Recommended Suppliers

Isosceles Finance 

Isosceles supports fast-growing tech companies with FD services (part-time and interim FDs), accounting support, some corporate advisory, HR support and payroll. Our services are tailored and flexible to every client’s requirements. We support our clients for the long term, from early-stage, through growth, and for some, to a successful exit. All services are tailored and priced for each client.

Offer  

• All the accounting essentials (people, processes and systems)
  
• Flexible access to a part-time FD
• Access to finance professionals for business reporting, modelling, budgeting and forecasting help
  
• On-demand recruitment expertise to grow the team
  
• Payroll
  
• HR essentials (HR templates)
  
• HR advice, support and guidance, or help with some of the more complex people issues.
  
• M&A support (for example preparation for investment and preparation for exit) 

Contact

Address: One High Street Egham, Surrey, TW20 9HJ
Website: www.isoscelesfinance.co.uk
Main contact: Sam Akhtar
Email address: [email protected] 

Reciprocal Space 

Reciprocal Space is a London-based design and animation studio fully focused on science visual communication for biotech, medtech and pharma startups. Our services span 3D and 2D animation, pitch deck design, website design, branding, illustrations, infographics and photography. We have so far helped startups raise over £200M in funding. Our services merge high-end visuals with scientific accuracy. 

Offer 

Clients reaching us through the Imperial Enterprise network are offered free consultation in-person or via a video call. We will also offer up to 20% discount on our service fee and a free comprehensive report on a client pitch deck. 

Contact

Address: Reciprocal Space, Design District, Building C3, 13 Soames Walk, London SE10 0AX
Website: www.reciprocal.space
Main contact: Michal Barski
Email address: [email protected] 

Magna Coaching  

I am an experienced business coach, mentor and board director with over twenty years’ experience in both the corporate world and as a successful entrepreneur. I have been an Expert-in-Residence at Imperial College for business coaching for the last seven years as well as being a founding mentor for the IVMS Mentoring Programme. I also work in partnership with a Silicon Valley neuroscience based coaching company and I bring a lot of cutting edge tools and techniques that I have adapted specifically for founders and startups to develop their leadership skills and successfully build their businesses.

Offer 

• Business Coaching & Mentoring
  
• Leadership and Executive Coaching
  
• Executive Coaching for Postdocs
  
• Board Advisory
  
• 25% off corporate prices for Imperial founders and referred clients
  

Contact

Website: www.janetmurray.com
Main contact: Janet Murray
Email address: [email protected] 

 

 

Peter Haycocks Coaching and Facilitation 

Peter is an experienced coach and has helped numerous academics and start up founders to develop their ideas into commercially viable ventures. Peter helps individuals and teams work through their challenges and develop a clear way forward. 

Offer  

• Business coaching (these session can be very flexible and are aimed to help you work through your challenges)
• Strategic planning and business model development
• Leadership and team development (Qualified Belbin Team Roles practitioner)
• Facilitation and workshop delivery
• Bespoke packages to suit early stage ventures or academic teams

Contact

Website www.peterhaycocks.com 
Main contact: Peter Haycocks 
Email address: [email protected]  

PNO Consultants 

PNO Consultants Limited are the UK operation of the PNO Group – Europe’s largest grant funding consultancy. From our office in Manchester we provide UK wide coverage, supporting start-ups, established SME’s, large enterprises and universities across all research disciplines and sectors, with extensive experience of all principal national and European grant funding programmes. This includes schemes managed by Grantor Bodies such as Innovate UK, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) as well as European programmes such as Horizon.

Offer 

• Identification of the most appropriate grant schemes for an individual business based on stage of development, project scope and funding requirements
  
• Qualification of project ideas to determine alignment to available grant schemes
  
• Flexible writing support service (ranging from full writing support through to peer reviews) to optimize the chances of success and to streamline the application process
  
• Support in finding partners for collaborative R&D activity
  
• Support in post award grant reporting activity
  
• Business plan writing for fund raising
  

Contact

Address: PNO Consultants, The Courtyard, Earl Road, Cheadle Hulme, SK8 6GN
Website: www.pnoconsultants.com/uk
Main contact: Olaf Swanzy
Email address: [email protected] 

Kilburn & Strode LLP 

Kilburn & Strode is a top-tier European intellectual property firm that protects value for some of the world’s most innovative organisations. For more than 100 years, we have been trusted to provide strategic IP advice and navigate the complex world of IP for an impressive roster of clients of all sizes and in all technologies, including leading brands and some of the world’s most impressive innovators. 

