Engine Shed Bristol- We take a look
by Startacus Admin
Our Bristol Startup month is slowly drawing to a close (my how the time flies) and over the course of the past four weeks one thing that we have been hearing repeatedly (aside from how amazing Bristolians are) is that if you are a startup in Bristol there is only one place to be ... Engine Shed. Now, we know what you’re thinking…‘what a bloomin’ brilliant name’ - this was our first thought too, however as we delved a little deeper, we soon discovered that there’s lots more to Bristol Engine Shed than just a wildly intriguing title.
Bristol Engine Shed
Bristol Engine Shed is the city's foremost coworking / entrepreneurial / innovation hub and is so-named because it is housed in Brunel’s original station, dating back to 1841. 175 years on and this historic space is a thriving centre of activity where entrepreneurs, business leaders, academics and students come together to collaborate, inspire and be inspired.
The space is contained within the Bristol Temple Quarter, a groundbreaking 70 hectare urban regeneration project which began in 2012 and aims to create 17,000 new sustainable jobs over the coming 25 years. Engine Shed places itself at the forefront of activity within the enterprise zone through fostering innovation and supporting new ventures.
We had a chat with Nick Sturge, Director of Engine Shed and also The Bristol SETsquared Business Acceleration, where he manages the Centre’s strategy and delivery of incubation activity to the 60+ ventures.
We picked his brain about the city of Bristol, its people, its places, its startups, why it is so different from anywhere else in the country and how the development of a government enterprise zone has affected the startup scene.
“The biggest difference between Bristol and anywhere else is that, with its close partner Bath and surrounding areas that make up the Bristol & Bath city-region, it has the greatest diversity of industry sectors, public/private/third sector split, culture, demographics and geography, which lead to a long history of innovation, exploration and, above all, ambition.
Whilst our ability to shout about these strengths in the past, the last few years has seen a far more confident approach of the authorities, LEP and entrepreneurs so that it is now so much easier to do business because it is so easy to find others who can help, guide, partner, invest, buy or simply connect.
There is a huge can-do attitude – just look at how Engine Shed went from business plan to opening in 11 months in a brand-new collaboration between the two largest institutions in the city with £1.7m of public money and refurbishing a grade 1 listed building. This is having a knock on effect – not least nationally and internationally, raising the profile of the city which makes it that much easier to attract investment, media and political attention, customers and senior talent to this area – all things which have historically been difficult for Bristol-based startups and SMEs”
“The development of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone has provided some renewed focus on the existing level of activity, of networks and of the quality and dynamism of the cluster – which before, perhaps, was more distributed. We now see more people wanting to start businesses and more existing businesses wanting to connect and be a more active part of the ecosystem”
SETsquared Businesses
Inspired by Nick’s words of praise for Bristol and Engine Shed, we went investigating some of the businesses taking part in the SETsquared incubator, to gauge for ourselves the level of innovation that's taking place within the space. Needless to say, we weren't disappointed, here’s a very brief selection of what we found.
Agilic Ltd - Who are currently working on an innovative new product called PiBot a 'build your own' robot kit based on the Raspberry Pi mini-computer
Folium Optics- A company that makes colour reflective displays for products that are effective in all lighting conditions, are low power, thin, robust and can be curved into lots of different shapes.
Handaxe Limited- Develop new technologies to support mental health services- Their first product Pesky gNats, is a computer game that supports Cognitive Behavioural Therapy interventions for young people aged 9-17.
Intelligenti Publishing - which specialises in taking books, magazines and other written material and repackaging it for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices.
iPEST- Takes a 21st century approach to pest control through the use of information gathered through a series of intelligent pest control units.
Micrima - These guys are in the process of developing a new 3D breast imaging platform that will allow screening to be safer, more comfortable, more convenient and more economically viable in a greater number of countries across the world.
stolencamerafinder - This is an innovative new web-based technology that allows users to locate stolen camera equipment using the serial numbers that are currently embedded within images.
If you have been intrigued by all this talk of innovation then pop yourself over to the Engine Shed website to find out more about the great work that they do, and dont forget to check out all the stuff we have featured so far in our Bristol Startup month.
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Stashbee, the online sharing-economy platform for storage space, has announced a £1.6m funding round on leading European investment platform Seedrs.
The lowdown on Talentful, the startup that's using your cultural fit and personality to match you to a job and employer...
Hot flushes affect around 1.5 million women in the UK alone. Step forward Grace, the world's first automated tracking and cooling bracelet that counters menopausal hot flushes
The innovative startup that empowers restaurant managers and owners to measure and improve their customer experience.
upSTART, the startup pitch competition at Digital DNA 2019 will see over 20 disruptive NI-based startups pitch to determine who will win an all-expenses paid trip to explore the New York tech scene.
If you've not quite scraped the pounds together to get your 1st startup idea off the ground yet, don't fret! Here's a few top funding tips to consider.
If you are running a business, it’s important for you to understand financial matters, too, Here's some handy accounting reminders!
Holland-based startup Active Cues has created a simple product to engage children and adults with cognitive challenges...
The startup that's empowering people to participate in their health and wellbeing decisions with easy-to-understand health insights.
The startup that's aiming to reduce loneliness and social isolation through warm technology...
Published on: 24th June 2014
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Stashbee announces £1.6m funding round on Seedrs 17th Jun 2019 Stashbee, the online sharing-economy platform for storage space, has announced a £1.6m funding round on leading European investment platform Seedrs.
- The upSTART finalists at Digital DNA 2019 13th Jun 2019 upSTART, the startup pitch competition at Digital DNA 2019 will see over 20 disruptive NI-based startups pitch to determine who will win an all-expenses paid trip to explore the New York tech scene.
- Lloyd's Lab announces third round of applications 3rd Jun 2019 From data sharing to next generation claims, insurance industry focused tech startups are currently being sought after to join Lloyd's Lab cohort 3.
- Startup Exhibitor package at Digital DNA 2019 28th May 2019 New startup exhibitor package at Digital DNA 2019 gives startups access to 150 Speakers, an estimated 3,000 attendees, 121 investor meetings, a startup pod to exhibit and 4 x 1 full-access exhibition tickets!
