Delivery Partner for GCID Venture Studio – Make Pillar

Description

As part of the GCID (Glasgow City Innovation District) Venture Studios Make Pillar, we are looking to offer comprehensive support through various stages of product and service design and development. The Make Pillar offers a highly interactive space where diverse projects and businesses collaborate to bring their visions to life. The Supplier will be responsible for delivering a hands-on innovation development programme that will help companies (early stage and established) to design, prototype and prepare a new product or service. Lot 1: GCID (administered by the University of Strathclyde) has been awarded UK Govt Shared Prosperity Fuding to deliver a Venture Studio – a series of innovation programmes across 4 pillars of activity where multiple projects and businesses collaborate. This tender is regarding the ‘Impact Pillar’ which offers a highly interactive growth training opportunity for founder/Directors of companies at the early stages of growth, leading to access to funded Corporate Finance support for raising growth funding/investment. The Supplier will be responsible for providing Corporate Finance advice to a number of companies that will be seeking investment following participation in the impact training, specifically reviewing and providing detailed feedback on business plans with a detailed look at financials, revenue growth and valuation of the business. It is anticipated that there will be up to 20 participants receiving this support which must be provided between the start of December 2024 and end of February 2025. Participants will have previously been accepted on to the Venture Studio Impact programme and having attended all 6 training sessions should have a fully prepared business plan available. It is expected that the supplier will meet with each participant a minimum of two times, once for an initial meeting to discuss the business plan and allow a mini ‘pitch’. There will then be a follow-up meeting once the plan has been reviewed and feedback and guidance will be given to the participant. Following this, there will be the opportunity for an updated business plan to be given a final review by the supplier. An initial meeting will be held with the supplier to outline possible initial participants, with the likelihood that additional companies will be added within the first month of the activity. It is expected that there will be a minimum of three meetings with each company. Some delivery can take place via on-line meetings but at least one meeting should be in person, at the Strathclyde Inspire Hub. In addition to the one-to-one support, the GCID team would also welcome the provision of some general advice sessions, that would be open to a broader audience. It is intended that the contract will be awarded mid-October 2024. All grant funding must be spent by the end of March. The expected grant budget is estimated at GBP120,000.. There is a Market Engagement Questionnaire posted within the "Additional Documents" section. All interested parties must register their interest no later than Wednesday the 31st July and it would be appreciated if this Market Engagement Questionnaire could also be completed and returned to amy.irvine@strath.ac.uk no later than Wednesday the 31st July.