EngineShed is the physical home of the multi-award-winning (‘Global #1 University-run Business Incubator’) SETsquared Bristol who have helped over 300 companies raise over £550 million.

In the company of Community Manager Paul Foster we met start-ups at several stages of their journey; from Caz Icke of SoleSense who is just starting out, through to Adrian Mitchell of Brijj, and then Carey McLellan of getUBetter we got a real insight into both the elements of start-up success and the emotional and developmental journey that entrepreneurs go on and the lessons learned.

We then moved to the outstanding Old Market Incubator site of ScienceCreates a deeptech and science-startup focussed ecosystem rooted here in Bristol, and developed by University of Bristol alumnus Dr Harry Destecroix. At ScienceCreates we got a tour of their incredible labs from Lab Coordinator Holly Fisher who introduced us to Thomas Fudge of Wase, Carolyn Porter and Ben Carter of Cytoseek, and finally Will Milligan of Extracellular. Again we were able to talk to these entrepreneurs about the stages of their journeys, how they were pioneering new products and services and navigating the rollercoaster of the entrepreneurial journey.

This opportunity to interact with entrepreneurs across diverse sectors and at all stages of their journey is something that characterises the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s degree programmes.