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ENTREPRENEURSHIPGOES

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MIT REAP unites influencers to catalyze startups and promote social progress worldwide. By Kara Baskin

Globalondon had a problem. In 2013, the capital was a hotbed of entrepreneurship, replete with early-stage businesses—nearly 500,000 launching per year according to national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain (startupbritain.org). It was ranked a top city for startups by Nesta’s European Digital City Index. The city’s

visa policies, tax incentives, and multicultural demographics made it a prime place to launch companies.

However, many of London’s entrepreneurial startups couldn’t quite scale up after the initial launch. They lacked access to additional funding, access to new markets and customers, and the kind of cohesive mentorship frameworks that transform startups into sustainable forces. What environment would help businesses scale?

L

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CATALYZING CHANGE THROUGH INFLUENTIAL STAKEHOLDERSThis was the backdrop for London’s decision to participate in the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program, known as MIT REAP, a two-year global executive education initiative designed to facilitate economic growth, social progress, and job creation in promising regions worldwide.

Since launching in 2012, the program has supported 28 regional economies from Scotland to Singapore to Dubai.

Typically, a well-connected regional stakeholder—a “champion” in MIT REAP parlance—engages with MIT because they feel an urgency for change and seek a practical action-based approach to strengthen their innovation ecosystem and accelerate entrepreneurship. They may or may not have a specific vision for how to do that, but they recognize that collective impact can be achieved by partnering an effective regional team with MIT’s unique mix of science and practice. The program experience suggests that each region’s team must include representatives from all five innovation-ecosystem stakeholders: government policymakers, corporations, academic institutions, risk capital providers, and the entrepreneurial community.

Regional teams are accepted into the program based on the strength of their team, growth potential, and unique entrepreneurial qualities. MIT REAP admits up to eight partner regions each year, with a typical region having between 1 million and 10 million people.

“The program is a practical way for regions to engage with MIT as they develop the vision and action to create more jobs and help the region become more economically vibrant through innovation-driven entrepreneurship,” says MIT REAP Executive Director Sarah Jane Maxted.

“We select regions, in part, for their commitment to defining their comparative advantage and use it as the foundation for growth.” The goal? Within two years, an “intervention”—a program or series of programs and policies tailor-made to boost the regional economy, build on the opportunities for growth, and overcome weaknesses.

MIT RESOURCES. LOCAL SOLUTIONS.London was a clear opportunity to demonstrate the power of the MIT REAP approach. And so, after discussions that built on the longstanding relationships of MIT REAP’s faculty in the United Kingdom (mitsloan.mit.edu/alumnimagazine/2014/fall/london-calling.php), a team of London-based stakeholders applied to MIT REAP. The team included RBS/NatWest,

Above: MIT REAP team LondonBelow: Bill Aulet, Managing Director, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship

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the U.K. Department for International Trade (which supports businesses in their growth and export goals), University College London and Loughborough University, and the U.K. Business Angels Association. The team also included several entrepreneurs.

The unique MIT REAP approach is based on a multiphased educational experience for teams that combines on-site and remote sessions to advise each team as they analyze their challenges, design the most effective intervention, and then execute collectively on a region-specific deliverable. It fosters what MIT calls “innovation-driven entrepreneurship” through interactive workshops and “action phases.” MIT faculty members lead teams through data discovery, competitive analysis, and implementation of the deliverables.

As part of the educational process, participants attend four three-day educational

workshops (twice a year for at least two years), where they learn the theory and practice of accelerating innovation-based entrepreneurship and an understanding of innovation ecosystems based on what MIT calls the “science of innovation.” Between workshops, they engage in MIT-led, action-oriented activities in their regions, with faculty coaching as an opportunity to refine a team’s analysis and guide action plans. Meanwhile, participants always have access to the MIT faculty, leading-edge research, and tools and frameworks that help each team move from ecosystem analysis to implementation. Essentially, MIT REAP acts as a strategic facilitator drawing on various sources of expertise, including many years of faculty expertise and experience from a team that includes academics as well as experienced entrepreneurs and government policymakers. Teams also leverage

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“ There are clear benefits that we have at MIT. We’re simply focused on how to help a region achieve what they need to achieve.”

Sarah Jane Maxted MIT REAP Executive Director

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WORLDWIDE REACHSince launching in 2012, MIT REAP has supported 28 regional economies from Scotland to Singapore. These are a few of their notable undertakings.

