With support from JPMorganChase and Newable through the Founders Forward Perfect Pitch programme, BoobyBiome receives one-to-one mentoring and becomes investor-ready.
The programme, launched by JPMorganChase in 2023, offers a valuable opportunity to connect diverse women-owned businesses in London with mentoring opportunities from JPMorganChase employees. As the delivery partner, we at Newable are committed to understanding and supporting the unique journeys of these businesses. By helping them build their goals, the programme aims to enhance their pitching skills, expand their networks and secure funding to support their investment plans.
The below case study demonstrates how Lydia Mapstone, Founder of BoobyBiome benefited from being involved in the Founders Forward Perfect Pitch programme.
BoobyBiome: Transforming infant gut health and combating microbiome-related diseases
With a founding team holding doctorates in biochemistry, neuroscience and biophysics, BoobyBiome has mapped the breast milk microbiome and isolated its bacteria, creating the world’s first high-resolution database and industry-first culture collection. This discovery pipeline drives product innovation with a current focus on bringing two groundbreaking products to market:
- “Bubble” Technology: Enhances breast milk storage by preserving the breast milk microbiome, surpassing all existing methods. This technology targets breastfeeding mothers who express and store their milk.
- Synbiotic Supplement for Formula-fed Infants: Engineered to closely match the breast milk microbiome. Contains a consortium of live bacterial strains from breast milk, selected for their ability to reduce inflammation and train the immune system.
Developed from the University College London (UCL) Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in London, BoobyBiome’s products strategically cater to both breastfeeding and formula-feeding parents, tapping into a combined £14 billion service obtainable market.
In September 2023, Lydia started working with a Newable Business Adviser through the Founders Forward Perfect Pitch programme.
Navigating Economic Growth
One of the hurdles that Lydia faced in running her business was securing funding for the seed round from investors.
The scarcity of available capital hindered their growth potential at times. As a result, the company were constrained in hiring the desired number of personnel, impeding their ability to bring products to market within the targeted timeline. This challenge was especially pronounced during Lydia’s last fundraising round, coinciding with the Founders Forward Perfect Pitch programme from September to December 2023.
Participating in the programme proved to be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Reflecting on her experiences, Lydia said “I found immense pleasure in connecting with fellow founders and learning about their pioneering ventures, as well as the exhilarating challenge of condensing my 15-minute pitch into a concise five-minute presentation.”
The feedback from the JPMorganChase experts, who were previously unfamiliar with the company, added a fresh perspective and offered valuable insights on refining the company’s approach to communicating the essence of BoobyBiome to individuals who are unacquainted with the intricacies of the human microbiome or the biotech industry. This streamlined Lydia’s approach to discussing the company with non-specialists.
Leveraging growth opportunities
Following mentoring with the JPMorganChase executive team and a one-to-one session with a Newable Business Adviser, BoobyBiome refined its financial forecast to achieve ‘investor readiness,’ a pivotal step in enhancing its fundraising efforts. This work helped Lydia and the BoobyBiome team secure a grant from Innovate UK totalling £1.7 million and successfully raise an additional £285k from private investors.
Enhancements to their financial forecast included detailed analyses of market segments across targeted territories, customer demographics, buying behaviours, customer acquisition costs, realistic market penetration projections and other pivotal details. “These strategic additions have fortified our roadmap for the growth and direction of BoobyBiome, serving as a comprehensive guide shared with our board and prospective investors.” Lydia mentions.
Finally, by leaving the competition equipped with a polished five-minute pitch, Lydia is well positioned to communicate her business effectively at networking events and when producing outreach content, facilitating network expansion and a substantial increase in traffic to the company’s website.
A final comment from Lydia – “I am thrilled to be recognised as one of the winners in this inaugural competition. Each founder within this cohort showcased incredible talent and determination and it was a pleasure to witness female innovation happening across a huge variety of sectors. The programme was a great opportunity to improve my pitch from Newable’s excellent advisers and to also learn from the other founders around me on what makes a great presentation and story.”