After 12 intensive weeks of hard work, customer discovery and idea validation our Launchpad programme came to an end after culminating with a final pitching day on 17 September 2020.

Having run the entire programme this year remotely, we were so pleased to see our cohort take to the virtual stage and present their businesses and how they had gone about validating their ideas. After three months of Launchpad-ing from home our student and graduate entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to an expert panel of judges in a bid to secure continued support and potential future hotdesking at Accelerator. Our cohort presented their progress, demonstrated how they had gone about validating their ideas and assumptions with potential customers.

To maximise our cohort’s potential success during and after the programme, we guided them through the programme using lean methodology and the Lean Canvas – a one-page business plan template that helps to deconstruct ideas into key assumptions and replaces elaborate business plans with a single page business model.

This year’s group of students and graduates from London Met have once again brought a varied range of ideas to the table and by taking part in Launchpad they have all gained the skills and knowledge needed to start their businesses. We’ve covered everything from how to effectively talk to customers to discover what they really want, hyper targeted social media advertising. We also dived into landing pages, branding and the all important finances.

Our panel of industry experts and business Founders were really impressed by everyones progress and presentations, and give their virtual thumbs up to all the startups that demonstrated ideas with real commercial potential. We can’t wait to continue working with and supporting our 2020 student and graduate entrepreneurs through their startup journeys.

Meet our Pitching Finalists of 2020

Ella Merriman – Merri

Lorraine Western – Freedom to Flourish

Ruth Baidoo – Shito Sauce

Nisha Taylor – Inclusion to Thrive

Mai Thi Ho – Tap the Sap

Lionel Giordano – TDI

Stephen Breen – GDPRLY

Sally Shepard

Marco Brunone

Want to take part in 2021?

Are you a current London Met student or graduate interested in taking part in our 2021 Launchpad programme? Or simply want to find out more? Enter your details on our Launchpad programme page and we’ll email you with more information, and when we open for entries.