The City Launch Lab is an incubation space for City's student and graduate entrepreneurs.
The City Launch Lab offers:
- Access to a 3 month accelerator programme to kick-start your business
- Expert startup coaching, mentoring and access to training sessions
- Free access to desk space, meeting rooms, stocked kitchen and Wi-Fi for up to a year (worth over £10,000)*
- Access to exclusive events and networking sessions designed specifically for startups
- Opportunities to pitch your business to investors and industry experts
- Opportunities to shadow amazing entrepreneurs in the day to day running of their businesses
- Access to recruit the best of City's talent to help you build your business venture
- Membership to a network of London's next generation of startups.
*The physical space is currently closed due to current COVID-19 restrictions.
Applications for the Launch Lab Spring 2021 cohort will close at 3pm on Monday 1st March 2021.
If you have any further questions please contact the Start-up Incubator Manager by emailing simon.magness@city.ac.uk.
Who can apply?
City students and graduates of undergraduate or postgraduate degrees can apply to join the cohort and benefit from the services, support and community to develop their ventures for up to 12 months.
We welcome solopreneurs starting out as well teams of up to six members – please note that at least one of the co-founders need to be a City graduate/students. If you are launching or have recently launched your venture and want the support of a startup community, this could be for you!
The main purpose of the City Launch Lab is to help students and graduates of City, University of London in the early stages of venture creation.
If you are selected to join the space we will work with you to establish your business goals and coach you through achieving these objectives. 12 months isn't that long and we want to make sure that you make the most of your time as residents.
The first three months will take the form of an accelerator programme where participants will be asked to commit up to 8 hours per week to engage with workshops and mentoring activities. Attendance and engagement are mandatory for members – please only apply if you are willing and able to commit this time.
Am I ready for the Launch Lab?
The Launch Lab provides services for City student and graduate startups that are beyond the idea stage and have demonstrated considerable efforts to gain traction ie revenue, product development, raising investment, gained followers/ pre-sales.
In order for applicants to get the most benefit from the services, meetups and support available we advise that applicants carefully consider what stage they are at before applying.
If you are still at the problem-solution fit or customer discovery phase of your startup journey, we advise that you consider participating in the other City services available which can be found on our Start your business page, which will provide you with more useful tools and resources relevant to your business development.
How can we help?
Launch Lab accelerator programme
The first three months will take the form of an accelerator programme. We ask successful participants to commit to engaging in up to eight hours of activity per week. The sessions will be scheduled from the week of Monday 12th April 2021 and will take place on Zoom or similar video platforms.
The workshops and mentoring activities will cover all aspects of growing your business. This will typically include everything from establishing the correct legal structures for your business, implementing marketing strategies, preparing for investment and refining financial models.
We will be bringing in the very best entrepreneurs and practitioners to help you on a practical level to help build your business and your skill sets. The more you engage with the activities, the more you will get out of the programme.
Following this, you will be able to stay in the Launch Lab for a further nine months to implement everything you have learned and begin to grow your business.
You will still have the opportunity to engage in an exciting programme of events, mentoring activities and shadowing opportunities designed to continue to support you. You will also be able to engage in a series of community events to share their tips and tricks, and collectively celebrate triumphs and help solve any challenges together.
One-to-one support
We are here to support you and make sure you have everything you need to develop and grow. We will arrange regular catch-ups with you and our team, to review your progress and help you stay on track. These catch-ups enable us to work with you to identify any additional areas of support you might need to reach your business goals.
Do you want to get involved?
We are always looking for amazing friends to add to our Startup Circle. If you think you have any superpowers, skills or expertise that our residents might benefit from please get in contact by emailing launchlab@city.ac.uk.