Exeter

Chloe Vernon-Shore is a Partner in Michelmores’ Commercial Team with over 14 years’ experience advising businesses. As a key facilitator of the Michelmores MAINstream network, she connects early-stage businesses with angel investors. Chloe specializes in commercial contracts and partnership arrangements, with particular expertise in the Technology and Innovation sector, frequently advising innovative software and platform providers.

Hot Desk
Lounge
Wi-fi
Meeting room, with AV equipment (microphone, camera and screen)
Whiteboards
Coffee, tea and kitchen facilities

The Hub is an open-plan space that can accommodate up to 50 people. The room has flexible furniture that can be moved to facilitate a range of events and activities. There is a booth for meetings of up to 5 people and a glass-enclosed meeting room which can accommodate up to 8 people and which has a digital screen, camera and microphone to facilitate online or hybrid meetings. There is large digital screen on wheels which can be used for presentations in the main space.

There are also two sofas & coffee tables on the mezzanine level which can be used for informal meetings/calls.

MAINstream (the Michelmores Angel Investor Network) was established in November 2019 to serve the South West region from Bath/Bristol to the Isles of Scilly. It was established as there wasn’t any other Angel network south of Bristol and, as a law firm, Michelmores was advising entrepreneurs on their exit (who were realising significant gains) and, at the other end of the business spectrum, start-ups and scale-ups that needed investment. We identified a gap in the region and set MAINstream up to help fill the gap and accelerate investment in the region.

We act as a facilitator between Angel investors and founders seeking investment. We would describe ourselves as an Angel community as we consider the professional network that we have available to us as professional advisers to, frequently, be as valuable as the capital that our investor members deploy.

We are entirely fee free, so there is no need for us to be at all proprietary about deal flow, and we have a number of members that cross other Angel networks and institutional investors; our objective is to bring about investment in the region.

We currently have 90 members. We are always looking to recruit new members with diversity of thought, sector experience and investment appetite.

We are entirely sector agnostic to ensure we appeal to a broad member-base. We do require the businesses that apply to MAINstream to have a strong connection to the South West.

We hold 5 events between Exeter and Bristol and we have recently spun out a new Angel network; MAINstream Cheltenham (having identified a similar gap in Cheltenham).

The activity levels of our members change all the time; what I think it important is to know that it takes a long time to grow an Angel! There is no rush with MAINstream – we encourage those that can self-certify to come along and to see if they like the environment and the events and to then make an investment when an opportunity resonates with them. This creates an inclusive and accessible community that our Members are keen to support and champion.

Partnering with the Exeter Innovation Hub and the UKBAA to create a regional hub that can better educate founders and Angels to make more informed investment choices is a natural progression for MAINstream.