In Profile: University of Manchester alumnus Dr Kevin Lomax gifts £1m to The Founders Fund to support future entrepreneurs

Kevin Lomax has never been short of determination. Even when he was told he couldn't have toast as a pupil at boarding school, he found a way. Unable to accept the rules, the young Lomax built his own toaster out of a biscuit tin, wiring and a makeshift heating element. It worked rather well- until it caused the lights in another dormitory to dim, prompting an investigation into the mysterious electrical fault. Eventually, the toaster was discovered.

That streak of rebellion, the instinct to question the rules, try something different and find another way has remained a defining feature of an exciting and innovative career.

Lomax says studying Liberal Studies in Science at The University of Manchester in the 1960s changed the course of his life. It was a degree that combined pure science with subjects including technology, economics and the history of innovation.

“I just wanted to be an entrepreneur and build things, I love business. Manchester had the Atlas 1 computer, which weighed more than two tonnes. It was fascinating, I learned to programme and that became a transformational part of my life”.

After graduating, he took that knowledge into industry, exploring how computers could transform traditional engineering.

In the 1980s, he helped turn Misys, a small technology software company, into a global business employing thousands. In 1998, it became the first UK IT company to enter the FTSE 100.

Five decades on from that first trip to The University of Manchester as a student, Kevin Lomax has returned-this time with a £1m gift to the Founders Fund. The University of Manchester has pledged a further £2m to the fund to help students, staff and graduates access early-stage investment for innovation and business.

The University of Manchester has set an initial goal to raise £10m for The Founders Fund through philanthropic donations.

The investment will address a critical funding gap facing students, staff, and alumni entrepreneurs as they turn ideas into viable high growth companies.

The Fund is part of Challenge Accepted, the University’s ambitious initiative bringing together its global community to tackle major challenges, unlock new ideas and turn innovation into positive impact.

For Lomax, the crucial word is early.

He has spent much of his career investing in early-stage technology companies and has seen first-hand how a relatively small amount of money at the right moment can make a difference to an idea becoming a successful business.

One investment he describes has since reached a valuation of billions of dollars. But four years earlier, the company needed just $150,000 to get started.

“If it didn’t get the $150,000, it wouldn’t have got off the ground” he says.

That, Lomax argues, is the gap the Founders Fund can help address.

“The earliest stage of building a company is also one of the riskiest, 8 out of 10 early ventures may fail. That is precisely why conventional investors can be reluctant to provide the first funding."

Lomax believes that risk is essential.

“That's where the future is. New companies are where much of the future economic growth and job creation will come from. Established businesses can become more efficient and grow steadily, but it is often new businesses that have the potential to grow rapidly and create entirely new markets.”

The Founders Fund is more than simply writing cheques. It is about creating the opportunity to test an idea, learn, adapt and, crucially, sometimes fail. The courage to change direction is something Lomax understands from his own experience.

Misys began with a different ambition. Initially, Lomax wanted to develop computer-aided design technology, but he realised that the company could not build the momentum to compete effectively in the American market. He changed course, turning instead to insurance software.

For today’s entrepreneur, he believes the lesson is simple: don’t become so attached to the original idea that you fail to recognise when the market is telling you to change.

“You start off with one aim, but you quickly recognise that actually you’re going in the wrong direction, and you need to have a different one.”

There are many lessons to learn in business. For Lomax, a fundamental one is that people matter more than ideas.

When he considers investing in an early-stage technology company, he says the first thing he looks at is the people.

“You can have the best idea in the world, but if you don’t have the skill set to deliver on that it won’t succeed. And that means recognising your own limitations.”

For highly technical minds, it could mean bringing in people who understand sales, markets, finance or how to turn brilliant technology into a commercial proposition.

“Understand what needs to be done and trust in the right people to do it.”

The Founders Fund will be launched at the beginning of a week-long programme of activity across The University of Manchester’s inaugural Innovation Festival.

High-potential ventures are expected to typically receive investments of £25,000 to £250,000, in return for a small, non-controlling equity stake. The call for applications is expected to open in January 2027.

Lomax says there is so much to celebrate about Manchester - its innovation, cultural diversity, and welcoming spirit. For him, bringing entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and students together is valuable because nobody knows where the next idea will come from.

“Innovation requires people to put ideas on the table, challenge them and see what happens.”

Lomax fondly remembers doing just that in the early days of his career.

“We would finish work and head to the pub, where they would debate what the company should do next.”

“It was a very creative process where people were coming up with ideas all the time, obviously not all good.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“The important thing is creating an environment where people feel able to suggest something different.”