Life Sciences Scale-Up Programme
We’ll help you overcome challenges in achieving rapid business growth.
Focused Workshops | Peer Support | Events
Fully-Funded Programme | Limited places available
Apply for 2024 below
Exclusively available to tenant companies of Pioneer Group
“The value the scale-up programme has brought to me is the people.
Not just the delegates, but also the mentors and the folk that have been brought in to teach us.
I didn’t want it to end!”
– Claire Thompson, Agility Life Sciences
Not just the delegates, but also the mentors and the folk that have been brought in to teach us.
I didn’t want it to end!”
We are delighted to introduce our 2024 Life Sciences Scale-Up Programme for ambitious businesses across the Pioneer Group community.
We understand that entrepreneurs are not ‘an everyman’. You have the determination, drive, endless energy and commitment to turn a great idea into reality. Revolutionising industry, pioneering medical technologies and transforming healthcare takes more than just a great idea and a can-do attitude.
We’re here to help.
Pioneer Group is an ambitious and experienced business incubator, supporting the growth of ambitious life-science businesses.
Our Life Sciences Scale-Up Programme will enable you overcome challenges in achieving rapid business growth, through a combination of peer support, events and focused workshops.
Workshops
#1 Culture, Talent and High Performing Teams
How to create the right culture, attract high performing talent, remunerate and incentivize teams and align people with business goals.
#2 Customer-Centric
How well do you know your customer? What are their problems? Why do they or don’t they buy from you? What value do you bring? How good is your product-market fit?
#3 Finance and Funding Growth
Which sources of growth finance are best for you, and what are the risks and pitfalls of external finance versus organic growth? How do you build a capital raise strategy?
#4 Business Model and Pricing
How to tie in customers, improve cash and profitability, and lockout competitors.
#5 Scaling Strategy
How to expand into new international markets, launch new products, and buy/integrate other companies.
#6 Leadership
How to identify and shape your leadership style and how to grow your leadership team.
Peer to Peer & Expert Support
The Pioneer Group collective houses hundreds of tenant companies, 250 expert mentors, Academic Health Science Networks, university tech transfer offices, large corporate venture practices and innovation teams, venture capital, private equity, experienced entrepreneurs, professional advisors, and scientific domain experts, to name a few.
Experienced Leaders
Leading the programme are Glenn, Toby, Miranda and AJ, each of them hugely
respected in the life-sciences sector. They have supported and mentored a vast
array of business in their growth ambitions, and their industry connections
know no bounds.
1-to-1 Connections and Introductions
Who do you need to talk to? We’ll see who we know
and make tailored personal introductions as and when we can.
SWAT Team
Stress-test your business strategy through a day
with a panel of expert advisors who will question and challenge
but ultimately pitch in to help out. (More DIY SOS than Dragons Den!)
Q&A Dinners
Detailed discussions over a series of dinners with a
curated selection of successful entrepreneurs.
A chance to ask your own questions, network with the other
cohort companies attending and take some time out from your business.
Eligibility & Costs
Funded by the landlord, the Pioneer Group Life Sciences Scale-up Programme is free. It is open to applications from all Pioneer Group-based businesses with ambitious growth plans. Successful candidates will typically meet the following criteria:
Testimonials
“What the programme has brought to me is the people involved. Not just the people that are delegates for the programme, who have been fantastic, but it’s also the mentors, the folk that teach us about the various aspects of scaling-up”
Claire Thompson, CEO, Agility Life Sciences
Claire Thompson started in a mid-formulation lab. And then came the pandemic, bringing a massive demand for the services that her company, Agility Life Sciences, provided.
So Agility needed to scale – and fast. Claire joined our Scale-Up Programme, giving her access to mentors, delegates and experts who mapped the route to quick and comprehensive scaling.
Denis Smit, Commercial Director at Micropore Technologies, worked for fifteen years with his team developing research that could be transformed into real-world use. When the time arrived to take this work from the lab bench to manufacturing, he joined our Scale-Up Programme.
“We are currently less than 20 people. Now, I can see us grow to 30, 40 in the future. The programme has been absolutely worth it from my point of view”