Three innovative Bristol tech start-ups will be showcasing their businesses at St James’s Palace in London as part of Pitch@Palace, an initiative founded by HRH The Duke of York, who was in the city this week to meet fledgling firms taking part in the challenge.
Wriggle, YellowDog and Altitude Tech won the opportunity to attend the Pitch@Palace Bootcamp in London next month, where they will present to a panel of judges selecting companies to take part in the coveted Pitch@Palace 4.0 final at the same venue in November.
Businesses pitching at that event do so to around 300 CEOs, angels, mentors and key business partners who are all in positions to back the start-ups with investment offers, promotion opportunities and new customers or partners.
The Duke of York said he was impressed by all 16 start-ups that took part in yesterday’s event at Bristol’s Engine Shed innovation hub as part of the Pitch@Palace On Tour series of regional heats.
He also praised SETsquared, the partnership between the universities of Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey whose Bristol base is at Engine Shed and which has collaborated with Pitch@Palace since its formation four years ago.
“The work that goes on here is outstanding,” he told Bristol Business News. “They work with some really clever people.”
He also described the West of England as a very innovative region. “It’s been going on here for years. And it’s been across all kinds of industries – maritime, rail, aerospace and technology,” he said.
“The universities work together, looking at issues and working together to solve them. I’m always impressed by these events. The quality of the ideas are always good and there are always people coming up with new ideas.”
The Duke – making his third visit to SETsquared in Bristol and the second to its home at Engine Shed since it moved there two years ago – said Pitch@Palace had launched its roadshow to demonstrate that innovation did not just happen in London, Oxford and Cambridge.
Pitch@Palace was unique because it brought together innovative start-ups with real decision makers, he said.
“It’s about creating opportunities and networking. You, the entrepreneurs, get to meet the decision makers in a room at St James’s who have exactly the same problem in getting to people like you. It bridges the gap –a divide that some people describe as a chasm.
initiative about, bridging the chasm between start-up ventures and decision makers to help them move forward.”
This year’s Pitch@Palace is focusing on the Internet of Things and Smart Cities areas of technology.
SETsquared innovation director Simon Bond said: “It was wonderful to see so many SETsquared member companies take part in the roadshow event.
“Holding the selection event in the region meant we had an excellent chance of showing off developments from Southern England in front of the ‘A’ list of investors, movers and shakers.
“We’re very proud of Wriggle, YellowDog for getting through to Bootcamp and wish them every success at this next stage.”
Wriggle, which connects users to exclusive, on-the-day discounts at bars, restaurants and events, and YellowDog, which believes it can create the world’s fastest super-computer by using spare computing power from PCs and laptops, are Bristol SETsquared members while Altitude Tech is from the Bristol Robotics Laboratory at the University of the West of England. Altitude Tech’s first product, Sensly, is a portable pollution sensor that uses on-board sensors to detect a wide range of harmful compounds.
As well as the chance to attend Bootcamp and the final event at St James’s Palace there were other prizes up for grabs for entrepreneurs at the event, including free legal advice for start-ups offered by law firm Bond Dickinson and free marketing and PR consultancy offered by Publitek.
The roadshow event in Bristol was one of three regional rounds held across the UK. The city was chosen as a destination due to its status as the country’s only fast-growing, globally significant tech cluster.
The Bootcamp stage of Pitch@Palace will take place in London on October 14. Each participant will attend Pitch@Palace 4.0 at St James’s Palace on November 2.
Pictured: HRH the Duke of York meets SETsquared Bristol company Ultrahaptics on his visit to the Engine Shed
