The Summer Start-Up Experience

The Summer Start-Up Experience is an opportunity to spend six weeks with one of the 20 businesses bidding for a place on the London Business School Incubator programme. After being shortlisted in May, each start-up sets out the nature of the support they require including the skillset they are looking for. 

Each of these businesses has individual objectives and milestones to achieve that will determine whether they are selected in the final cohort that is ultimately accepted into the prestigious programme. 

While all placement work with these small companies is on a wholly voluntary basis, successful applicants benefit from forming useful long-term relationships during this important period, while getting access to invaluable hands-on experience of what it takes to develop a business.  

With this in mind, these startups look for active members as part of their team instead of advisors or consultants. They need skilled people to help them secure the 10-months of valuable specialist support that comes with a place on the Incubator programme.  

The process of securing a spot begins when details of the skillsets that each business is looking for and the nature of the project are released to the registered incoming students in the first week of June. Students then select their preferred opportunity and apply directly to the start-up founders who choose the most suitable candidate to join their team for the duration of six weeks. The placement days and times are agreed between the candidate and start-up.