The Entrepreneurship Lab

TEL is completely free. You do not need to pay for your application or participation. We also do not take any equity in admitted startup.

• Avoid jargons. Explain the problem and your proposed solution in simple language.
• Don't oversell your idea. Don't undersell it either.
• Be honest about the challenges that your venture faces.

What are the admission criteria?

We are particularly interested in teams that have the following characteristics:

• You have a novel and promising idea to solve a specific problem
• Your team has the right set of technical capabilities to address the problem
• You are passionate about your venture and its vision

We also assess the likelihood that your venture would fail before the end of the programme and the technical feasibility of your proposed solution. Your are also more likely to be admitted if you have either developed a working prototype, achieved initial sales traction, or secured a pre-seed round.

Yes! Absolutely. You are exactly the type of team we would like to have at TEL. One of TEL's main value propositions is to give you access to some of the best business talent you can find in the world.

Yes. Your idea and information are safe with us. We strictly follow London Business School's privacy policy. We may use the collected information for internal research and analysis. However, TEL will not share any technical information or intellectual property about your venture with third-party researchers. No information about your team or venture will be publicly shared without your consent.

After filling out the application form, you will receive a confirmation email. Please make sure to check your spam folder in case the confirmation email accidentally ended up there. We may subsequently contact you to gather additional information regarding your application. We will then evaluate your application and update you with the decision outcome.

Yes, we welcome post-seed applicants if we believe TEL can contribute to their continuing success and growth. TEL is mostly geared toward ventures that have passed the conception stage and aim to raise a Seed or Series A round in three to six months since joining the programme.

We expect the admitted founders to attend three in-person sessions at London Business School in London between January 2025 and March 2025. Please check out the programme structure for more details. We also expect the LBS participants to be able to meet the founders in-between these sessions to be able to help them with their goals and progress. Therefore, we have a preference for ventures that are located in or in close proximity to London. That said, if you are elsewhere in the UK or Europe, but can meet the two conditions above, please do apply. Make sure to explain how you can meet these two conditions as part of your application.

No. Single founders can also apply. The key is to have the right technical expertise to execute your idea.

No. TEL takes no equity in your venture. There are also no fees for application or participation.

No. TEL does not provide any funding. We expect the participating ventures to have enough resources to be able to successfully finish the programme. The ventures that successfully progress through the programme will have a chance to make an investment pitch to a panel of investors during the final TEL Unlock event. Please see the proramme structure for more details. You can also raise funds at any point during the programme. All deals are done outside of the TEL purview.