F or those entrepreneurs in the East of England it’s no longer necessary to get on a train to London, and the East of England’s hub scene has thrived during Covid. More and more frustrated executives have started to turn their big ideas into innovative businesses. Lockdown provided the perfect opportunity to reflect on work-life balance and realise the dream of ditching the commute, especially as they realised that there were great facilities to support them on their doorstep. Five years ago I could have listed the high quality startup hubs on one hand with fingers to spare: Cambridge had St John’s Innovation Centre. In Suffolk there was Innovation Martlesham at Adastral Park, 10 miles from Ipswich station. Norwich’s Whitespace had come and gone. Colchester had one under construction. Now in 2022 the picture has been transformed. West Suffolk has gained the EpiCentre in Haverhill, run by Oxford Innovation and is part of a national network which also includes The Innovation Centre at Knowledge Gateway in Colchester. Patch is running its ‘work near home’ concept in Chelmsford. Norwich has gained Akcela at Fuel Studios. In Lowestoft the Orbis Energy Centre is welcoming more and more tech startups as well as energy sector businesses, as is Hethel Innovation near Wymondham. And Cambridge has the Bradfield Centre on Cambridge which has incubated several successful start-ups that have gone onto scale-up and thrive. One of the most interesting recent developments has been Innovation Labs which started from humble beginnings with a small space in Stowmarket and has now grown to span a network of four hubs: the original one, Sudbury, Melton and now Ipswich. Tech start- ups in market towns – who would have thought it? What differentiates these hubs from traditional business centres and serviced offices? In a Word: ‘community’.
Once you’ve upgraded from your kitchen table or the local coffee shop you’ll need a bit more. Good tech start-up hubs mean more than just office space, broadband, printers and somewhere to plug in a kettle. They usually have a communal, open-plan layout with hotdesking for those who don’t need to come in every day. At the very least there will be some kind of community or ‘ecosystem’ manager who makes it their business to get to know all the members and regularly checks in with them about their needs. Often there will be a café. Regular events and meetups are hosted, whether in a dedicated events space or just by pushing desks to one side for more spontaneous gatherings. We’ve held some of our most successful Tech + Toast events in hubs. Perhaps most importantly, people can learn from each other. Nothing is more powerful than listening to the ‘warts and all’ experiences of other founders who will almost always be happy to share their experiences and business journeys. Innovation ‘is a contact sport’ and it’s the accidental meetings and collisions between people which can often lead to leaps forward in the development of a business. For example, a sales professional with a great business idea but no technical experience bumps into a software developer looking for a cool idea to work on and hey presto. Finally it’s worth remembering that hubs act as magnets for investors and others offering support. All businesses need ideas, money and people. You might bump into someone from Innovate UK or Tech Nation. Angel investors, Growth Hub advisers, lawyers, financial services specialists including R&D tax consultants, insurance brokers and accountants, university knowledge exchange teams all now know where to come to help businesses. If you’re looking to start a disruptive business, the chances are the right spot is now on your doorstep.
Tim Robinson , Chief Operating Officer, Tech East
TECH BUSINESS | SCRUTTON BLAND | 7
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