Bath-based startup Coherent, a tailor-made web app which makes managing and administering co-working spaces simpler, has attended Google Campus’s prestigious week-long programme for 10 of its ‘Best of British’ startups after being selected out of hundreds of applications from across the UK.
“Pitching to 100+ investors was scary but very exciting”
The London-based campus space for entrepreneurs provided collaborative workspace, events and workshops to the 10 high-growth-potential startups, as well as plenty of opportunities to meet and receive advice from industry experts, mentors and investors across the week.
Top ten: Coherent’s Business Development Manager, Alex Marshall with Google Campus’ other ‘Best of British’ startups
As a part of the startup’s moves to expand the use of its app into London, the team at Coherent used Google Campus as an opportunity to make stronger connections in the city with both co-working spaces and investors.
For Coherent’s Business Development Manager Alex Marshall, this included pitching the startup to over 100 of the city’s investors.
We caught up with Alex to find out more about his experience at Google Campus and how he made the most of the opportunity to pitch the startup in London. He says: “Pitching to 100+ investors was scary but very exciting. It was the first time I’d ever pitched Coherent, and the first time I’d pitched to an audience of that size and calibre. The crowd were great though – they seemed engaged with the pitch, asked a few (friendly!) questions and then came to chat after the session was over.”
“I quickly found out that if the pitch isn’t tailored, it’s pointless”
Fears aside, Alex took a lot away from the experience. He tells us: “I learnt a lot about how to prepare for and approach a sales pitch. Selling face to face is again something I’d not really done before. I had originally prepared a generic sales pitch that I thought I could use on any coworking space.
“I quickly found out that if the pitch isn’t tailored, it’s pointless. So for subsequent pitches I spent some time investigating the coworking space, trying to find out more about how they operate and imagine what kind of problems they might face when running their business. I could then go in and pitch Coherent as the solution to their problems, rather than just as any old piece of software.”
Get your ideas out there
Aware of all of the other innovative startups and ideas in the South West, Alex encourages other startups to get involved with Google Campus’s programmes which include a ‘Startup School’ and ‘Campus Exchange’. Alex says: “Google Campus is very well connected around the world and the people running this programme went above and beyond to connect us with the right people. The mentoring sessions and opportunities to pitch to investors were great, as was the tour around one of Google’s offices.”
“Make sure to bring your A-game”
For any South West startup wanting to get involved, Alex gives his advice: “During the application process, they really want to know why your business needs to have access to London. There’s a lot of quite obvious reasons, but try to really think about how your business could benefit by spending a week in Shoreditch. Other than that, just make sure to bring your A game!”
Thanks to Alex for sharing his experiences with us. You can follow Coherent’s progress by following them on Twitter: @coherentcowork or check out the Coherent website for more information about its co-working management app.
