Innovation
Can a service or advisory business qualify for the Innovator Founder visa?
One of the most common questions I get is from experienced professionals: "I already run an advisory business with paying clients. Will an endorsing body see it as innovative?" It is the right worry to have. Service businesses are where many strong founders get stuck.
Updated · 3 min read
Why service businesses struggle
The innovation test asks whether the business is different from what is already on the market. Most consultancies, agencies and advisory firms sell expertise, and expertise alone is not new — other firms offer it too. Revenue and a strong CV help viability and founder fit, but they do not answer the innovation question.
Find the product inside the service
The businesses that do pass usually have something underneath the service that others do not: a proprietary method turned into software, a data asset, a platform clients use without you in the room. If you use technology to deliver your work in a new way, that may be the real business. The question is whether you present the technology as the product, with the advice built around it.
Questions to test your case
- If you stepped away for a month, would clients still get value from something you built?
- Could this grow without hiring one more senior adviser per new client?
- Can you name what you do that competing firms cannot easily copy?
- Is there evidence that clients pay for the new part, not just for you?
What to do if the answers are weak
That does not mean giving up. It may mean building the product layer properly before applying, or reshaping the business so the innovative part leads. Better to find this out before paying for an endorsement application than after a refusal.