How OUI supports Founders
From evaluating the potential of your idea to helping you secure funding and navigate legal contracts, we’re by your side as your company takes shape.
Building your success together
OUI has helped create more than 350 companies to date. We work alongside you from early idea to incorporation, focusing on three main areas:
- Business planning
- Forming and managing your team
- Securing investment
From start to finish, we’ll help you translate your idea into a clear, realistic plan that investors and potential directors or consultants can understand.
Steps to creating a company
Before anything else, we’ll work with you to identify whether or not your idea uses University-owned IP or expertise. Then we’ll look at the market and help you decide whether a company is the right step – or if licensing or consultancy would deliver a stronger impact.
Turning your idea into a company usually involves five key stages – although this is not an exact science and the stages are likely to progress in parallel at certain points throughout the process. These five stages are:
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1.1. Secure University permissions
If you decide to create a spinout, we’ll help you navigate university approvals. There are two – one early on, and one after investment is raised – including consent from your Head of Department (or Head of Division) and clearance from any external research funders. We’ll also help you create a conflicts of interest (CoI) management plan and make sure you meet governance requirements throughout the process.
1.2. Agree equity
For most spinouts, share of founding equity (or ownership) is split 80% founding team / 20% University. We’ll guide you through the process of agreeing the equity split between the Founders and any potential investors.
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2.1. Develop your business plan and pitch deck
Whether you’re creating a profit-driven or mission-led company, we’ll help you articulate your value proposition, define your business model, and shape your pitch deck in preparation for incorporation and/or fundraising.
For mission-led companies, you may also need a Theory of Change to state how your activities will lead to particular outcomes, which we can help with too.
2.2. Build your team
Many teams benefit from bringing in new members with commercial acumen to complement the Founders’ specialised knowledge and/or technical skills. We give you access to our networks and facilitate introductions to relevant contacts – as well as strategic advisers, such as lawyers.
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3.1. Raise investment finance
We connect you with investors, lawyers and accountants across the Oxford ecosystem, including Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), early-stage investors, and impact investors. They each have their own working styles, expectations of involvement, and capacity to support later funding rounds, so we’ll help you prepare for conversations, pitches and subsequent due diligence (which can be time consuming).
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4.1. Put licences in place
If your company will use IP from the University, such as patents, copyright or know-how, you’ll need a licence. There are many options, so we’ll arrange for the appropriate IP licence to reward contributors fairly – while also making financial sense for your business.
4.2. Sort out consultancy contracts (if required)
If you’re planning on consulting to your own company, this role must be managed by OUI for the first year. We’ll work with you to make sure you complete all the necessary paperwork and approvals at each stage.
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5.1. Finalise documentation
The final step is to complete the official documentation, in particular the licences, Articles of Association, Subscription and Shareholders' Agreement, and any research or consultancy contracts. Your lawyers will make sure everything is aligned and compliant.
5.2. Celebrate your new company
You’re done! Once everything is signed by the relevant parties, your company will be incorporated and will officially exist as a separate legal entity.
If your company is a spinout, the University will take its shares at this point and external investors will start funding your venture.
With a startup, the Incubator will be entitled to take its equity stake from now, but there’s no set point for this to happen. Typically, it’s at the first round of investment, but it can be earlier if that suits you better.
Supporting you
Throughout the process, we’ll work with you to:
- guide you through every step
- support IP protection and translation strategy
- facilitate introductions to investors, lawyers and accountants
- provide feedback on business plan and pitch decks
- signpost relevant networking events
- tap into our networks for relevant connections
- put in place licensing agreements
- support your discussion with Research Services with regards Conflict of Interest management plans and/or Sponsored Research Agreements
- connect you with our Consultancy Services team
For spinouts, we also represent the University of Oxford across the entire process, including in all negotiations with investors.
Once your company is up and running, the Investment and New Ventures team takes over as your main contact.
Mentors and advisers
Building a company is rarely a solo journey. We can connect you with experienced entrepreneurs, industry leaders and investors from across our extensive network, introducing mentors and advisers who bring practical insight at every stage.
Whether refining your value proposition, shaping your commercial strategy or preparing for investment, the right mentor can provide perspective, challenge assumptions and open doors. These relationships are tailored to your company, helping you benefit from external experience while remaining rooted in Oxford’s collaborative community.
More information
For further information, these sites offer a more detailed look at what’s involved in creating a company.
Got questions?
If you need our support at any stage, drop us a line and we’ll be happy to help.