Catalyst Alumni Network Launch

The founders of 13 outstanding early-stage businesses gathered at Hotel du Vin on 21 January to launch a new networking group.

The alumni companies represented were Absolar, AudioScenic, Birthglide, Data Revival, Labl.It, Nuonano, OhmSpace, Shuffle Energy, Sooba Medical, Studfast, Troudigital, Utonomy and LifeLight (xim).

All had previously benefited from Southampton Science Park’s Catalyst business accelerator programme. The South’s leading accelerator for early stage innovation-led companies, Catalyst delivers world-class mentoring, strategic guidance, practical workshops and the connections that are proven to help turn innovative ideas into a commercially successful, scalable businesses.  Although operating in diverse sectors and at different stages on their business journeys, discussion around the challenges, successes and learnings amply demonstrated a lot of common ground.

Guest speaker Robin Arkle was managing director of a hugely successful Costa franchise before establishing Splash Consultants, where he now leverages his 30 years of experience in sales leadership, business development, and strategic planning to help business thrive in competitive and dynamic environments.

Robin said, “I’m incredibly impressed by the people in this room who are leading phenomenal businesses. There’s no doubt about it, entrepreneurship is a lonely venture, which is why groups like this one are so important. Surrounding yourself with other excellent people in similar situations to share ideas helps you to be nimble to change and to thrive.”

Southampton Science Park Business Development Director, Lucinda Lamont, commented, “We’re delighted to be realising our ambition to bring our Catalyst alumni together. We regularly hear from participant founders that it’s daunting when transitioning from the weeks of intensive mentoring and support that they receive on Catalyst to ‘going it alone’ again.

“Our aim is to establish a platform exclusively for companies that have graduated from our business accelerator to enable them to share successes and challenges, and to offer ideas and experiences to one another, with further support from the Catalyst team where it would be valuable. Tonight’s inaugural event at Hotel du Vin achieved all this and more, as more established companies from earlier cohorts met newer companies for the first time, sparking ideas and igniting collaboration potential.

Lucinda continued, “The value in such a platform is clear and so we are already planning our next Catalyst Alumni event and we welcome all Catalyst participants to the table. Please do get in touch if you would like to be involved.

“On behalf of the Science Park team, I would like to thank BDO, our sponsors for the evening, our fantastic speaker, Robin Arkle for his invaluable, honest insight into his experiences of entrepreneurship, and of course, all of the businesses that attended and openly shared their post-accelerator experiences to date. 

Southampton Science Park is grateful to Catalyst programme partners: Health Innovation Wessex, the National Oceanography Centre and the University of Southampton’s School of Healthcare Enterprise and Innovation, and to Test Valley Borough Council which provides funding via the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund.