Deadline: 09-Sep-2025
The Entrepreneurship Clinics is a new pilot initiative designed to support 12 underrepresented early-stage founders innovating in advanced materials, battery materials, or critical materials.
The focus areas include fundraising foundations: how investment works in the UK, and what you need to prepare; business model articulation: sharpening how you describe your growth plan and proposition; market research: validating your assumptions and finding your first market opportunities by leveraging AI tools; building investor chemistry: outreach, relationship-building, and investor mapping; investor experiences: what investors look for, and what their advice to you would be; the art of storytelling: how to communicate your vision clearly and persuasively; pitching: practice and get feedback on your pitch from the cohort.
Objectives of the programme are to ensure that by the end of the 3 days, each founder will understand the basics of early-stage fundraising, how to prepare for it and execute; have a much clearer articulation of their business, value proposition, and growth plan; gain confidence in telling their story to investors, collaborators, and partners; improve the quality and persuasiveness of their early investment materials (pitch deck, founder narrative, financials); and connect with a supportive peer group and expert mentors to accelerate their journey.
This initiative is delivered by Innovate UK Business Connect in collaboration with Growth Studio and aims to strengthen the ecosystem for early-stage founders working in advanced material innovation. Over the course of three immersive days between 1 – 3 October 2025 at the Business Design Centre, London, participants will gain critical insights, hands-on coaching, and vital connections.
The organisers are providing comprehensive support, including reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses for participants based outside of London, and lunch during the event days. Full attendance is mandatory, ensuring founders extract maximum value out of the programme and build meaningful peer-to-peer connections.
The eligibility criteria focus on early-stage founders from underrepresented backgrounds who are innovating in areas such as battery materials and components, the use of critical minerals, functional coatings, and metamaterials. Applicants may be UK-registered companies or UK-based individuals planning to incorporate by January 2026. Importantly, this initiative acknowledges and prioritises inclusivity by identifying disabled people (including neurodiverse founders and those with mental health conditions), ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ+ founders, non-binary and all marginalised genders, women, carers, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, those from non-traditional educational routes, and younger (18–30) or older (60+) founders as underrepresented groups.
With applications open until 9 September 2025, this pilot programme provides a unique opportunity to reshape access to innovation and investment for diverse founders. Up to 12 participants will be selected for this competitive cohort and will benefit from expert-driven learning, practice-based sessions, and ongoing post-programme support.
For more information, visit Innovate UK.
