Innovation Launch Pad mentoring stages

By Joe Gardiner Wednesday, 22nd June 2011

Following the voting stage outlined in my previous two posts (Experiences with Innovation Launch Pad & Innovation Launch Pad Update), my proposal to save the Government £17,880,000 on their web hosting finished in third position. Based on the Approval Rating I’m happy to say that I was invited to the mentoring stages of the program.

The first stage of mentoring, which took place at the Treasury Department in central London, involved a pitch to two panels of experts, one private sector and one public sector representative on each panel. This was followed by a twenty minute review period on presentation and proposal from each panel. Following my pitch the panel members compared and discussed notes and decided on the businesses to invite to a second round of mentoring.

The first mentoring stage went very well. I received some great feedback, particularly from Sherry Coutu, on how to expand my pitch and to build credibility. Sherry suggested including signed off case studies from our current clients as part of the handouts to confirm the figures in my presentation. This stage was really useful in highlighting the difference between public and private sector business concerns, and clarified the issues that should be covered when attempting to engage and sell to Government.

I was lucky enough to be successful in the first round and invited to a second round of presentations and mentoring, this time at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, still in central London on Victoria Road.

This round was much more challenging with some tough questions and detailed analysis on the solution I was proposing. Fortunately the tough questions led to great feedback, which has greatly helped me expand my pitch to cover the areas that Government needs answering.

The mentors I met were extremely helpful and encouraging, and even if I am not invited to the final round we have raised our profile in Government and started to engage more fully. As much as the final round will be an excellent way to deliver our message directly to decision makers within departments, the message I have been receiving throughout the process is that Government wants to adopt as many proposals as possible, even if they are not invited to Downing Street!

I hope to hear the results of the second round of presentations later today and whether or not CatN and I have made it all the way to Downing Street.

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