Whether obtaining protection, clearing the path to market or defending key technologies, we offer a unique combination of experience, technical expertise and, most importantly, an approach that makes us a true extension of our clients’ teams. We have technical, legal and commercial nous second to none and we combine this with an attitude that makes working together easy. Many firms have competent patent and trade mark attorneys, but we distinguish ourselves by our complete focus on building deep relationships. 

We are proud of our deep and longstanding relationship with Imperial College, having supported the College and many of its spinout companies over more than two decades. 

With offices in London (HQ), Eindhoven, Hilversum, The Hague, Rotterdam, Munich, and a liaison office in San Francisco, we’re the only firm to connect these centres for European IP with the pulse of the Silicon Valley. 

Offer 

We provide commercially focused intellectual property advice to clients in all sectors. We assist startups and spinouts in the identification of patentable innovations and the development and management of patent strategies to protect, leverage, monetise and maximise the value of their IP. We are also experienced in supporting clients through due diligence underlying licensing and funding deals. 

The IP system can be daunting for startups and we take pride in supporting them through their commercial journeys. To help demystify the complex world of IP, we have a number of resources that we have created specifically for startups, high-growth companies, and entrepreneurs. These help supplement our strategic advice, by providing information and resources to help understand the steps needed to protect their IP.

Contact

Address: Kilburn & Strode LLP, Lacon London 84 Theobalds Road 
Website: www.kilburnstrode.com 
Main contact: Sarah Lau 
Email address: [email protected] 

Mathys & Squire 

Mathys & Squire is a full-service Intellectual Property (IP) law firm, established in 1910, with unrivalled expertise securing patent, trade mark and design protection for our clients, who range from startups and entrepreneurs to SMEs, universities, research institutions and large multinational corporations. We work across all technical fields, from life sciences and chemistry to IT and engineering. Our head office is in The Shard in London, and we have additional offices throughout the UK, as well as in Munich, Paris and Luxembourg, and also have teams based in China and Japan. As a testament to our expertise, we are ranked across all prominent legal and industry publications, including The Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, IAM 1000 and World Trademark Review. Further details are available via our website at www.mathys-squire.com. 

We have particular expertise in working with entrepreneurs, innovators and startups in every industry and sector. We will work with you to protect and commercialise your IP, putting together a commercially robust strategy from the outset, while focusing on alignment with your business objectives.

Offer 

We appreciate that budgets are inevitably tight for startups/spinouts and strive to provide our clients with exceptional IP advice in a cost-sensitive way, providing excellent value for money. 

We are always happy to discuss budgets and devise a strategy that fits with a client’s cost constraints, as well as to consider fixed/capped costs for any given piece of work. 

Contact

Company name  

Address: Mathys & Squire, The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9SG 
Website www.mathys-squire.com 
Main contact: Anna Gregson 
Email address: [email protected] 

 

 

Potter Clarkson 

Imperial College spinouts and startups are often based around very advanced  and technical subject matter so you need to know your IP advisors not only ‘get’ the science your business is founded on but are also sensitive to the steep learning curve you are embarking on and able to inject the commercial focus you’ll need to maximise the value of your ideas. 

Our patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys and IP solicitors work closely together in small, bespoke teams formed around each client. We are over 200 strong (with many of us having spent a long time working in academia or industry) so chances are we have a team with just the right mix of technical background and commercial experience for you. 

 Most new startups don’t necessarily need a new patent application, but do need advice and help around collaboration agreements and in-licensing deals (though we want to review your data regularly!).  This is why our blend of patent attorneys and IP solicitors is known for packing a particularly powerful punch in the world of start- ups and spin outs.  

We are here to guide you through the process of identifying, protecting and exploiting your IP. The decisions are yours, but you are not alone.