28regional economies

COHORT ONEAndalusia, SpainFinlandHangzhou, ChinaNew ZealandScotland, United Kingdom Veracruz, Mexico

COHORT THREE Al Madinah, Saudi ArabiaAshdod, Israel Bangkok, ThailandBeijing, ChinaSantiago, ChileSouthwest NorwayTokyo, JapanWales, United Kingdom

COHORT TWOLondon, United Kingdom MoroccoMoscow, Russia Puerto Rico QatarSeoul, South KoreaSingaporeValencia, Spain

MIT Global Innovation NetworkAs a part of the overall MIT REAP offering, regional teams that have successfully graduated from the program enter into the MIT Global Innovation Network (GIN). Through this network MIT REAP alumni have access to previous and current cohorts of like-minded influencers from regions all across the globe. The community’s members are able to share the latest research, best practices, and success stories through both a private online community and global convenings in regions where MIT is already working.

MIT GIN provides a window into regional strategies and actions taken during the two-year program as well as new initiatives that many teams go on to implement. Program faculty and staff therefore are able to continually use these stories to motivate new teams to work toward a better innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Scotland: CAN DO SCALEThe Scotland MIT REAP team established a “Scotland CAN DO SCALE” program to support innovation-driven entrepreneurship. The program, hosted by economic and community development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise with partners, was created in response to a lack of support for entrepreneurs seeking to transform early stage businesses into globally sustainable organizations.

The program focuses on developing entrepreneurial skills among Scottish entrepreneurs by surrounding them with mentors, relevant professional networks, and extensive educational opportunities.

The SCALE team has worked to connect the region’s innovation and entrepreneurship communities by bringing local universities, private industry, and local government together to support entrepreneurship.

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Morocco: Phosphate HackathonThe MIT REAP team Morocco focused on innovation surrounding the region’s core industry: phosphate mining. After analyzing the startup and local research community, the team found that there weren’t enough linkages between the two to support innovation-driven enterprises. As a result, they created the first-ever hackathon focused on phosphates mining and related processes to build an integrated innovation and entrepreneurial community.

The hackathon united entrepreneurship and research students with subcontractors and investment fund employees from OCP, a large global phosphate company based in Morocco, along with technologists and mining experts. The group studied water usage, renewable energy, mining site rehabilitation and sludge, industrial maintenance, and nonconventional uses of phosphates. The hackathon resulted in three solutions, now supported by the OCP Entrepreneurship Network.

Singapore: SG InnovateOne of the challenges facing Team Singapore during their MIT REAP journey was the reality that many ambitious and capable men and women in Singapore don’t see entrepreneurship as a viable path for themselves. However, Team Singapore was also aware that the country has a good mix of the “five parts” of any successful ecosystem (venture funds, government, corporations, academia, and entrepreneurs). In addition, Team Singapore knew that while government had been a strong supporter of significant and sustained investment in scientific research, government also felt much more value could be generated from that research.

As a result, the Singapore government recently formed a new entity called SG Innovate. This organization is focused on working with individuals and teams, primarily from within the universities’ research community, who believe their work can create positive impact in the world, but are unsure how to start and build a company.

SG Innovate is now working with investors and mentors who will work closely with these individuals who want to turn their science-based research into potential products. The goal is that these products will serve as the foundation for high-potential startups.

REAP project regions

8partner regions admitted each year

up to

COHORT FOURDubaiIceland Lagos City LimaMadridNova Scotia

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Meet the Growth Builder TeamBorn out of the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program, London’s Growth Builder offers aspiring entrepreneurs access to high-growth peers and bespoke scale-up coaching. These are the people behind the idea.

BEN FLETCHER , CHAIRHaving run his own business for 14 years, Fletcher took a sabbatical in 2009 to work with startups as an investor, advisor, and mentor. He founded the execution-focused Fast Growth event series in 2013 so that successful founders could help entrepreneurs in growing businesses to scale more smoothly.

Fletcher was part of London’s REAP team and was pivotal in the development of Growth Builder, which he now chairs. He’s known for providing strategic direction and utilizing his network to bring excellent speakers to the cohort.

LAURA PARKER, D IRECTORParker is a strategy manager with RBS, specializing in entrepreneurship. She helped to build the bank’s award-winning, multimillion- pound Entrepreneur Strategy, which included creating the world’s largest network of free, early-stage accelerators. Parker also represented RBS on the REAP London team as co-champion for the region. Now she’s director of Growth Builder.

