London Midland Labs seeks innovative startups for Transport Experience Accelerator
by Startacus Admin
Train operator London Midland has recently opened applications into a new initiative aimed at helping emerging startups in the rail and mobility sector through an accelerator program.
London Midland Labs, The London Midland-led startup collaboration scheme, aims to partner with innovative startups looking to shake up the customer experience of travel and improve the efficiency of rail travel For startups in the Intelligent Mobility space, this is an unprecedented opportunity to test out their products in a live environment; real data and real customers that you just wouldn’t get access to elsewhere.
As one of the UK’s highest performing franchise operators, London Midland serve 75 million journeys per year for their customers, employing a dedicated team of 2,400 rail professionals and have invested over £400 million in the past 8 years. The company is owned by Go-Ahead Group, a company responsible for 37% of all UK Train and bus passenger journeys turning over £3.3 billion annually.
The inaugural London Midland Labs Accelerator aims to work with companies across a 12 week period (followed by an additional three months of incubation support/free office space), providing them with the expert mentoring and support they need to progress their businesses and achieve their joint goal of creating Simply Better Journeys.
Based at the Serendip Smart City Incubator at Innovation Birmingham Campus, startups on the London Midland Labs Accelerator will work alongside other like-minded entrepreneurs on equivalent schemes run by partners like Barclays, and get to use the excellent facilities - such as a state of the art device testing lab. They’ll also sit alongside key London Midland partners/suppliers.
Aside from access to industry-leading knowledge, successful startups will enjoy:
- A free rail pass for 6 months (London – Birmingham –Liverpool)
- Free workspace in the dedicated Lab space
- Access to the latest hardware and software for piloting and prototyping
- Access to London Midland customers, train and passenger data.
Whilst this is an equity free programme and no Intellectual Property is transferred, the London Midland Labs Accelerator will help selected startups understand potential funding options, and offer the opportunity to engage with relevant investment opportunities, both during the programme and at a final ‘Demo Day’ event. The two most popular startups at the Demo Day will also be awarded cash prize of £5,000.
What are London Midland Labs looking for?
- Early-stage startups in the transport/mobility sector.
- You have more than idea; preferably a minimum viable product.
- Areas of interest include (but are not limited to): booking, on-board commerce, advertising, customer service, the end-to- end customer experience, CRM and loyalty, real-time communications, content, infrastructure innovation and operational efficiency. If you help improve the customer experience, they want to hear from you!
- Innovators with a physical product that could enhance how we run our trains (efficiencies of energy consumption, logistics, etc)
- You could benefit from partnership/distribution opportunities with London Midland - you want to understand how your product could work at scale.
Key Dates
Applications to apply for the London Midland Labs Accelerator close on the 8th February 2017, with the selection process and onboarding of the selected startups following shortly after.
Programme kick off is 20th Feb with the final Demo Day happening mid May. All in all - a fast-track process, we think you’ll agree!
To find out more about London Midland Labs, including some of the mentors that would work with you on the programme and the FAQs - head straight to London Midland Labs Accelerator page.
Also, if you think this programme is just the ticket for your startup, we’ve included a handy ‘apply here’ link too, so you can get your application on its way as soon as possible.
Applications close on the 8th February 2017 - so don’t delay in submitting your startup.
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Chilled beers, wines and spirits delivered in one hour, thanks to JUST EAT for chilled drinks, Edinburgh-based startup Drinkly.
Bubblebum has had its flagship product named as one of the Most Innovative and Most Attractive at the Child Baby & Maternity Expo in China.
Influencer marketing remains largely unchartered territory for many businesses, so here are some tips for getting it right on the first go.
Step forward Raise Accelerator, Northern Ireland's first privately-run startup accelerator. We chatted to three founders from their first cohort.
Rich Maaghul, CEO of ODEM.io explores the future of education and how disruption will transform the way that we learn...
The app that helps you achieve your goal body with easy to follow workouts for the gym or home.
The London based startup that has safer home care provision as its mission
The ethical rewards app Koin Rewards, reimagining loyalty through responsible shopping and tokenisation.
Lessons from Goldilocks and the three bears and why in a competitive market place just-right doesn’t go far enough
Common costly mistakes when hiring a team. Use this advice to help avoid high hiring costs, low workplace morale and mistakes.
Published on: 31st January 2017
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- IAG’s Hangar 51 takes flight with latest innovation programme 31st Jul 2019 The latest Hangar 51 innovation programme is on the hunt for tech startups with a broad range of aviation industry solutions.
- 10 FMCG startups selected for first Seedrs accelerator 24th Jul 2019 10 FMCG startups selected for the 1st Seedrs FMCG accelerator, which aims to help FMCG startups raise capital on the platform
- Startup Leadership Program invites applications for its 9th London cohort 12th Jul 2019 The Startup Leadership Program continues to grow, inviting applications for its 9th London cohort to join the six-month program.
- Latest Zinc Company Builder Programme to transform the quality of later life 9th Jul 2019 Do you want to build a new purpose-driven startup with support from a world-class network of experts?