Offer 

Any Imperial startup/spinout can ask for a free meeting with our best qualified patent attorneys and IP solicitors to discuss these points to set you up on the right path and explain what you should be thinking about and when. Following on from this, if you decide we are the right fit for you (a good relationship between IP advisor and startup is essential so please make sure you choose someone you get on well with), we can offer our heavily discounted Kick-StartiP programme [click here] for Imperial startups and spinouts. Kick-StartiP aims to get early-stage companies going with a solid IP strategy. The package covers a half-day session with people from your Potter Clarkson in-house team, and whoever you like from your side, discussing all aspects of your business in the context of IP. The output is a report which, in addition to setting out your next IP steps, presents your IP position in the best light to attract investment, and is a useful addition to your data room. We have received very positive feedback from all the start-ups who have gone through the Kick-Start process. 

We can work to fixed costs for most actions so let us know your IP budget it, and we will maximise the value you get from it.

Contact

Address: Potter Clarkson, Chapel Quarter, Mount St, Nottingham NG1 6HQ 
Website: www.potterclarkson.com 
Main contact: Sara Holland 
Email address: [email protected] 

 

 

Venner Shipley Intellectual Property 

Venner Shipley is a European Intellectual Property firm with almost 100 patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys and IP solicitors and barristers. We advise and assist with patent and trade mark filings, oppositions, and appeals. Our legal team advises on negotiations, IP contracts and litigation. Furthermore, over the last 20 years, we also litigated for university interests, and advised on numerous commercial arrangements between universities, funders, collaborators and spin-outs and have been instrumental in protecting the IP on which university spin outs have been founded, or which has been licensed. 

Offer 

We have a so-called “University Deal”, which we offer to Imperial spinouts and start-ups: 

• Time recording – we wish to be viewed by our clients as being approachable, and so will not rigorously ‘watch the clock’ when doing work for you, for example when you telephone us with a brief IP enquiry. You would therefore not receive numerous small invoices from us in respect of simple, quick (10-minute) jobs that we do for you.  
• Patentability assessment – we are happy to review new Invention Disclosure Documents, and provide an initial brief opinion on patentability. The opinion would outline the identified IP, summarise the patentability of the invention in terms of novelty and inventive step in view of any prior art you send us, and briefly assess the strength of a potential patent application in terms of the sufficiency and support requirements of patent law. Short opinions (taking up to an hour or so) would be completely free of charge, but more complex opinions would be charged at our usual hourly rates.
• Capped hourly rates – we have reduced hourly rates for partners and associates for Imperial start ups.
• Travelling – we are happy to travel to your office for in-person meetings as need arises, such as for meeting the inventors. You would not be charged for any of our travelling costs.
• Attorney experience – to improve cost-efficiency, we ensure that jobs for you are completed by an attorney at the correct seniority. You would therefore never be “double-charged” for any piece of work.
• Transparency of costs – we will always give you a cost estimate before conducting any work for you, which will be agreed by you, and we will keep you fully informed of our charges as the job proceeds (for example, during the preparation of a patent specification).  
• In-house IP clinics – we can provide free IP clinics, in which an attorney would spend a few hours on-site free of charge, and provide any IP advice that may be required by you. This should be considered as a free service in which any staff member may simply ‘drop-in’ without an appointment to have their IP query resolved.
• Regular contact – we are proactive, and will keep you informed of recent developments in IP law via our regular newsletter.

Contact

Address: Venner Shipley, 200 Aldersgate, LONDON, EC1A 2HD
Website: www.vennershipley.com 
Main contact: Anton Hutter 
Email address: [email protected] 

 

 

Gill Jennings & Every LLP 

Gill Jennings & Every (GJE) are a leading intellectual property firm who are currently ranked first in the Financial Times’s listing of Europe’s Leading Patent Law Firms. GJE have a long history of supporting Imperial and its spin-out companies and we have particular expertise in advising early stage companies on developing an IP strategy to secure the maximum value of their innovation and to drive their growth.   

Many of our patent attorneys have a research background in either academia or industry and we bring specialist technical knowledge and experience across a wide range of technical fields. We work across all areas of technology but have significant areas of expertise in medical and health technologies, ICT software and machine learning, environmental and green technologies, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, chemistry and advanced engineering.  Our team includes an IP Expert-in-Residence for the Imperial Enterprise Lab, who has worked with Imperial ventures for many years so is familiar with the Imperial Entrepreneurial ecosystem. As experts in providing IP services to start-ups, we have vast experience in advising on developing and implementing appropriate IP strategies for early-stage companies to drive their growth.  We can advise on cost effective strategies for obtaining strong patent protection, assessing freedom to operate risk, challenging third party patents and preparing supporting materials for grant applications and funding rounds. Our experience in performing IP due diligence for investor clients provides transferable knowledge to assist companies to take the right steps to ensure they are investment ready.

