Sector Specific London Startup Accelerator Programmes

by Startacus Admin

London is home to a vast array of accelerator programmes, from the wide open to the sector-specific. Here we have 12 programmes tailored to various specific startup sectors. This is not a definitive list and we are aiming to add to it - so please email us over at editorial@iamstartacus.net if you want to be considered.

TrueStart

Sector: Retail and consumer

Key features: Investment opportunities; soft leads; entrepreneur in residence

Duration: 4 months

Location: Westminster 

TrueStart is looking for innovative and disruptive startups in the retail and consumer industries, and can open the right doors and put you in front of the right people.

The Grocery Accelerator

Sector: Food and drink

Key features: Investment of up to 60k for 15% equity (but with £20k programme fees); FMCG mentor; network of contacts; workshops and sessions with multi-discipline industry experts

Duration: 6 months

Location: Barbican

The Grocery Accelerator is designed to support young food and drink brands with high-growth potential. 

R/GA IoT Venture Studio

Sector: Internet of Things

Key features: Support from Astro Studios, PCH, Stratasys, MakerBot and SOLIDWORKS; capital investment of up to £75K for up to 6% equity

Duration: 100 days

Location: Shoreditch/Old Street area 

The R/GA Venture studio is the UK programme launched after the success of their New York accelerator, and provides innovative IoT startups with support from world-class design firms and industry leaders.

Pi Labs

Sector: Property

Key features: Two programme options of £50k investment for 7% equity (and £10k fee) or 5% equity warrant option for startups with traction; additional £50k available; 150+ mentors and speakers

Duration: 13 weeks

Location: Fitzrovia 

Property Innovation Labs is for the property tech vertical and can open doors to top VCs and Angels. Aside from the accelerator programme, Pi Labs offers up to £2m in direct investment for seed funding.

HackTrain Accelerator

Sector: Transport/Tech (rail-specific)

Key features: Opportunity to apply technologies to either rail infrastructure or customer experience; £50k and £25k investment respectively; no fee

Duration: 6 months (infrastructure), or 3 months (customer experience)

Location: Shoreditch/Old Street area

The HackTrain offers two accelerator programmes for tech startups to apply their technologies to either rail infrastructure or customer experience (still within rail).

 

Geovation

Sector: Location information and technology

Key features: £20k funding; 1:1 mentoring; workshops, events, and master classes

Duration: 6 months + further 6 months if prototype is delivered

Location: Clerkenwell

Geovation is an accelerator for any startup looking to create a product or business using location information and technology. (GeoTech) 

CyLon

Sector: Cyber security

Key features: 200 mentors; £15k investment for 3% equity; demo day pitching for further funding

Duration: 3 months

Location: Hammersmith

CyLon accepts any size and stage of company, but is particularly interested in small companies. Their mentors include the likes of IBM, Bank of England, and Vodafone, and many others.

Winton Labs

Sector: Data science

Key features: £5-15k stipend for no equity; access to Winton’s own mentors, data scientists, business leaders, and VC team

Duration: 3 months

Location: Hammersmith

Winton Labs is looking for innovators in the area of data science, machine learning, and the like. They provide access to plenty of their own mentors and experts, and require no equity in return for the stipend they provide.

BBC Worldwide Labs

Sector: Digital media/Technology

Key features: Access to mentors and advice from senior executives; office space and meeting rooms; potential commercial partnerships with BBC Worldwide

Duration: 6 months

Location: Television Centre in West London

BBC Worldwide Labs is looking for early stage startups within the digital media or technology space.

Central Research Lab

Sector: Tech - Hardware

Key features: Prototyping workshop and office space; mentors and on-site experts; £5k grant for 6% equity; second phase includes trip to Shenzhen, China and European manufacturers; culminates in CRL Hardware Showcase for potential buyers, investors, and partners

Duration: 9 months

Location: Hayes

Central Research Lab is looking for innovative and scalable hardware startups with two or more founders and a working prototype.

 

FinTech Innovation Lab London

Sector: FinTech

Key features: Mentoring and coaching; feedback from target user groups; workshops and panel discussions; PR opportunities

Duration: 3 months

FinTech Innovation Lab London is an accelerator for FinTech and InsurTech startups, with opportunities to meet with top execs and decision makers from their partner firms.

Collider Accelerator

Sector: MadTech

Key features: £30k investment (with £20k + VAT programme fee) for 10 startups, and after 4 months a further £50k for 5 of those startups, each for 8% equity; expert advice and contacts; access to over £565k in perks through F6S

Duration: 17 weeks

Location: South Bank

Collider specialises in marketing and advertising startups under two years old and SEIS eligible.

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We also partner with and support a number of Programmes, Corporates and Services that support the UK & Ireland Startup Ecosystem. If you are a programme, brand or service that wants to collaborate with Startacus contact iam@startacus.net

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Published on: 10th December 2016