Nine early-stage innovators look to accelerate their business plans on Soton Science Park programme

Every year, Southampton Science Park runs the Catalyst business accelerator programme to help a new cohort of science and tech businesses innovators achieve their business visions.

Candidates from across the South were invited to pitch to judges at events in July and August, with nine successful applicants managing to secure their spot – many of them based right here in Hampshire.

The six-month, fully funded programme will see the cohort meeting weekly for mentoring and workshops. Unlike similar schemes, they can also retain all equity in their business.

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The Businesses

AddTime is the brainchild of Llewellyn Lloyd. Based in Basingstoke, it’s an AI-based marketplace app offering within-the-hour retail deliveries, inspired by research that 87 per cent of shoppers would choose local stores over online retailers if they could offer same-day delivery.

BirthGlide has developed a medical device to improve outcomes and reduce the number of emergency procedures for the one in seven women who experience prolonged second stage labour. The Alton business is run by Tianze Guo, Ying Cheong, Richard Jameson and Dukaydah Van Der Berg.

KOIOS Master Data, founded by Peter Eales in Fair Oak, is a data ecosystem helping businesses to digitise their operations. It provides a single source of machine-readable product data for all parties involved in industrial global distribution networks.

VapeGuardian builds smart systems to detect vaping in schools, transport systems and other difficult-to-monitor public places. The business was founded in Hedge End by Simon Hassett, who spoke with Hampshire Biz News back in April – Anti-Vape Crusader! More than a hundred schools to benefit from smart vape sensor innovation.

eco-shaper, founded by Tracey Carr and with offices in London and Dublin, is a modular software to help SMEs transition to net zero. Their roadmap provides distributed goals, workforce engagement and supply chain compliance.

Magic Bullet is a remote monitoring system to better inform care plans for people with cystic fibrosis. As UK healthcare comes under increasing pressure, Reading-based founder Kirsty Hill is hoping to improve health outcomes and life expectancy for those with the condition.

Simple Grids operates an online marketplace and provides personalised whole-home health checks to help homeowners cut down on energy bills and carbon emissions while fixing problems with cold, damp homes. It’s run by founder Simanand Jeyaraj in Bristol.

PropInspector is an AI-based surveyor from founder Joash Johnson helping homebuyers and renters to identity property defects and understand repair costs before they commit to a lengthy contract.

Finally there’s Kiki, an AI-enabled app launched by Janice Turner, aims to relieve the administrative busywork of managing communications from education providers. It balances responsibilities by creating a shared family space and interacts with calendar and notification systems.

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Lucinda Lamont

The nine entrepreneurs have already come together for a tour of the science park and heard opening presentations from Robin Chave, David Bream, Lucinda Lamont and Kate Fraser-Smith.

They join the growing list of 83 companies involved in the Catalyst programme over the years, who’ve collectively secured more than £52 million in early-stage funding.

While the proportion of start-ups still trading after three years lies at 40 per cent nationally, four in five companies which rose through the Catalyst ranks remain in business today – a statistic which proves promising for this year’s nine business hopefuls.

• science-park.co.uk