• You are developing a technology-based solution from University of Cambridge research or knowledge. This could be University licensed IP or IP developed independently.
• You are ready to commit to growing your company. If spending time in your lab is necessary to do that, that’s ok.
• One founder has attended University of Cambridge in the last two years. We are looking for everyone from professors, to post-docs, to undergrads.

We are interested in most technology areas with the potential for high impact including DeepTech, New Materials, Sustainability, Digital Health and Life Sciences.

Within Life Sciences, we have a strong preference for HealthTech, MedTech, and Tech-Bio over BioTech companies. We will accept BioTech companies if they’re a good fit and we can significantly help accelerate their journey.

We will offer a personalised pathway to guide you on topics specific to Life Science companies with support from our partner, AstraZeneca.  In particular, we will support you on the following areas: 

Mentoring – receive one-on-one support from mentors who have extensive experience in the Life Science industry. 

Regulatory Strategies – work out a pathway based on the regulatory requirements for your business and the associated costs.  

Business Development – develop a strategy to identify the right co-development and/or sales partners for your business along with a plan to approach them and frame your value proposition to them.  

Health economics – identify the current gold standard of care, current pathways of deployment, cost effectiveness of your technology, and frame why the healthcare ecosystem should pay for your intervention.  

Investment readiness – gain clarity on likely acquirers of your asset, how much other such assets have sold for, what milestones they hit before being acquired and how long it took, and funding requirements and data validation needed to get to those milestones. 

Networks – connect with the right industry experts who can eventually serve as mentors, directors, or chairs in your company.  

Lab Space – priority access to lab space at the Babraham Research Campus.

In addition we will provide bespoke support to meet your individual needs.

The START Programme is specifically for founders, teams and companies looking to get to a pre-seed or seed round of investment, secure grant funding, or get substantive revenue in the next 12 months. 

The following criteria broadly indicates the stage of company we are looking for. Use this as a guide, we don’t expect companies to fulfil all criteria. If you have any questions on how this applies to you please reach out. 

The ideal company stage includes: 

• Company has already filed patent(s) if relevant, (if software, company has a technical MVP) 

• Clear commercial ‘potential’ – tech has evolved past fundamental research 

• Technology has developed enough to outgrow most University/Cambridge Enterprise translational funding options (with some flexibility) 

• Company has some idea of how to turn technology into a product 

• Some market indication – they have a hypothesis of potential markets to tap into (targets are well-defined but they now need help with entry points/strategies into the market) (some flexibility, if they haven’t done enough market work we can help accelerate that process) 

• Technology at a point where extensive market research, market validation, & financial projections will get them to investability (which includes a full license) 

• Co-founding team in place; CEO ready to go full time 

• Strong belief that the company could raise or bring in revenue within 12 months of the end of the programme (not entirely necessary but will be considered during selections) 

• Strong belief that the programme will make a substantial difference to this company 

Yes – although we will be looking for evidence that you can build a complementary team around you quickly.

• We offer 50 + hours from an Entrepreneur-in-Residence who are hand-picked according to your specific needs.
• We will provide 40+ mentors to you during the programme for general feedback, specific knowledge on your markets and on other core company topics. This will include one-on-one sessions with experienced entrepreneurs, group workshops, and access to our network of industry experts as required.
• We will also bring in operators-in-residence to provide one-on-one support for up to 30 hours per company for investment and marketing.
• Finally, you will get support from Cambridge Enterprise through the Technology Development and Licensing  and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures teams as you prepare for investment. 

The community is there for you if you join the programme and we want you to be an active part of it. Everyone in the community wants to engage with startups coming out of the University of Cambridge, but people’s time availability is limited. Within the programme, we will therefore be thoughtful about how we engage, when we engage, and what interaction is with each community member, but our aim is to get you the connections you need.

Additionally, part of the Founders at the University of Cambridge team is dedicated full-time to growing and curating that community, so it will become more valuable over time.

After completing our programme, we will support you through your next phase, whether it be a fundraise, grant application or beyond. You can also stay in ideaSpace with us for three months, at a discounted rate.

You are part of the Founders at the University of Cambridge community going forward.

That’s fine. We will give you £40,000 investment at the start of the programme and will aim to get you investment-ready by the end of the programme.

We do not have a cap on non-dilutive investments. However, if you have raised more than £500k in dilutive funding, we would like to have a chat about whether this programme is the right fit for you.   

