LBS incubators celebrate diversity, innovation, and talent
This year’s Incubator cohort is both talented and diverse. The cohort includes ventures from a wide range of sectors featuring an online marketplace which offers investors in non-English speaking countries quality investment analysis reports about US-listed companies, a fully customizable smart display designed to be used for guided workouts and offered to gyms and equipment manufacturers, and a proprietary coating technology that helps biotech companies improve their diagnostic tests to name but a few.
As London Business School’s Incubator celebrates its 14th year, 12 innovative ventures have been selected to be supported by the programme. Among these ventures, five have at least one female founder and/or co-founder, and nine are led by a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) founder/co-founder.
Startups face significant challenges, with a high failure rate due to reasons such as a lack of funding, or an ignorance of marketing and operational issues. In such a concentrated and hectic environment, seeking expert guidance is crucial.
“The LBS Incubator is a remarkable platform. This is not only just because it helps new companies get through the proverbial “death valley curve” to impress investors, but also provides each venture with an unrivalled level of support from professional advisors and mentors and showcase itself through networking and PR. This is remarkable feat, but our Incubator is exceptional because it repeats these successes, and to a very high standard each and every year,” says Osman Haneef, who leads the LBS Incubator as Senior Manager of Ventures at London Business School’s Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital (IEPC).
Since its inception, 125 start-ups have been supported, over £130m raised in seed capital and more than a thousand jobs have been created by the LBS Incubator businesses.
“Governments and development regions around the world lay claim to a desire to support new business ventures, recognising the importance of new enterprises in terms of catalysing wealth creation, as drivers of innovation and as engines for employment. The LBS Incubator is punching above its weight and making its own important contribution to the enterprise economy” says Osman who notes that some members of the cohort have already proved adept at raising money, with one venture, Unlonely, raising more than a million dollars, and another, Edge Drive, having raised more than $USD1.5m in grants.
“We also offer access to mentors, workshops, stipends for interns, discounts with vendors, and office space in addition to the PR and networking, which works at something close to £250,000 per start-up.”
Profiling the 2023/24 LBS Incubator cohort
Edge Drives
Edge Drives develops high-efficiency electric drivetrain technologies for lightweight urban vehicles.
Founder: Arjun Mehta EMBALJ2019
Website: https://www.edgedrives.com/
Investlingo
An online marketplace which makes available investors in non-English speaking countries quality investment analysis reports about US-listed companies, written by quality and transparent financial bloggers and analysts primarily based in the US and Europe, in their local languages with the power of AI and NLP. Investlingo aims to solve the information gap faced by investors in non-English speaking countries and create a world where everyone can equally make informed investment decisions.
Founders: Ryutaro Oi MBA2023 and Argjend Haxhiu
Website: https://investlingo.com/en
KINETIC
In-gym smart display technology provider. The company offers fully customizable solutions for guided workouts to gyms and equipment manufacturers through smart displays that are available 24/7.
Founders Denis Zhurba MBA2022 and Sergey Lega
Website: https://www.kinetic.fitness/
Quantacap
Quantacap automates Due Diligence of eCommerce business acquisitions with Data Science and AI. The company processes eCommerce transaction logs and invoices at scale to verify business financials and identify red flags for both buyers and sellers.
Founder: Max Mishin MBA2019
Website: https://quantacap.com/
SlideX
SlideX is a manufacturer of precision-coated microscope slides used in diagnostic laboratory applications. SlideX' proprietary coating technology helps biotech companies improve their diagnostic tests.
Founder: Maxime Lasseel MD MIM2023
Website: www.slidex.uk
Tasklane Technology
Tasklane is an AI-powered ecosystem that leverages decades of industry expertise to revolutionise the global property management landscape. With a simple and user-friendly approach, Tasklane enables efficient and transparent distribution of real estate services.
Founders: Eric Chiu EMBA2022 and Huimin Tao
Website: www.tasklane.app
The Platform
The Platform is a marketplace that connects talented professionals from across Africa with global clients seeking their expertise. Its mission is to bridge the unemployment gap within Africa's vibrant youth population, catalyzing job creation and bolstering African economies, all while delivering top-tier talent to companies at a fraction of the current cost.
Founders: Enobong Kennedy and Nitin Agarwal SLN2022
Website: https://www.theplatformtech.com/
TUTU PIKIN
TUTU PIKIN is a progressive, accessible luxury brand, made in England, but with its heritage proudly rooted in Africa. They use 100% hand-painted and hand-dyed, premium cotton, made in Africa, by African Artisans, to produce classic, yet modern apparel.
Founder: Tuvie Ejoh EMBALS2023
Website: www.tutupikin.com
Singa Games
Singa is a card and board game company that creates smiles and bonds between children and adults. The games are simple to learn and fast to play, perfectly balanced for everybody to have real fun, regardless of age. Besides helping parents create happy memories far from online devices, their games aim to entice kids' brains and develop emotional resilience and social skills.
Founders: Naia Hamasaki and Paulo Kaneta SLN2021
Website: singagames.co.uk
Swavy
Swavy improves sourcing and delivery of creator advertising by unlocking sustainable always-on campaigns. The platform automates the entire process, allowing brands to effortlessly describe their business and start getting creator content on social networks repeatedly with low to no effort.
Founders: Jacques Saab and Tarek Abboud MBA2023
Website: www.swavy.app
Unlonley
The future of viewing and sharing video content. Meet people, share videos to watch together, and be unlonely.
Founder: Grace Guan MBA2023
Website: https://www.unlonely.app/
Virtabot, Inc.
Virtabot is an AI-driven patient discovery platform for clinical trials. The technology amplifies patient insights with siloed data across the health system to help pharma companies recruit better suited candidates, resulting in lower drop-out rates and significant cost savings while bringing drugs to market faster.
Founders: Sandeep Vardhan, EMBAG2017
Website: http://www.virtabot.com
About LBS’s Incubator Programme
The Incubator programme, supported by IEPC at London Business School, is an initiative exclusively designed for our alumni start-up founders, representing our commitment to nurturing entrepreneurial talent and propelling start-ups to new heights within our alumni community.
The program provides extensive in-kind support, valued at around £250,000 per team, and spans from the beginning of the academic year to the end of the following summer term. Admission is limited to our alumni who can demonstrate both a commitment to benefiting from the Programme and the potential to contribute to London Business School's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
By joining the London Business School Incubator programme, founders embark on a transformative journey, gaining access to valuable resources, mentorship, and a vibrant network to turn entrepreneurial visions into reality.
Applications for the 2024/25 programme will open in March next year for those whose entrepreneurial adventure awaits!
