A morning for South West Tech Founders from the University of Exeter, Tech South West and Sapphire & Steel

In partnership with Tech South West, The University of Exeter and EarthScale is pleased to announce Scale South West: Building Value from Pre-Seed to Series A.

The South West is producing ambitious tech companies. One of the major challenges is accessing the right investment and growing without giving away more than you need to. This half-day session looks at the path from pre-seed to Series A and beyond, with one question in focus: how do you build and protect value at every stage?

We start with a keynote from Bristol-based Sapphire & Steel (https://www.sapphiresteel.co/). They'll walk through the funding journey from initial investment to growth rounds, looking at what drives valuation at each stage, what investors are really assessing, and the decisions made early on that shape your outcomes later.

After the keynote, we'll split into two small breakout groups:

Pre-Seed & Seed: for founders raising their first rounds. We'll look at getting investor-ready, setting a sensible valuation, and laying foundations that won't hold you back later. Facilitated by Colin Dart from the University of Exeter

Series A & Beyond: for founders preparing for or past Series A. We'll cover proving traction, handling due diligence, and strengthening your position going into bigger rounds. Facilitated by Sapphire & Steel

The groups are kept small on purpose. They're facilitated working sessions, so you can bring your specific challenges and work through them with founders at the same stage as you.

There's also the opportunity to hear about the upcoming Climate Tech Founders Forum from Tech South West.

Places are limited to keep the groups small. Register now to reserve your spot.

The University of Exeter on behalf of EarthScale (https://earthscale.co.uk/) is delighted to be collaborating with Tech South West to deliver this session.

EarthScale is a UK-wide 12-month programme supporting IP-rich climate tech ventures to scale, navigate manufacturing and raise Series A funding. EarthScale is powered by a network of universities across the UK, including Imperial College (lead), Cranfield University, the University of Derby, the University of Exeter, the University of Leeds, and the University of Nottingham.

The programme is co-funded by the Research England Development Fund until 2028.

Description supplied by the event organiser.