We do not charge any participation fees. And there are no hidden fees.

The terms are identical to standard University of the Cambridge equity funding. The University is funding the programme separately – so everything we are going to do is freely offered on top of the standard investment terms. There is no charge for our time, this is all about making your money go further.

The University has consistently played a proactive role in supporting startups, and the introduction of this programme will further amplify that engagement. Our commitment to investing in your venture aligns us with your long-term success, a partnership we anticipate will prove advantageous throughout your entrepreneurial journey.

Both the initial and end of programme investment is based on a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE). In simple terms, we give you capital in exchange for the right to take equity in your company when you raise your next investment round. When you raise, the SAFE converts into equity. 

We invest in you via a SAFE (see above). We have designed the SAFE to be both market best practice and founder friendly. Below is the summary of what terms are included and not included: 

• 20% Discount: When you raise a subsequent investment round the SAFE converts into equity. It does so at a 20% discount on the price of the round, as a recognition that we backed you early. This is standard practice in a SAFE.  
• No Valuation Cap: The 20% discount is the only advantage we get on the price. This is an uncapped SAFE, which means there is no maximum price our shares convert at. The price is just determined by your raise, with the discount. 
• No Longstop: There is no set date when our SAFE converts into equity. It will convert when you raise a qualified priced equity round of funding or we may decide to convert at an earlier nonqualifying fundraise. 
• Board Observer Rights: We have the right to put an observer on your board. This is in place so we can continue supporting you on the big decisions in your company in a formal way, without getting formal voting rights. We may waive this if we choose. 
• Follow-on SAFE: We may decide to support your company further by investing with a follow-on SAFE. Providing your company with the follow-on funding is a right that we will have as an early-stage investor, but not one that we are obliged to make. 
• Further investment: We want to continue to invest in promising companies that grow through the programme. We retain the right to contribute additional capital in your first financing round and during subsequent investments, as is standard with investor pre-emption rights.
• Information rights: We will require you to notify and provide us with relevant information in advance of an equity financing raise or other events that impact the way the SAFE converts into equity in your company. 

Not at all. The University is still making investments in companies as it always has. If you don’t get selected for the programme, and there are limited spaces, there is absolutely opportunity for investment from the University in future. Cambridge Enterprise’s door is always open.

Working with other services in Cambridge Enterprise is complementary to the programme. We encourage you to carry on that process as normal as you complete an application and beyond. If you are not selected for the programme, and there are limited spaces, this will have no impact on your work with Cambridge Enterprise.

We will not fund two competitive companies in the same accelerator cohort. However, as the University of Cambridge has been making investments for over 20 years, it is possible that there will be some competitiveness within the overall portfolio.

We generally expect you to be in the ideaSpace West office two to three days per week. There may be additional events in Cambridge that are beneficial for your business. If this level of in-person attendance doesn’t work for you, then this programme isn’t for you.

It varies through different phases of the programme. Weeks 1-4 (strategic sprint) and weeks 11-14 (investment sprint) will be more intense. Generally this means 3 days in the office. We encourage this in-person time due to the invaluable interactions between various kinds of experts, the programme team, Cambridge Enterprise, and cohort members which generates fresh ideas and connections.

Weeks 5-10 (customer sprint) will be lighter touch requiring only 2 days in the office, most of which will be focused on getting you to execute customer and partner conversations.

If selected, we will start scheduling events in participants’ calendars in early January to ensure ample time for planning. 

Given the programme’s focus on business and market development, we expect only the CEO to participate full-time. However, some events and sessions will be beneficial for CTOs and/or other team members which they are welcome to join.  

Unfortunately, we can’t help with visas at this time. However, you may want to apply to the UK’s Global Talent visa which enables exceptionally talented individuals potentially like yourself to come to the UK to work for five years. More on other visa routes can be found here. 

It is a 3-step process.

• The first step is to fill out our online application form.
• If shortlisted, you will be invited to our first-round interviews. These will be divided into 2 parts where we assess the founders’ skills and behaviours as well as the technology and market.
• The last step is a final interview where we will assess your business as a whole and discuss any outstanding questions and how the programme can be personalised to your business.  

We run a swift application cycle.

Initial interviews will take place in late November.

Final round interviews conclude by end of the year, with decisions communicated over the new year.  

Please get in touch at connect@founders.cam.ac.uk