Setting up a new life science business can be a scary, and confusing, process. Amongst all the other concerns, one is often most pressing: where will I get the money to run my business?

The good news in the UK is that there are a growing number of sources of funding to help you along the high-risk, early stages of your business journey. These include UKRI industry-facing grants such as SMART, Fast Track, Edge, Prosperity Partnership, and Biomedical Catalyst; competition-based funding opportunities such as ICuRE, EIT Health Catapult, or RSC Emerging Technologies; opportunities to get your business better known, funded and in better shape through an Accelerator programme; and early-investing Venture Capital funds such as UKIS, Time Boost Capital, or Epidarex.

I will address some of the issues you may want to consider when engaging with each of these in this new series of blogposts. Today, let’s think mainly about Accelerators. 

Accelerators are a popular, though very competitive, funding opportunity that can carry great benefit – as long as you engage with an open mind and some degree of humility. The specific programmes available here in UK vary, but typically combine:

• an opportunity to learn from experienced professionals about business practicalities like establishing your market, focussing or pivoting your strategy, 
• helping you develop a pitch that you can carry forward to other investment routes
• early visibility of your business with funders who may be of great networking help as the business grows; 

Other prizes for well-received participants may include 

• access to high quality lab space in a centre of biotech company innovation; 
• and pre-seed (convertible note) or seed funding, to get you really on your way. 

Not only is early risk-taking funding of this type an essential lifeblood for many early life science businesses – winning funding through an Accelerator also establishes your credibility. The innovation business experts leading the programme have performed due diligence and rate your business as investable against other high quality applicants. This can reduce the perceived risk for other business investors when considering you in the future.

 There is no one-size fits all template for funding your life science business, of course. You should consider:

   - If you already have lab facilities you can use, for example as you slowly spin away from an academic lab, then winning access to lab facilities may be less important than retaining close access to your parent university. 

  - The location of the lab facilities on offer may not suit where you and your employees are based – which is why >60% of Accelerator applicants are within 100 miles of the site of programme. 

  - Are you prepared to devote the time that the Accelerator programme will require of you? 

  - And, your desire for funding will be counterbalanced by a desire to retain sufficient equity for founders, your university and the leadership team. 

Perhaps though, the learning you gain from participating may prove deeply valuable even where aspects of the prize are less critical to you.

Few founders will fail to learn on the mature Accelerator programmes that now run in our sector. You can consider consider the benefits of broad spectrum programmes, often with higher total budget to spend, such as ICuRE, or specifically tailored for life sciences such as KQ Labs, WIPG, StartCodon and others; or narrower thematic programmes such as Alderley Park’s Oncology Development Programme, where you will meet other businesses in your immediate sector. Reputations can be built, connections made, and strategy rapidly refined in the intensity of a well run Accelerator. 

The only things you really may lose are a bad strategy, wrong assumptions, an amount of equity stake, and a false confidence that you know all there is to know. A learning mindset will stand you in great stead, all the way along on the business adventure ahead. 

Want to chat more about finding the right funding route, or testing your strategy or working on refining your pitch? Reach out to us for a conversation now!