Bloomsbury Startup Academy | UCL Entrepreneurs

The Bloomsbury Startup Academy is UCLe’s exciting new startup accelerator, expanding on the past success of the Moonshot Launchpad. In helping budding student entrepreneurs navigate the difficult early stages of their startup creation, we’ve already supported dozens of groups in their journey of innovation and enterprise – and we can’t wait to help more!

With a new remit of leading an alliance comprising UCL’s premier technical societies, the BSA helps startup ideas ranging from VR surgery to window-washing drones.

How it works

1:1 Mentoring

You will be matched with a real entrepreneur who is working in the same or similar sector to your idea, providing you tailored advice, support and mentorship throughout the programme.

BSA get-togethers

Meet your fellow participants in the programme a little better through our occasional meet-ups and bounce your idea off them, maybe even team up, it's up to you.

idea surgeries

Throughout the 5-week programme, you will be delivered bi-weekly workshop style sessions called 'Idea Surgeries' to refine your idea into a business plan, from the legals to financials.

lift off

The culmination of the programme, you will pitch your business plan to some of London's top entrepreneurs for a chance to win £1,000 of non-equity seed capital.

focus areas

Healthcare

Our Healthcare focus covers a wide range of areas: Mobile Diagnostics, Predictive Analytics, Remote Monitoring, Medical Compliance, Personalised Medicine, Disease Treatment, Regenerative Medicine, Nanobiotechnology and Improvements in Early Diagnostic Rates for Major Diseases.

Fintech

A new addition to the focus areas encompassed by the programme, Fintech is a becoming hugely impactful sector, covering: Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain Technology, Mobile Banking, Internet Banking, Smart Finance Management, Innovative Payment Solutions and Robo-Investing/Advisors.

Energy

Our Energy focus covers the development of renewable energy to reducing energy consumption: Energy Data, Modelling, Control, Smart Metering, Decentralised/Off-Grid Energy, Electric Transport, Energy Storage, Renewable Generation and Increasing Efficiency of Renewable Sources.

Smart Cities

Our Smart Cities focus aims to catalyse innovation in an ever-growing sector looking at both the micro and macro level of what the city of the future could look like, covering: Buildings, Citizen Engagement, Energy, Mobility, Operations/Infrastructure, Tourism and Urban Planning.

London's Top Entrepreneurs

We invite some of London’s most relevant and uprising entrepreneurs to become Moonshot mentors and ultimately pass on the knowledge they have acquired through their experience to you in order to provide tailored support and advice in an effort to make entrepreneurship accessible to all.

From Idea to Business Plan

All you need to start is a rough idea, we’ll help you chip away at that idea and polish it into a business plan through our 9-week bi-weekly series of Idea Surgeries. Lead by top Founders, Accelerators, Venture Capitalists and FTSE 100 companies, you will be taught by the most experienced there is.

Meet Like-Minded People

You’re not alone on your entrepreneurial journey. Bloomsbury Startup Academy is full of budding student entrepreneurs, a great opportunity to expand your network and maybe even find your co-founder. We host Moonshot get-togethers throughout the programme to give you an opportunity to do so.

Moonshot Alumni

Dexter particpiated in Moonshot and went on to setup Kalgera, now an award-winning concept for a digital personal finance manager tailored to the needs of older people.

Dexter Penn

Ivan created drugsand.me which provides accessible, objective and comprehensive guides to help reduce the short and long term harms of drugs.

Ivan Ezquerra Romano

Elegibility

Got an Idea?

Great news, as long as your’re a UCL student or your team is comprised of at least one UCL student, your’re on track. If your a recent graduate and now a alumni of UCL that’s not a problem either. Not got a team? No worries, as long as you’re keen and ambitious we want you onboard.

A sector not covered by us? We support Kickstart London who offer a similar sector agnostic cross-university pre-accelerator programme, co-founded by a former UCL Entrepreneurs President. We sync our cycles so they don’t clash – why not check them out?