A final-year undergraduate student at Loughborough University has secured a £200k investment for his start-up company, BidScript, a business co-founded with his childhood friend.
BidScript is a software business, focused on transforming organisations’ proposal management and work-winning functions. Their software application provides intelligent workflows and intuitive automations, offering not only productivity and cost-saving benefits but also tools to enhance the quality of user submissions.
The tech start-up secured a £200k investment after taking part in PraeSeed by Praetura Ventures, a six-week cohort-based investment programme for early-stage businesses, supported by Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF II) and British Business Bank.
Henry Brogan, currently studying Business, Economics and Finance at Loughborough University, co-founded the company in October 2023 with his childhood friend, Tyler McCarthy.
Henry said: “My co-founder Tyler and I have known each other since we were 12 years old. We went to the same high school, did the same GCSEs, went to the same college, and did the same A-levels. He is now at Manchester Metropolitan University, studying computer science and excelling as a software engineer.
“In October 2023, after half a year of consultancy work (knowing that businesses were struggling with their data management and we were on the brink of technological evolution), Tyler and I came across the bid/proposal management function and soon realise that it was causing trouble for organisations of all sizes, especially in the middle market.
“We jumped in with both feet and didn’t look back. I still remember incorporating the business from my Butler Court dorm room, where I did a lot of my preliminary work, before receiving support from LUinc.”
LUinc. is a part of the Loughborough Enterprise Network (LEN), which brings together support for entrepreneurial students across the University, enabling founders to develop skills, test ideas and setup and scale businesses.
Today, BidScript’s software is being used across three continents by organisations of varying sizes, operating in a variety of sectors.
Following the PraeSeed programme, BidScript plans to use the funding to secure a number of commercial agreements with businesses in its pipeline that are keen to tackle the resource-intensive tendering process using BidScript’s innovative technology.
BidScript is also a part of the Microsoft Founders Hub where they unlocked a sponsorship of $25,000 in Microsoft Azure credits with the potential for upwards of $150,000. Additionally, they recently exhibited and spoke at the 2024 WebSummit in Lisbon, funded by the LEN Start-up Fund.
Henry shared some advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: “Validate your idea, you may be solving a problem, but will someone pay for it? And how much?
“They’re the tellers of whether you’re onto something – unless you’re creating your own market like Uber, or AirBnB. Talk to your customers, validate your idea, get your product in their hands, collect feedback, and iterate. Move fast.
“Niche down and then scale up. Master a vertical and then go horizontally. The reality of start-up life is that it’s not easy or glamorous, you have to live and breathe your work.
“However, it is one of the most rewarding, enjoyable, and insightful jobs you can do. If you can become creative and disciplined in a domain of your interest, there are a breadth of opportunities and problems to tackle.”