Offer 

As part of our support for Imperial Enterprise, GJE offering free IP clinics to all Imperial ventures. These 1-2-1 sessions provide the opportunity to discuss your technology with a specialist attorney with the required technical background and experience, who will be able to answer any specific queries on IP and provide some initial guidance on forming an IP strategy to protect your innovation. These bespoke IP clinics could cover providing an initial patent eligibility assessment, assessing whether patent protection is the right option over retaining an idea as a trade secret, providing guidance on suitable filing strategies, approaches to assessing your freedom to operate, as well as any queries covering other types of IP rights, such as trade marks and registered designs.  

We understand the cost pressures faced by early-stage companies during the funding cycle and our cost structures are always transparent and tailored accordingly. We can provide capped charges, agreed ahead of time, to ensure cost certainty and pride ourselves on always being available to answer questions and provide guidance to those new to the IP system. 

Contact

Address: Gill Jennings & Every LLP, Broadgate Tower, 20 Primrose St, London EC2A 2ES 
Website: www.gje.com 
Main contact: Jack Severs 
Email address: [email protected] 

OVHcloud 

OVHcloud is a leading European cloud hyperscaler and has been a cloud and infrastructure provider for over 20 years, with 1.6 million customers worldwide served by 38 global water-cooled data centres. As a founding member of GAIA-X, OVHcloud is at the centre of helping to build a secure, autonomous and open digital infrastructure in Europe and beyond.  

Offer 

The OVHcloud Startup Program is a global programme that has been running since 2015 and has received more than 11,000 applications of which more than 3,700 have been assisted with cloud credits and free technical consultation. The Startup Program provides tech startups with €10,000 of cloud hosting credits and up to €100,000 for scale-ups, enabling them to facilitate exponential and international growth. Key to this growth is a product offering that is built on open standards providing interoperability and technology freedom.

We have designed the Startup Program with a personal approach that means when you need to find answers to technology problems quickly, we will personally direct you to the help you need. In addition to this, we have also now launched our own go-to-market offering, Fast Forward, that will help accelerate our members. Fast Forward includes increased visibility for our members through our Shine On programme, 1-on-1 mentoring to solve cloud and business challenges through Mentoring for Startups, access to relevant content to accelerate growth through our Content Hub as well as access to market and funding through our Showcase events. Showcase events bring our startups and scaleups together with venture capital companies, industry and other ecosystem enablers to create the connections required to access funding and business opportunities. 

Contact

Company website: startup.ovhcloud.com
Main contact: Philip Marais
Email address: [email protected] 

Clustermarket 

Clustermarket is the world-leading equipment management and scheduling system helping laboratories optimize their operations and accelerate results. Clustermarket equips lab managers with an easy-to-use software solution enabling them to coordinate equipment usage, plan maintenance activities, and generate reports for resource planning. Research teams benefit from equipment access management and insights on utilization and maintenance. Clustermarket is designed for fast implementation and high adoption within the organization, whilst also offering integrations with various other software solutions.

Offer  

• A 30% discount will be applied to our premium package. 

Contact

Address: Clustermarket, 20 Water Street, London, E14 9GX 
Website: clustermarket.com 
Main contact: Tobias Wingbermuehle 
Email address: [email protected] 

CMS 

CMS is an international law firm, providing the full range of legal services that a start-up may need, such as regulatory, corporate, commercial, employment and intellectual property expertise. This means a start-up can have one port of call for all legal requirements, rather than co-ordinating with a number of different law or patent attorney firms.  Our intellectual property team is unique in the UK in that it includes a large proportion of patent attorneys (specialising in life sciences, chemistry and technology), working alongside IP lawyers and trade mark attorneys in a fully integrated team. Our substantial corporate practice also means that we regularly represent investors in conducting due diligence projects and we draw on that experience to help start-ups build strong foundations.    

