be encouraged from the earliest stage. How we are improving: idea validation is instilled at the start of the programme and continually supported by the Growth Expert in Residence and Accelerator Manager.
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SPOTLIGHT ON‌. Professor in Practice & Experts in Residence Model Our team of advisors, including the university’s first Professor in Practice and 6 Experts in Residence, is made up of highly-experienced team of entrepreneurs, creatives, investors, leadership coaches and technologists. This model affords our entrepreneurs meaningful, high-quality support each week from a small group of trusted advisors.
Prof. Stefan Allesch-Taylor CBE Professor of the Practice of Entrepreneurship
Emma Sexton Creative
Yo Percale Coach
Farhan Lalji Technologist
Alex Sleigh Investor
Gilly Wiscarson Coach
Theo Ohene Growth Hacker
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The leadership retreat at the UK Defence Academy Students, staff and alumni on the King’s20 Accelerator programme took part in an intense ‘Leadership and Resilience under Pressure’ training course at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in Shrivenham. The College is part of the Defence Studies department at King’s College London and the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.
The course, led by Captain Simon Asquith OBE of the Royal Navy, aimed to introduce participants to different leadership styles, strategies to keep calm under pressure and become resilient to failure. Speakers included Major General Julian Free CBE, Brigadier Charlie Herbert OBE, Captain Iain Breckenridge OBE, Royal Navy, Colonel Gerry Ewart-Brookes, Group Captain Robinson OBE, RAF, and Major Pete Norton, recipient of the George Cross. The course involved inspirational talks, practical exercises, informal discussions and networking, pulling out the parallels and learning for King’s entrepreneurs. A tour of the Defence Capability Centre and fighting vehicle equipment was also included.
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Setting up a business can often feel isolating and overwhelming and requires tough decisions and conversations. The Armed Services face extreme challenges and are experts in working under pressure so there are a lot of valuable transferable skills we can learn from them. - Julie Devonshire OBE
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CASE STUDIES Bhavagaya Bakshi, C the Signs Where she began C the Signs are a medtech startup who help GPs identify patients with cancer from an early stage. A team of two doctors, King’s alumna Bhavagaya Bakshi and her cofounder Miles Payling, their innovative app uses an evidenced-based algorithm to show doctors which symptoms should be referred as suspected cancers. They started their journey on the King’s20 Accelerator programme in October 2016. Initially called Project Medicine, they wanted to tackle the issue of early diagnosis of cancer in the UK with an app called Cancer Calculator. However, they were unclear on their business model, customer segment and brand. How she developed The next step was to better understand their potential users and clients – from GPs to commissioners – by speaking to the people they knew from NHS and various cancer charities. Equally, they had to figure out how to make a product stick. With the help of a creative mentor, they refreshed their brand to reflect their customer needs and behaviours. Outcomes after King’s20 Bhavagaya said that the “outcomes for C the Signs have been phenomenal”. Due to the experience gained by being part of King’s 20 Accelerator, they reached the semi-final of Pitch@Palace, won both the SEE Change Maker Award from UnLtd and a Tech4Good award and, most recently, have been awarded £100,000 grant funding through the Innovate UK SBRI competition sponsored by NHS England. Currently the tool is being used in two health authorities with 1,000 doctors covering a population of 850,000 patients. Their aim is to launch their first commercial contract with the NHS in the next six months. Their partners now include MacMillan, World Child Cancer, Norfolk’s Cancer Charity, and Trekstock young adult cancer support. Bhavagaya has developed significantly throughout this period. She recently won a WISE (Women in STEM) Campaign award and is now working with them to bring more women into technical careers. She has become the deputy lead of the IT policy group at the British Medical Association and is a subject matter expert for NHS England on digital tools in health. She is also currently running a module for King’s Medical School on entrepreneurship in which she encourages innovative thinking methods in King’s medical students.
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In healthcare, there is a fear of failure. On King’s20, we learnt that that’s ok. Having a network of people who believe in you, have confidence in you, and can help you navigate successes and failures is so powerful as an entrepreneur.” - Bhavagaya Bakshi
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Ross Lindgren, UniShoots Where he began Ross Lindgren is a King’s College London graduate that joined the King’s20 Accelerator programme in October 2016. His initial product was called CrewDo, an app that looked to match film producers with crew, fast. However, after several months, Ross was not making money and in financial trouble; he realised that there was no apparent fit between his product and his market. How he developed Ross decided to pivot his idea. He looked at his assets – a big database of film crew and contacts in the corporate world – and realised he could leverage these to make revenue immediately, rather than waiting for his tech product to work, and build business around that. He began selling corporate video at set prices around £1,000 per video; and now, rather than charging a 10% transaction fee, he outsourced production and fulfilment of his videos to freelancers at a 50% profit margin. His profit margin grew 5 times as a result. Next, he scaled his efficiency by embedding productivity tools into his operations: tools like Calendly, MailShake and Findthatlead to maximise outreach, marketing and logistics and minimise time spent on administration. He outsourced client research, direct messaging and data scraping to India at low cost. Ross also hired an intern (part-sponsored by Santander), his first full-time member of staff, who helped to transform his attitude to business and scale: he could delegate 50-70% of his workload, allowing him to dedicate far more time to sales and strategy. The next step was to refine his proposition further to maximise these opportunities. He recognised that 80% of his work was from education clients, and decided to focus on this niche to make it easier to sell, rebranding to UniShoots, a name that would immediately resonate with clients. Outcomes after King’s20 UniShoots now makes between £10,000 and £12,000 per month, and reached almost £100,000 revenue in 2017. Ross now wants to completely delegate the day to day running of the business, and focus on retaining current clients and growing sales through new products and four more large university clients with a view to reaching £250,000 in revenue in 2018. Ultimately, he sees the business outgrowing London and scaling to west coast of the USA and beyond.
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The accelerator created a community: a serious, professional environment in which to make your idea real; and a learning environment based on regular advice, honest feedback on your ideas and when to pivot, as happened in our case” - Ross Lindgren
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ABOUT THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP INSTITUTE The Entrepreneurship Institute, King’s College London, serves as the University’s flagship, extra-curricular entrepreneurial hub. We support students, staff and alumni by introducing the concept of entrepreneurship, helping them to meet inspiring, entrepreneurial people; developing their leadership and entrepreneurial skills; offering the chance to launch and scale entrepreneurial ideas and creating a community where experiences are shared and enhanced.
The Institute is student-led, and we co-create our activities with our communities. We focus on diversity, inclusiveness and first and foremost on developing entrepreneurial leaders with skills like self-efficacy, resilience, creativity, collaboration and purpose. Like King’s, we aim to work ‘in the service of society’, with a commitment to up-skilling our students, enhancing their experiences, boosting their future prospects, contributing to societal progress and adding value to our national and global economy.
Contact innovation@kcl.ac.uk @InnovateKings @KingsEntrepreneurship @kingsentrepreneurship uk.linkedin.com/in/kingsentrepreneurship youtube.com/EnterpriseConnect1 kcl.ac.uk/entrepreneurship-institute 12