HP announce Photobiotics as pan-European new venture competition winners
The winners of the inaugural annual HP New Ventures Competition, hosted this year by the Imperial College London Entrepreneurship Centre were announced at a special awards ceremony on the 24th September.
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| From left : Dr Mahendra Deonarain, Dr Gokhan Yahioglu, Dr Lionel Milgrom, Hewlett-Packard's Alfredo Zingale and Professor David Phillips, OBE |
The winners Photobiotics Ltd, a spin out from Imperial College London, UK, were chosen by a panel of prominent individuals experienced in entrepreneurship from 21 entrants, endorsed by some of the most prestigious technical universities in Europe. Dr. Lionel Milgrom, Dr Mahendra P. Deonarain, Professor David Phillips and Dr Gokhan Yahioglu make the Photobiotics management team. Dr Milgrom was suitably pleased.
He says: "I had a feeling we might make it through to the first cut of 10 finalists", said Milgrom, chemist and PhotoBiotics' MD, "But to come out eventual winners against some of Europe's finest is absolutely fantastic! It's a tribute to all the hard work our team put into this."
Infinitesima Ltd, a spin out from the University of Bristol, UK, were placed second, with SCYTL Online World Security, from the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain, third.
The winning start-ups excelled in demonstrating their strengths in product and strategy development, market opportunity, competitive position, competence and the ability to deliver on their business plans.
The aim of the competition is to reward 6-30 months old start-ups which are already in business in the science and technology sectors with HP equipment (of their choice) worth in excess of €50,000. The first prize is worth €30,000, the second €15,000 and the third €7,500.
This is the first competition of this kind in Europe and is part of HP's Entrepreneurship in Technology Initiative, a three year-old Philanthropy programme aimed at helping launch technology start-ups and to strengthen small technology-based businesses.
"HP itself began with one idea back in the 1940s - it is now a multi-billion dollar multinational keen to encourage aspiring entrepreneurs at an early stage in the implementation of their business plans." says Didier Philippe, Chair, Philanthropy and Education, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). "HP New Ventures competition is just one example of how HP is donating equipment and resources to universities, which are demonstrably trying to become more entrepreneurial by encouraging a culture where start-ups and spin-offs can thrive."
HP donates computer equipment to higher-education institutions and campus-based entrepreneurship centres, with the objective to stimulate a more competitive and entrepreneurial culture among engineering and science students and across learning institutions. Programmes have been developed in Lausanne, Bristol, Helsinki, Lyon, Turin, and extended to London, Berlin, Barcelona, Stockholm and Milan.
Imperial College's two-year old Entrepreneurship Centre, headed by Professor Sue Birley, is the host of the event this year. The entrants were judged on both a written submission and a short presentation at the competition itself.
As Professor Birley points out, however, the real prize for these young companies will be the higher profile it will give them: "The prizes in themselves are indeed important but what's more interesting is the enhanced credibility they will have when they go to raise more funds. Also, it will give them an opportunity to meet other technology-based businesses which come from a background of academia where there are particular issues to deal with, as well as network with potential investors."
Dr Milgrom is delighted by Photobiotics' win in the HP New Ventures competition but pragmatic about the challenges facing them in their search for further funding.
"We obtained a seed funding round of UKP 500K over a year ago from the University Challenge Fund and business angels Helms-Brown. We have made some really excellent progress and demonstrated proof of principle. Now it's time to begin the search for more funding so we can reach other significant milestones and get our first drug to Phase I/II trials.
"However it is a tough funding environment out there at the moment. The financial markets are on the floor and a small biotech company like ours needs all the help it can get to survive and keep going," he says...
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