Businesses and entrepreneurs with ideas ranging from healthcare solutions, renewable energy technologies, high-value manufacturing and apps to make companies more efficient will demonstrate their projects at Venturefest Bristol which is being held at at the Bristol & Bath Science Park next Thursday, November 3.
The event will link entrepreneurs and innovators from across the Bristol and Bath region with investors and professional service providers. The aim is to bring together ideas and money to make things happen. Around 500 delegates are expected.
The 43 exhibitors were chosen by a panel of investors, high-growth business coaches and successful entrepreneurs, including the Innovation Showcase sponsors, Glastonbury-based Horatio Investments and Eden Ventures, the Bath-based technology investors. They looked at the growth potential of the business idea, the level of innovation in the proposed product or service and crucially, investment readiness.
Richard Male of Plexus Technology Ventures, which is based at the Science Park, chaired the selection panel. He said: “The quality and quantity of applicants was high. The panel is confident that the showcase will feature exciting new business ideas which will use Venturefest to grow their businesses. Some undoubtedly have the potential to become very significant technology businesses in the future.”
Lorelei Hunt, director of Science City Bristol, which is staging Venturefest, said: “Even in more difficult economic times, there are still lots of great new business ideas around, but it can seem harder to progress them, even for experienced companies.
“Venturefest Bristol 2011 will help to ensure that the pipeline of new business ideas, critical for future prosperity, can more easily find the funding and support they need to grow.”
Science City Bristol is owned and funded by the universities of Bristol, Bath and the West of England.
Among Venturefest’s sponsors are the University of Bristol, Bath Spa University, HP Labs, Business West and the Bristol & Bath Science Park. Bristol law firm Veale Wasbrough Vizards is sponsoring the workshop sessions and intellectual property law firm Withers and Rogers and patent and trademark attorneys EIP are sponsoring the IP clinic.
A full list of innovation showcase winners can be found at: http://www.sciencecitybristol.com/pages/31-innovation-showcase
