Pictured: David Chapman, Managing Partner, Mazars.
Two of Birmingham's top professional firms have linked up to
help drive forward promising businesses.
Accountants and business advisers Mazars, together with law firm
Cobbetts, are sponsoring the newly-launched Oxygen Accelerator
technology start-up initiative.
They are part of a team which aims to uncover high-flying
entrepreneurs of the future from across the globe, boosting inward
investment by bringing them to the West Midlands.
The idea is to super-charge and streamline new business products
and ideas so they can be marketed to the world. This will involve
turning early stage businesses into fast growth companies
attractive to investors.
Oxygen Accelerator is a partnership between serial entrepreneur
Mark Hales and Birmingham Science Park Aston.
A 13-week intensive "boot camp" will be based at BSPA from
September 1. There are ten successful teams - two which originate
from the West Midlands, five from the rest of the UK and one each
from Austria, Lithuania and Romania - will be offered funding of up
to £20,000, a "soft" loan repayable once sufficient
investment has been received or the business reaches a stage of
profitability where it can afford to repay it.
The "boot camp" culminates with a series of investor days across
the UK where the businesses pitch to business angels, venture
capitalists and private equity groups for next stage funding.
In exchange for helping these companies accelerate through the
difficult first few months of their business lives Oxygen
Accelerator invests for six per cent of the equity of each.
Mazars and Cobbetts will provide financial and legal mentoring
respectively as well as hosting six professional training days
where topics such as structuring growth finance, intellectual
property and business planning will be explained to the early stage
management teams.
David Chapman, Midlands managing partner of Mazars, said: "This
is an exciting new concept.
"Given our current economic position Britain is desperate for
fresh-thinking, innovative entrepreneurs capable of growing a
business. Birmingham was once the City of a Thousand Trades - today
we need the same sort of vision, skill, risk-taking and
inventiveness which made this city and country great.
"Oxygen Accelerator is the sort of project that can make that
happen."
Graham Muth, head of the Birmingham office of Cobbetts,
commented: "Inventors and entrepreneurs often fail for lack of
organisation, finance and support. Oxygen Accelerator is an
approach which can overcome such difficulties.
"Cobbetts are firmly behind this scheme. It will deliver value
for the city as entrepreneurs from the across the globe are
attracted to Birmingham and supported through the vital early
stages of their business lives. As a law firm that is recognised as
a leader in innovation in our own industry, we are excited to be
involved with such a great collection of innovative
businesses."
Oxygen Accelerator is targeting sectors such as ecommerce,
social media, mobiles, data analysis, publishing, developer tools,
video gaming, education and software as a service.
Simon Jenner, Accelerator manager and head of incubation for
Birmingham Science Park Aston, said: "While many early stage
businesses have interesting ideas or technology, they still require
a substantial intervention to prepare them for seed investment. The
provision of 'smart money', which includes mentoring, support and
introductions alongside pre-seed capital, has far greater value to
these businesses than cash alone.
"This approach has already been successfully developed in the US
by Y Combinator and TechStars. We are confident we too can generate
similar sorts of winners."
Mentors include representatives from Google, Amazon and Paypal,
and cover areas such as design, entrepreneurship, finance,
marketing/PR and tech expertise.