Crowdfunding for Universities and Science Park Companies

What is EquitySpark?

• A crowd funding business

• Raises funding for:

๏ university research projects

๏ university spinoffs

๏ university science park companies

Funding & Return

• £250k required to fund first 12 months

• Cashflow positive thereafter

• Valued attractively at £2m pre-money now

• Will seek exit within 3 to 5 years at valuation of £20m

• Investors will get 10x return

The Problem

The Research Problem

• Universities are hotbeds of research

• But research projects don’t always get government funding

• They often have no other source of funds

• So deserving projects are left to wither and die

The Spinoff Problem

• Some university research projects should be spun out into companies to exploit their discoveries

• These spinoffs face significant challenges in raising early stage finance

• If easier funding were available, more would attempt to spin off

The Science Park Problem

• University Science Parks are hotbeds of innovation

• They contain startups at the forefront of technology (some are university spinoffs, some are not)

• These startups face significant challenges in raising early stage, and subsequent rounds of finance

The Answer

• Crowdfunding via EquitySpark

• It raises money for University-related enterprises

• It raises money from University alumni (and other angel investors)

Business Model

• Commission on funds raised

• Commission on funds managed (nominee investments)

• Advertising

• Licensing the crowd funding software platform

Markets

The University Research Project Market

• UK Research Councils funding for 2012/13 was £1.5bn

• Average application success rate 30%

• Implies £3bn of research not funded in 2012/13

The University Science Park Market*

• Number of locations: 71

• Number of locations under development: 8

• Number of tenant companies: 3,300

• Estimated annual turnover of tenants: £5.5bn

*UK Science Park Association

University Alumni

• Millions of university alumni out there

• University alumni have better employment, earn more, and have more disposable income than non-graduates

• Survey of alumni found that those who remained informed of innovation in their university (10%) would become involved if the barriers to doing so were lessened

Win-win

• Get projects & spinoffs funded quicker and easier

• Access to wide range of angels

• Free service

• Easier fundraising

• Quicker fundraising

• Wide pool of investors

• Unique investment opportunities

• Support university-associated SMEs

• Feel-good factor

University Entrepreneur Alumnus

Financials

Financial SummaryBa

lanc

e ca

shflo

w

£-225,000£-152,500

£-80,000£-7,500£65,000

£137,500£210,000£282,500£355,000£427,500£500,000

7-14 9-14 11-14 1-15 3-15 5-15 7-15 9-15 11-15 1-16 3-16 5-16

Monthly Forecast

Jul Oct Jan '15 Apr Jul Oct Jan '16 Apr Jul

Monthly Income - £5k £10k £17k £37k £57k £92k £123k £152k

Monthly Cost £33k £17k £29k £30k £33k £33k £33k £33k £38k

Balance cashflow -£32k -£71k -£144k -£191k -£201k -£148k -£15k £207k £441k

Financials Year 2

Financials Year 1

Traction to date

Platform Development Complete

Already Engaged with Universities

• 21 May Birmingham Science Park Pitch to 34 companies offering pre-registration to EquitySpark crowdfunding

• June Wolverhampton University EquitySpark to assist in the launch of Wolverhampton’s new Science Park providing mentoring and crowdfunding for 6 companies (their first spinouts)

• 10 July UK Science Park Association (UKSPA) 30 year Summit Dr David Hardman MBE (chair of UKSPA) will endorse EquitySpark as UKSPA crowdfunding partner

Strong Team

Simon Farrell Commercial Director

• 15 years in IT & Business Development

• Senior roles in financial service

• Barclays, Lloyds, RBS and Deutsche Bank

Simon Strojan Founder, CEO

Kabir Walker CTO

• Independent Consultant at RBS

• Project work stream lead at HCL

• Director at Red Button Recruitment

• Head of Compliance at Sanctuary Personnel

• Royal Navy

• Independent Consultant at RBS

• CEO Head Porter

• Environmental Economist, Natural England

• PhD, Univ of Wales, MPhil, Cambridge University

Road Map

Build equity crowdfunding platform

Pre-launch University Science Park crowd funding service Birmingham Science Park (Aston) will be the first to be offered the service

Gain FCA approval & licence Equity crowdfunding service goes live Extend service to other science parks

Develop University fundraising platform

Research crowd fundraising service goes live

Complete June AugJulyComplete

Contacts

Dr Simon Strojan +44 7533 380 093

simon@equityspark.com

Simon Farrell +44 7447 001 941

simon.farrell@equityspark.com