intu hunts disruptive retail & leisure startups for new accelerator programme

by Startacus Admin

intu, owner of many of the UK’s largest and most popular shopping centres, such as intu Trafford Centre, intu Lakeside and intu Metrocentre, are on the hunt for innovative startups to work with as part of their new innovation programme, intu Accelerate. Applications are now open for startups to apply, so read on for all the details...

The intu Accelerator programme aims to develop and collaborate with startups with innovative ideas that will help shape the next big thing in the retail and leisure market sector. 

During a 10 week programme, startups will be fully immersed in intu, receiving mentorship from senior leadership, as well as experts from across the business and tech worlds. The selected startups will have unique opportunities to pilot and test their products whilst enjoying access to central London office space and potential investment.

Applications are now open until 2nd July – to apply and for all the information, go straight to intuaccelerate.co.uk or read on for an overview of the details 

So what is the intu Accelerate looking for?

intu Accelerate, run in partnership with innovation specialists L Marks and are looking for startups that fall into the following categories:

Enhanced retail services: Intu’s retail services need to be as responsive and agile as possible to deliver the compelling experiences their customers and retailers expect. If your idea can juggle with predictive maintenance, knit together aspects of customer services, optimize waste management or looks at facilities management in an entirely different way, they are keen to hear from you. 

The future of shopping: Intu aim to create compelling experiences on and offline, delighting and surprising their customers wherever possible. They know customers’ wants and needs are changing and that new technologies and an innovative approach can help to meet and exceed these. If you know how to make their customers gasp with delight while they spend their valuable free time, then apply. 

Boost retailer productivity: Helping their retailers flourish is key, so anything they can do to support and boost their productivity and sales is a must. If you’ve got that standout idea that makes it  s easy as possible for their retailers to sell and the customers to buy, all whilst having a great time, then apply!

Wildcard: intu like looking for the new, creating something different and looking at things differently, so they’ve included an open category for those who like to think out of the box. That’s in essence what the wildcard is all about.

Timeline

• Applications will close on 2nd July

• If shortlisted you will gain the chance to pitch your startup on the 15th August to intu’s senior leadership to win a place on the programme.

• The 10-week intensive programme would then start on the 12th September with a final Demo day taking place on the 7th November when startups will get the chance to showcase what has been achieved over the 10 week programme.
  

What’s on offer to the Startups? 

• Mentorship from intu senior leadership 

• Product validation from intu stakeholders and customers

• Testing their innovation in a live intu centre environment 

• A network of external mentors with diverse market expertise to provide support 

• The opportunity to gain investment from the Accelerator Fund

Based at intu’s headquarters in central London, intu Accelerate is being run in partnership with innovation specialists L Marks, who work with some of the UK’s best known brands, including John Lewis, Bupa,  and EDF Energy.

Applications are now open until 2 July – to apply & for all the key info and FAQs, head to intuaccelerate.co.uk

Good luck!

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Published on: 5th June 2017