MIDLAND investors need to show some local pride and back Birmingham-bred business talent, advisers have said.
Accountancy firm Mazars along with law firm Cobbetts is backing the 13-week ‘Oxygen Accelerator’ programme, currently running at Birmingham Science Park Aston.
The programme, which supports early stage hi-tech businesses and was founded by Birmingham entrepreneur Mark Hales, is pitching to high net worth individuals, venture capitalists and private equity firms for an average investment of around £250,000.
Mazars and Cobbetts are providing financial and legal mentoring as part of the programme on topics such as structuring growth finance, intellectual property and business planning.
One of the Oxygen teams has developed a new recruitment tool which is now looking for testers.
The product aims to take a collaborative approach to selection which allows multiple people within a single organisation to review and comment on applicants.
Multiple tests can be tailored for individual organisations including micro interviews, typing tests, use of common office based products and psychometric tests.
The Accelerator programme is calling for large employers currently recruiting to trial the system free of charge.
A series of roadshows about the programme is also taking place in Manchester, Leeds, London and Birmingham next Wednesday.
Mazars’ Midlands managing partner David Chapman said: “The first Oxygen Accelerator has attracted young businesses not only from the UK, but also from India, Estonia and Romania.
“Just over halfway through the first course, two of the new enterprises are already revenue generating and all the businesses have tremendous prospects.”
Oxygen Accelerator also donned a philanthropic hat for Children in Need by designing a new computer game and placing it in app stores in just 48 hours.
A group of Birmingham schoolchildren saw their ideas come to life over a weekend for the ‘Children in Need Tech Challenge’ after firms heard product pitches from 600 pupils across Birmingham.
The chosen ideas came from youngsters at Blue Coats School, in Edgbaston, and St Francis CoE Primary, in Bournville, which were combined to create a Whack-A-Cake game based on 1970s classics ‘Whac-a-mole’ and ‘Build a Better Burger’.
If you’re not getting our daily emails, your competitors might be. Click here to check your account settings.
