Could you commercialise your research?

Do you want to
learn how to build a start-up?

Learn the Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship

If you're coming from a bio background, odds are that you're not an expert at how to build a company (yet!)

But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be familiar with the basics. On Catalyse, you'll learn from the best

Connect across the UK

We've partnered with eight student clubs from six universities. In January and February you'll get a chance to meet other driven individuals both from your own uni and from others

Phase 1: Recruitment

Contact one of the participating student clubs from your university. Depending on your uni, they may be organising team formation sessions or some introductory talks for you to familiarise yourself with the programme

Phase 2: Development

Phase 2 takes place over 5 weeks from the 20th January until the 17th February

  • 1-hour core session from an investor, entrepreneur or accelerator on a fundamental aspect of start-up creation
  • Team formation sessions: find your co-founders!
  • The opportunity to book office hours with a VC to discuss your business plan and roadmap

Core Sessions

Ideation

David Kolesky, PhD

Senior Associate

20th Jan: 18:00 GMT

  • Find a problem to solve
  • Develop a solution
  • Validate your idea

Raising Capital

Rebecca Todd, PhD

Investment Director

27th Jan: 18:00 GMT

  • Why raise money?
  • Types of capital available
  • How much to raise and when

IP & Legal

Sara Holland, PhD & Dave Holt

Senior Associates

3rd Feb: 18:00 GMT

  • Protect & use IP
  • Spinning out of a University
  • Incorporation

Building a Business

Tony Kulesa, PhD

Partner & co-Founder

10th Feb: 18:00 GMT

  • Define your business model
  • Build a team
  • Go-to-market plan

Founder's Advice

Jack O'Meara

CEO & co-Founder

17th Feb: 18:00 GMT

  • Starting a life sciences company
  • Finding investors
  • Being a founder

Demo Day

  • Apply to pitch your company to our panel of judges from VCs across the UK, US and Europe

Phase 3: Build

If you're ready to take the next steps on your journey to turn your idea into a real company, we're here to help

Enter our Demo Day for a chance to win funding, lab space or legal support

We can also connect you with our network of investors, accelerators and incubators in the UK and abroad