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As plans are made for the UK economy to grow faster in 2025 and beyond, Newcastle Helix is championing scaling businesses with the launch of a brand new documentary exploring investment for British SMEs.
The Future of Finance is the latest in a series of films from the North East’s Innovation District. It explores what it takes to grow a UK business - both professionally and personally. The documentary uses real-life stories to share the expert knowledge and experience of people willing to give the honest truth alongside top tips for entrepreneurs and CEOs.
Helix-based bioscience companies NunaBio and CellRev are among those featured in the film. Having each secured mutli-million pound investment, it explores their various financial routes from bootstrapping, to grants, loans and equity investment with Angels and Venture Capitalists.
"“The reason an investor invests in your business, and I think it's important that all founders, all entrepreneurs, all CEOs, understand this, is ultimately because they want to make more money, and your job is to make them more money. And it's as simple as that."
said Chris Green, CEO of CellRev.
The subject of business support for Founders is highlighted through the NatWest Accelerator - which is based in The Lumen building on the Helix site - as well as expert opinion from the Innovation SuperNetwork. Sophie said
"There's lots of different challenges that businesses are going to face that can be to do with selling, leadership, funding and accessing that funding."
The film also shares insights from VCs in the form of NorthStar Ventures, alongside crowdfunding expertise through the story of Next Gen Planners in County Durham. Alex said
"You're entering into a relationship which can possibly be longer than most marriages, and you need to have a thought for the whole cycle of that investment."
The people behind Helix-based NunaBio and CellRev also give a glimpse into the unique journeys that got these businesses from conception to growth, and how they are each supporting world-changing advancements in the world of medicine manufacturing and application. Joe acknowledges,
"We have a world changing technology that can impact a wide range of people's lives, and we use it across a number of different areas, such as medical applications."
The Future of Finance follows The Future of Collaboration, and is part of a wider series of films to highlight the wealth of development and business growth taking place at Newcastle Helix, a growing community of businesses and research facilities all seeking to drive innovation.
John Seager, Estates Director, Newcastle Helix said:
“The key to creating regional economic growth is about ensuring the success of as many businesses as possible – nurturing the talent and fostering true, home grown, innovation is the essence of what we do at Helix. The opportunity to learn amongst peers and collaborate is one of the things that makes Helix special and I think our latest film in The Future of series will be really interesting for burgeoning entrepreneurs – The Future of Finance – a great place to start!"
To watch The Future of Finance, go to https://youtu.be/qfqP9B5T1gA?feature=shared.
Stay tuned for the third instalment, with The Future of Data & AI coming out in April
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