MATTHEW SMITHSmith is head of strategic projects at RBS, where he led the bank’s award-winning, multimillion-pound Entrepreneur Strategy, which included the development of an innovative internal people accelerator, The Entrepreneurial Development Academy. Now he sits on Growth Builder’s Advisory Board and Operating Committee.

T IM BARNESBarnes works with Loughborough University London (LU) as part of their Enterprise team, helping to build links among the university, businesses, and entrepreneurs. Barnes had been the head of enterprise and entrepreneurship activities at University College London (UCL). He represents LU on Growth Builder’s board, and was honored with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2014.

SUS IE K I TCHENSKitchens was British Consul General to Boston during the formative stages of Growth Builder. In that role, she helped focus U.K. government initiatives in the region to capitalize on MIT’s expertise in innovation-driven entrepreneurship and scaling successful businesses. She sits on Growth Builder’s Advisory Board.

OLI P INCH Pinch is the training manager in University College London in their UCL Innovation and Enterprise team. For over three years, he has worked closely with a wide range of business growth programs, including the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program and Growth Vouchers program. He represents UCL on the Growth Builder Operating Committee and Advisory Board.

JENNY TOOTHTooth has been CEO of the U.K. Business Angels Association (UKBAA), the trade body for angel and early stage investing, since 2012. In this role, she’s supported over 15,000 investors. She sits on the Growth Builder Advisory Board.

PAOLA CUNEOCuneo is the MIT REAP team London co-champion and the Program Director of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award at EY. Previously, Paola was the Campaign Director for the UKTI Graduate Entrepreneur Programme and up until recently was running the Sirius program for UKTI, attracting talented graduate entrepreneurs to the U.K. She is passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation, and has spent over 10 years working for British Telecom in various senior positions in both marketing, sales, and operations.

Between 2009 and 2011, Cuneo was seconded at London and Partners as head of EMEA and also covered the position of head of Asia Pacific for almost a year. Paola also mentors startups, advising on all aspects of business growth and raising capital.

WILL PRYKEPryke has over 25 years’ worth of experience in IT and technology innovation. He runs the BT Infinity Lab, which engages and supports startups and entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom and beyond. Pryke sits on the Growth Builder Advisory Board.

FREDDIE TALBERGTalberg, a serial entrepreneur, is CEO of PIE Mapping. He has more than 15 years’ worth of technical experience within the telecom sector and 10 years working in the mapping and navigation industry. Talberg sits on the Growth Builder Advisory Board.

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resources from MIT Sloan Executive Education, the MIT Innovation Initiative, and the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. “There are clear benefits that we have at MIT. We’re simply focused on how to help a region achieve what they need to achieve. There’s a lot of benefit, but less risk when partnering with an institute on the cutting edge of innovation science and entrepreneurship rather than a consulting firm,” says Maxted.

A GLOBAL NETWORKBy the second workshop, it was clear to Team London that the most significant opportunity that the city had was to scale existing startups, rather than to try and support more. The results could be significant: Research from The ScaleUp Report (www.scaleupreport.org/scaleup-report.pdf) indicated that increasing the U.K. scaleup population by 1 percent could drive more than 238,000 jobs within three years. The team worked together to design and then launch a development program supporting high-growth business leaders to successfully scale their business.

And thus, London’s Growth Builder was created. The yearlong program offers ambitious

entrepreneurs unprecedented access to like-minded cohort of high-growth potential peers and customized scale-up teaching, and additional support across all five stakeholders, from academia to corporations to government. The organization hosts regular tutorials, workshops, high-profile speakers, and curated networking events with an ever-growing network.

Growth Builder launched in February, receiving more than 100 applications and offering an opportunity to 48 businesses to join the first cohort. A kickoff event at the BT Tower, which included MIT faculty and alumni, as well as experienced entrepreneurs from the London ecosystem, garnered plenty of media coverage; since then, complementary business support programs have emerged. Clearly, the team has identified a gap.

“The best thing MIT REAP did was help us form a model of what a team should look like, and it gave us structure and urgency over the two years,” says Growth Builder Director Laura Parker. “Today, we have 48 businesses on the program. Thanks to the hard work of all the London REAP team and the support of MIT, this has gone from a discussion to a reality.” ...

Clockwise: Dr. Alex Lin, Head, Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (REAP team Singapore); Daniela Kandel, Head of Strategy and Academic Relations, Startup Nation Central (REAP team Ashod); Rodolfo Sanchez, Managing Partner, Parliament Capital Management (REAP team Puerto Rico); Fiona Murray, William Porter (1967) Professor of Entrepreneurship, Associate Dean for Innovation