创业宣言

Contents 1.Introduction by Dom Hallas 2.Talent ●Make Visas Work for Startups●Fix the Implementation Mess at the Home Office●Stop Using Visas as a Cash Cow●Design and Implement a Skills Strategy Fit for the 21st Century 3.Access to Funding ●Fix R&D Tax Credits●Defend UK Tech’s Venture Capital Moat●Supercharge Pension Investment in the UK Tech Sector●Upgrade Share Options Schemes●Ensure Any Founder from Any Background, Gender, Race and Place in the UK Can 4.Startup-Friendly Regulation ●Equip Regulators to Support Innovators●Get the UK’s Approach to AI Rght●Make Competition Policy Work for Startups 5.Accelerating Innovation ●Make Public Funding Actually Work for Startups●Fix Procurement and Get Innovation to the Public●Deliver on Spinouts●Get Smart Data Done 1.Introduction by Dom Hallas Britain’s startup and scaleup ecosystem is at a crossroads. Over the past decade, we have made progress by almost every measure. The truth is that this is in part because policy for the ecosystem has worked. There are the obvious metrics, like our stunning VC investment figures, which have beensupportedby programmes of tax incentives and public support that have lifted our Then there are the less obvious ones, like the fact that more young, ambitious people arebeing drawn to work in startups or to build their own every year, seeing the naive founders of Wehave a new government department centred around the needs of this burgeoningindustry with detailed work in train on key technologies of the future. And we’re leading theway in cutting edge industries – our AI sector alone is valued at £72bn and our ClimateTech So whilst this document is laden with recommendations for making things even better – whatcannot be lost is the steps we have already taken. In many ways, the most important Amid this success, there’s also the contrast. That for both the ecosystem and the British economy as a whole – we still see clear For startups, outside pockets there’s a funding challenge with valuations being cut, hiringfreezes being imposed, and companies finding critical services like R&D tax credits utterly And for the UK as a whole, there’s a spate of macroeconomic challenges, an uncertaingrowth path for years to come and public services unfit for purpose. Whoever wins on 4th July will have to navigate these challenges. We believe the best way toaddress them will be to tackle them together. By supporting the UK’s great entrepreneursandstartups,a future Prime Minister wouldn’t just be driving the success of our tech Doingthat means delivering on government policy that helps the startup and scaleupecosystem continue its growth journey, while being laser focused on breaking down the The goals for this delivery should be clear: ●To ensure that Britain doesn’t just compete in a world where emerging technologies ●To help a founder anywhere in the UK, from any background, gender or ethnicity whohave the right idea attract the capital they need to build their business. ●To create a scaleup finance environment that allows Britain to move from building£5bn companies to £50bn companies. ●To fix the crippling bureaucracy that prevents firms from hiring the best people togrow their businesses or accessing the R&D funding they need. ●To create a regulatory environment refocused directly on the needs of our economy’s This manifesto sets out some of the ways we believe the next Prime Minister can tacklethese challenges. This isn’t intended to be exhaustive. It’s not a magnum opus, but a Whatever happens in our politics, our economy and our startup ecosystem over this electioncampaign and beyond – there is no going back to a time when startups were an economic British startups will be at the heart of any successful British economic strategy. The future Prime Minister and their team should, and we hope will, do everything in theirpower to ensure that the growth journey our ecosystem has been on will continue. At the Startup Coalition we can only hope that this Manifesto will give them the right tools to Dom Hallas Executive Director, Startup Coalition 2.Talent Introduction Withoutthe ability to attract and retain the best talent,either as founders or startupemployees, the UK will lose its status as one of the leading places to start and scale a Immigrantfounders have an outsized impact on the UK’s startup ecosystem. As TheEntrepreneurs Network has previously highlighted, around 39% of the UK’s fastest-growing The UK’s current immigration policy, whilst harder than freedom of movement for startups, isfairly generous – at least on paper. The reality of the implementation leaves a lot to bedesired as the system has been stress-tested and found wanting. Startups are typically timeand cash poor, meaning processing times and rising costs can be an outsized burden.Founders also report having to grapple with costly delays, excessive red tape, and lengthy The UK is also facing a home-grown skills crisis. Despite repeated and wides