Invest wisely - get it right first time!

Getting it right first time is key for any business, but for a start up trying to attract investment and get a product to market, there is no room for mistakes.

Investors are reluctant to put money into anything which won't guarantee them a return and the moment they detect the product might not hit the market window, funding can vanish. Whereas before, the budget would perhaps stretch to one change of plan part way through the design process, with the current economic environment, companies just can't afford to make any slip-ups.

So how, with money tighter than ever and investors reluctant to spend, are British start-up companies getting their innovations to market?

Plextek has been working closely with pioneering medical technology start-up PneumaCare, who have just secured a new round of funding which will help the company to get its non-invasive lung measurement technology into hospitals at home and abroad. Plextek has worked with PneumaCare since its formation, not only helping to develop its technology, but also offering commercial support through strategic consultancy and enabling and implementing effective business processes.

As a result, PneumaCare was able to hit the key commercial milestones of Medical Regulatory approvals within challenging schedule and budget requirements, thus securing the necessary investment. PneumaCare also received the Best Business Proposition Award within the Respiratory Innovation Category at the 2011 Medical Futures Innovation Awards.

Plextek is well placed to help companies in bringing their technologies to market through successful business and product innovation.

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What are your investors looking for?

Top 5 tips as to what your investors are looking for before investing in your company.

• Good, protected IP

A good idea and basis for the business is key, but so is protecting it. It's no good having a great idea, but a rushed through, poorly put together patent to protect it, which allows rivals to swoop in and catch up quickly. Key to this is getting the advice of people with a lot of experience in this area. Investors will do thorough due diligence.

• Route to market

It's not enough to just have a good idea, you need a solid business plan describing how you're going to develop, manufacture, ship and market it as well. While investors look for innovative ideas, without the right business plan it may as well be the next Sinclair C5.

• Exit strategy

Investors are naturally looking to make money and therefore for an exit point, so they need to know the business has a future, a roadmap. Whether that's looking for a buyer once the first few products are established, or building a full product portfolio, it needs to be in the plan.

• Know your figures!

If you're thinking of putting money into a business you'll want to know where it's going, why it's going there and what end results are expected. Detailed forecasting and planning is key here. Without financial planning, investors will worry their money will just be wasted.

• Management team

If the product is brilliant but the people aren't right, then your chances of attracting investment will be significantly reduced. This means enthusiastic people with a belief in the market, but also people with experience of start-ups and the challenges they face. This doesn't have to be in-house, consultancies such as Plextek can provide this expertise from an objective point of view.

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Product designs for women

Women comprise approximately 48% of the population and studies now show that these women have direct influence in 85% of all household purchasing decisions. Not only that, but significant numbers of women within large organisations are in roles which make purchasing decisions and 70% of all new business enterprises are started by them. 

Although it is often played down, it is clear that women have a great deal of influence in the economy as consumers and have an awful lot of spending power.

They are educated: in 2008/09, women earned more bachelor's (57.2%), master's (60.4%) and doctoral degrees (52.3%) than men and just less than half (49.0%) of all first professional degrees. Their disposable incomes are growing; in 2010 women controlled more than half of private U.S. wealth, or about $14 trillion. By 2020, that number is expected to rise to $22 trillion.

As a result of these equality changes, many product companies have started to focus on women to really understand them and investigate what influences their buying process. Women are influenced by things such as how ecological a product is, the branding, the packaging, the styling as well as the actual physical design such as its size and how comfortable it is for smaller hands, with longer nails! And of course women demand and value very highly the functionality as well as how much time it saves and how reliable the product is.

Understanding the intricate demographics of women in each particular market sector is set to become ever more crucial for businesses to allow them to maximise their commercial growth. Product design specific for women is changing based on this shift and will continue to change as more research is undertaken into this very affluent, influential and knowledgeable market.

Here at Plextek, we understand the importance of market analysis, commercial process expertise as well as full product development and manufacture. Having women as part of these teams, from concept through to manufacture, enables us to help our clients maximise their commercial growth from their new products, and that doesn't mean covering it in pink flowers!

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Boxing clever: We're ready for the Patent Box - are you?

The UK Government is committed to introducing the so-called Patent Box - allowing companies to reduce corporation tax liability to 10% for profits attributable to patents.

The aim of the Patent Box is to enhance the competitiveness of the UK tax system for high-tech companies that obtain profits from patents. The idea is that it will encourage companies to locate R&D, manufacturing and exploitation of patents in the UK. Whilst targeted primarily at stimulating new innovation it also applies to existing patents.

The scheme is still undergoing consultation but draft legislation will be in place this autumn and the Patent Box itself will come into force on 1st April 2013.

It is intended that patents granted not just by the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) but also the European Patent Office (EPO) will be eligible for the tax relief. Further, worldwide income, not just UK or European, earned by UK businesses from qualifying patents will benefit from the arrangement.

Spring 2013 might seem a long way off, but given product development cycle times, acting now could mean a very worthwhile future financial benefit. Plextek is already discussing with its design services clients how to maximise this opportunity. There has never been a better time to innovate!

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