WestFocus has adopted a proven mechanism for supporting lone inventors and fledging businesses.  The Virtual Company (TVC) scheme operates to a tried and tested process, organising a team of specialists to guide and mentor entrepreneurs, champion their cause and help them to gain access to grants and other sources of funding.

A virtual company is formed when a team of experts work together with a lone inventor to bring an invention to market. The principle of the scheme is that experts work for no fee, but in exchange for virtual shares in a virtual company, which convert into real shares when funds are secured.

Professor David Nicholas pioneered The Virtual Company concept while at Business Link Wessex and subsequently at Kingston University.  Thanks to TVC he beat the national inventor / start-up conversion rate for turning incredible ideas into credible businesses by a factor of six.

Kingston University Enterprise Exchange has adopted The Virtual Company concept by agreement with Business Link Wessex, and has the exclusive licence to operate the scheme in association with other providers around the country.

In its first year operating The Virtual Company scheme, Kingston University has attracted over £0.5m in grants, with several projects in line for substantial further funding.