30 March 2017 – Bristol, UK – Mike Bartley, CEO and founder of Test and Verification Solutions Limited (T&VS), a Bristol based company, celebrated being announced as a top 50 entrepreneur by  SETsquared, the global number one university business incubator. The announcement took place on 29 March at the House of Commons.

Mike was on an exclusive list selected from over 1,000 entrepreneurs who have been supported by SETsquared during the last 15 years. SETsquared supports high growth tech companies that have significant economic impact, having collectively raised over £1bn of investment and created over 9,000 jobs.

Mike Bartley has developed T&VS into a global leader in the test and verification of complex hardware and software systems to ensure they are reliable, safe and secure. T&VS now has offices in six countries and employees around 200 staff. Since forming in 2008 the company has seen revenue and profit grow every year from a client base that now stands at over 100 companies; large, SME and start-up.

Speaking of the achievement, Mike Bartley said: “I have received excellent support from SETsquared over the years, especially in the areas of sales and marketing. I came from a very technical background and the level of world-class expertise that I access through SETSquared has really helped grow the company.”

SETsquared worked with an expert panel of investors and corporate leaders to select the Top 50 Entrepreneurs.

Michael Queen, an investor on the panel commented: “Creating a successful business requires talented entrepreneurs and a great idea but this isn’t enough. SETsquared acts as a catalyst providing support, logistics, training and mentoring to turn dreams into reality.

The reception at the House of Commons was an opportunity for the entrepreneurs to celebrate their achievements along with MPs and special guests, as well as sharing stories on how they have successfully raised investment, exported products globally or had a major impact on their industry.

Simon Bond, Innovation Director at SETsquared, said: “When I look back on the last 15 years, I am overwhelmed by the talent and achievements of the entrepreneurs that SETsquared has supported. “They have brought world-leading innovations to market and these have been exported across the globe.”

To see the full top 50 list, visit:  www.setsquared.co.uk/top50

About T&VS

T&VS (Test and Verification Solutions Ltd) provides services and products to organisations developing complex products in the microelectronics and embedded systems industries. Such organisations use T&VS to verify their hardware and software products, employ industry best practice and manage peaks in development and testing programmes. T&VS’  embedded software testing services includes  onsite/offshore testing support including assistance with  safety certification and  security testing. T&VS  hardware verification services include onsite/offshore verification support and training in advanced verification methodologies. T&VS also offers  Verification IPs and its own  Verification (EDA) signoff tool.

About SETsquared

SETsquared is a long-standing partnership between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey which specialises in growing high-tech start-ups through its incubation programme and other business acceleration services. SETsquared provides mentoring, access to investors and corporate innovators and a wide range of industry experts through its network and training programmes.

Its business incubation programme is ranked by the University Business Incubator Index as the best in the world and over the last decade it has helped over 1,000 high-tech start-ups to develop and raise more than a £1bn of investment.

Independent research carried out by Warwick Economics estimates the economic impact of SETsquared member companies to be £3.8bn over this period, with the creation of 9,000 jobs and that these companies will go on to deliver a further £8.6bn of impact to the UK economy in the decade ahead.