King's College London

King’s Entrepreneurship Institute (EI) partnered with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to host an exclusive funding masterclass at the Exchange's headquarters at Paternoster Square.

The masterclass was designed to give King's entrepreneurs, including those from King’s Start-up Accelerator and King’s Spinout Accelerator, practical insights into the funding journey and the different routes to scale and exit.

Highlights included:

• Welcome address from Florence Keelson-Anfu, Senior Manager for Private Markets at the LSE.

• Spotlight talks with Tim Davis, Regional Head of UK Primary Markets and Marcus Stuttard, Head  of UK Primary Markets and AIM at the LSE, together with Ofer Shayo, Managing Director of Ignite London and an exited founder. They shared valuable reflections on exit journeys and explained how the LSE can help ambitious companies gain better access to growth capital.

• Panel discussion on how early funding rounds influence exit outcomes, moderated by Thomas Thurner, King’s alumnus (MSc Applied Neuroscience, 2022) and Co-Head of Equity Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley. The panel featured Shing Yuin Lo from Latham & Watkins LLP, Dr Ofir Levi, Chairman of Modulight.Bio and Hedge Fund Manager, and Dipen Jobanputra, a two-time founder and angel investor.

• Fireside chat between Dr Robyn Klingler-Vidra, Vice Dean for Global Engagement in King’s Business School and Brigette Bard, Founder of Biosure, which explored Brigette's path from initial idea to growing a successful business.

Through practical advice, honest reflections and personal connections, attendees learnt:

• The value of having a clear exit strategy from the start, ensuring the structure, vision and alignment of the venture are in place, to attract the right investors and opportunities.

• To think like an investor, exploring how early funding decisions can shape future outcomes. Shareholder alignment, transparency and understanding investor incentives are also important.

• There are many ways to build success, proving that resilience and creativity are just as powerful as capital, when building something sustainable and meaningful.

King’s entrepreneurs have already begun sharpening their individual funding journeys and exploring opportunities for mentorship and collaboration through the King’s Investor Network.

The EI remains committed to empowering founders through education, connection and access to capital.

If you are an investor, with an active interest in early-stage spinouts, please contact our Investor Relations Manager, Dr Yotam Levy, or sign-up to our investor newsletter.