Baltic Ventures April Newsletter
Welcome to the first edition of the Baltic Ventures newsletter.?
A quick introduction: I’m?Martin SFP Bryant?and I’ve been writing about tech for many years and I was very excited when I heard that a new accelerator was coming to Liverpool, helmed by a top-notch team.?
And that top-notch team has asked me to put this newsletter together for you, bringing you information about the accelerator (as you’d expect) alongside broader tech industry themes from Liverpool, the North, and the world (as you might not expect).
Shall we dive in? Let’s do that…
– Martin
From Liverpool to the world
There’s been a lot of excitement around the launch of?Baltic Ventures,?but it’s important to understand what it is, and what it isn’t.
It’s easy to assume that a startup accelerator based in Liverpool might just exist to give local startups a leg up before pushing them down to London to carry on their journey into the big leagues.?
But no - Baltic Ventures is thinking bigger.
The vision co-founder Carl Wong started it with is to build a national and internationally respected tech accelerator that just happens to be based in Liverpool. And while it will certainly play a strong part in boosting the local startup ecosystem, it will accept the most promising early-stage startups from anywhere.
The startup Carl co-founded, LivingLens, is one of Liverpool’s biggest startup success stories, having been acquired by Medallia in a $26 million deal back in 2020. But the support and network it needed to succeed on an international level wasn’t available locally. They had to go to London for that.?
If Liverpool is to make a bigger impact on the tech world, the next generation of startups from the city shouldn’t have to reach out for help hundreds of miles away. Even in these times of distributed teams and remote working, having a strong network on your doorstep is a powerful thing, and that’s what Baltic Ventures aims to deliver.
The accelerator programme will take a cohort of startups every year, offering them a ￡50,000 angel investment. And unlike many accelerators, that money won’t be clawed back in programme fees.?
These startups can be from anywhere in the world, not just Merseyside - but they’ll be coming together in Liverpool. They’ll learn from people who have been there and done it, drawing on the Baltic Ventures team’s international network.?
And there’s more. To help new local startups get to the point where they’re ready to apply for the main programme, Baltic Ventures will be launching a pre-accelerator in partnership with?OneTech.?
Helping aspiring tech entrepreneurs get ready for what’s ahead in their journey is massively important. Liverpool doesn’t currently have a large, well-established community of ‘been there, done that on an international scale’ founders on its doorstep.?
With both its main accelerator and the pre-accelerator, Baltic Ventures is building that community, both up from the grassroots and by getting some of the best people in the tech from around the world involved in fulfilling Liverpool’s potential.
Ready to accelerate your early stage tech business??Applications for Accelerator 2023 are now open.
Start-ups to watch
Things are going really well for?VidiVet?right now. This Liverpool-based startup helps pet owners get quick, reliable answers from trusted UK vets via an app.
Founded in 2020 by vet Ben Sweeney, VidiVet gives pet owners immediate access to a UK registered vet, 24 hours a day, seven days a week over video chat. More than 10,000 pet owners have signed up so far.
In recent weeks they’ve been named a winner in Tech Nation’s national?Rising Stars?competition, and raised a?￡310,000 funding round.
领英推荐
Words on everyone’s lips
‘Treasury management’: Most businesses quickly learn to safeguard their cash when they grow big enough to have a bunch of it in the bank.
But many tech startups that raised big money when fundraising was easier in recent years found themselves in trouble when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed recently. Most (or all!) of their millions in funding was stashed with a single bank - or worse, in a single account.
As you grow, spreading cash between a number of banks to safeguard it for the future is just good practice, and a lot of startups discovered that the hard way.
“We got our MBA in corporate banking this past weekend,” one founder of a 50-person startup told?the Financial Times in the wake of the SVB drama.
You need to know...
Praetura Ventures?has made a name for itself as one of the most active VC firms in the North of England over the past few years. One of its most recognisable faces in the startup world is Jess Jackson from the company’s investment team.
What Jess does:
My role involves assessing the investment proposition for startups that apply to Praetura Venture’s GMCII fund, focussing on life sciences businesses either based in Greater Manchester and Cheshire, or else looking to locate in the region, as well as companies seeking EIS investment.
I’m working on some exciting opportunities at present, spanning medical devices, healthtech software, and AI – All of them have genuine incredible impact potential, and we’re really excited to support these companies with the next stages of their growth journey. More to follow soon!
What is Praetura looking for?
We’re looking for a business that has a clearly articulated proposition detailing why their innovation is addressing an issue in the market – we need to be able to understand it to get excited about its potential.
Traction is important too, to validate their thesis – have they any customers? Are they trialling this in a clinical setting, for example, and how is the product being defined to meet clinical need? Finally, but just as critically, the management team must wow us with their passion, experience, and drive.
Scouse Word of the Month
Each month, we celebrate the city we are from, by helping you learn the lingo....
Boss: When something is very awesome
E.g. "That new Baltic Ventures accelerator looks boss!"
You're invited.....
Join Baltic Ventures?on the 10th May at CONTENT (Liverpool's newest independent venue, perfectly located in the heart of the Baltic Triangle) for an afternoon of networking, panel discussions and fireside chats - followed by an evening of celebration.
The event will include panel discussions, networking, fireside chats as well as performances from local DJS,?international street food and showcases from Liverpools booming tech ecosystem.?
This next newsletter from Baltic Ventures will hit your inbox in May, if you haven't signed up to receive this make sure to head to balticventures.uk!
If you want to receive our newsletter or important updates first, make sure to sign up to our newsletter list at https://balticventures.uk/....and whilst you are there, check out the newly launched Accelerator 2023, applications now open!