Offer 

For many years, CMS has run a legal incubator called equIP – with over 170 companies now having benefitted from the equIP programme in the UK, including Imperial alumni.  

equIP is a dedicated programme to support start-ups who are intellectual property rich. Once you become a member of the equIP programme, you benefit from a 50% discount on our standard hourly rates for 3 years, introductions to relevant industry players (investors or like-minded entrepreneurs), access to meeting venues, events organised exclusively for you and an ever growing network of fellow entrepreneurs.  Becoming a member in one jurisdiction also automatically means you can benefit from the same conditions in all participating jurisdictions. 

We would be delighted to consider any Imperial startups or spinouts for the programme.

Contact

Website: cms.law 
Main contacts: 

Jane Hollywood 
Email address: [email protected] 

Joel Vertes 
Email address: [email protected] 

 

Withers tech 

Withers tech is a global venture capital and technology legal practice serving disruptors and innovators in the technology and life sciences sectors.  Our experts operate out of the firm’s core territories in Europe (London, Cambridge and Milan), the US (Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York), and APAC (Singapore and Hong Kong), offering a global solution to clients seeking to scale and expand internationally. 

Offer 

In order to support entrepreneurship and innovation, we offer a discounted Withers tech rate to Imperial founders which covers both corporate and commercial matters. We are on the panel for Imperial spin-outs which provides a discounted package for Imperial members. Depending upon the requirement, fixed costs range from £5,000 to £7,500.  

This encompasses a range of services including and combination of the following: 

• Incorporation of Company with Founder shareholding
• Review and finalise Spin Out documentation
  
• Licence agreement with College 
  
• Consultancy Agreements for Founders 
  
• Subscription Letters for Investors 
  
• Shareholders’ Agreement of the Company 
  
• New Articles of Association of the Company 
  
• Convertible Loan Agreement with Innovations 
  
• Prepare corporate authorisations of Company (board and shareholder resolutions for incorporation and Spin Out)

In addition, our lawyers also provide mentoring to early-stage companies to help support the technology and life sciences ecosystems. 

We support companies throughout their entire life cycle from start-up to exit, helping our clients negotiate the challenges they face as their business grows and the market shifts. 

We have specialist expertise in helping early-stage companies grow and our lawyers would work closely with the Imperial Enterprise cohort companies on issues they face, including: Early-stage funding rounds (Seed / Series A), Venture debt, Bridge financings (including convertible notes, SAFEs, advance subscriptions), Technology transfers & university spin-outs, Licensing, R&D and commercial transactions, Privacy compliance, Trademarks, Employment issues

Contact

Address: Withers tech, 20 Old Bailey, London, EC4M 7AN 
Website: www.withersworldwide.com 
Main contact: Susanna Stanfield 
Email address: [email protected] 

 

  

Seven Legal 

Seven Legal works with high growth tech companies on their journeys through funding, scaling and exits with a focus on concise, pragmatic legal advice at each stage of a company’s growth cycle.  

We provide you with stage specific, fixed fee legal advice, built on advising hundreds of founding teams from funding to exit in the UK, US and India.  

Offer 

• We provide a 10% discount on all legal work for the first 6 months of our engagement. 

Contact

Address Seven Legal, SohoWorks, Shoreditch
Website: www.sevenlegal.co.uk 
Main contact Bill Cogan 
Email address: [email protected] 

Pay As You Go COO 

Pay As You Go COO makes it easier and cheaper for ambitious early stage companies and their teams to access the kind of high-impact Strategic insights that have gotten successful companies to where they are today. 

I believe that no vision is too big and no goal is out of reach, even when your resources are limited. That’s why I’ve crafted budget-stretching ways get expert help for you or your growing business, from as little as £150 (including VAT and also with additional discounts for Imperial Founders). 

Through Pay As You Go COO, I can help you build an efficient business that enables you to set clear and useful goals, connect with more customers, better clarify your value proposition to investors, and extend your runway through effective capital deployment. 

Offer 

• Affordable Business Coaching by the hour  
  
• OKR Workshops to help you write a clear Strategy and set the right goals 
  
• Fractional COO/Board Advisor services (price is dependent on needs) 
  
• 10% discount on the above for all Imperial Founders 

Please note that this is a unique opportunity to access my help for less – I do not discount my services for anyone outside of the Imperial Founders.

Contact

Address: Pay As You Go COO, 124 City Road, EC1V 2NX 
Website: www.payasyougocoo.com 
Main contact: Milly Barker 
Email address: [email protected]