PULSE – Programme for Up-and-coming Life Science Entrepreneurs

A busy week at the start of March saw the launch of our new three-day PULSE programme in collaboration with the Francis Crick Institute. We had 25 up-and-coming life science entrepreneurs participating; 10 researchers with early stage projects selected from the Crick and 15 entrepreneurs from different stages of pre-seed investment selected from BIA referrals. The workshop was held at the iconic Francis Crick Institute with the sessions run by experienced life science professionals and seasoned entrepreneurs, largely from BIA membership. 

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Each day focused on different aspects needed to start and develop a successful biotech company, with sessions ranging from the innovation landscape in the UK, idea generation, business model planning through to IP, potential sources of funding and building a successful team. Each day ended with ‘pivotal moments’ from both early-stage and seasoned entrepreneurs in the sector. The cohort put the skills and advice they had learned into practice on the last day, where each delegate was given the opportunity to pitch in front of three experienced investors. We had some excellent pitches, with four  candidates going forward to pitch in our Innovation Showcase session at our CEO & Investor Forum on 23 May.

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To help the delegates form lasting relationships, not only with each other as a cohort, but with experts from wider in the Life Science sector, we arranged networking activities for the evenings. An informal pub outing on the first evening was follow by a more formal networking reception on the second evening.  This reception took place at the London BioScience Innovation Centre with a broad range of experts from the sector attending. 

We have some encouraging testimonials from the candidates and a positive response from all the speakers, offering their continuing support in future annual programmes. We plan to support this cohort of candidates by offering future networking opportunities and support workshops based around topics they would find useful in the coming year. We look forward to supporting this cohort further and planning for another PULSE workshop next year.

“I want to thank the BIA team for the excellent work at PULSE. It was a fantastic event with invaluable people who offered their knowledge and experiences. I will definitely use them to improve my career”
  • PULSE delegate
  • University of Sheffield
“The most exciting opportunity was the ability to pitch in front of real investors, who gave me valuable advice. It is priceless to get this insight from experienced investors.”
  • PULSE delegate
  • Francis Crick Institute
“The programme was an excellent chance to interact with industry leaders, get answers to questions about our projects and find out the best strategy to get investment as a young entrepreneur. There was also the opportunity to pitch, gaining real life feedback on our companies and how to develop them further to attract investment.”
  • PULSE delegate
  • Francis Crick Institute

 

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