ACCELERATING POTENTIAL. Founders at the University of Cambridge is a strategic initiative that equips founders for growth and investment readiness […]
ACCELERATING POTENTIAL.
Founders at the University of Cambridge is a strategic initiative that equips founders for growth and investment readiness through multi-stage programmes, intensive mentoring and global expert networks, delivered by Cambridge Enterprise.
START is a pre-seed programme, accelerating a cohort of up to ten startups connected to the University, whose ideas and research have the potential to change the world – from solving climate change to finding cures for deadly diseases. With guaranteed funding of £40k in the early stage of the programme, further investment of up to £160k is subject to a successful pitch to the Cambridge Enterprise Ventures team.
The 14-week intensive programme focuses on product market fit and positioning, customer business development and investment readiness in addition to providing 50+ hours of mentorship from a handpicked Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) who has successfully scaled tech and science-based businesses and Operators-in-Residence (OIR) in areas such as finance and marketing.
The programme culminates in a pitch opportunity at a London-based Demo Day with up to 200 investors from the wider ecosystem. Participants also benefit from three months’ free office space at ideaSpace West, and priority access to lab space.
Applications are open from October to December, but people can register interest for future cohorts at any time via the website.
Find out more: founders.cam.ac.uk/start