UCL’s entrepreneurship hub in King’s Cross has supported thousands of staff, students and graduates since it opened its doors in 2015. Over 600 of them have gone on to launch their own startups. Here, on World Entrepreneurs Day, we look back at some of the many success stories.
"Without the support we’ve had from UCL, we’d very likely still be a small business run from our kitchen table in our spare time."
These are the words of Jacob Wedderburn-Day (MSc Economics 2016) who co-founded his own startup Stasher in 2015, with support from the Hatchery incubator programme, which is located at BaseKX, and run by UCL Innovation & Enterprise.
Stasher provides a flexible, secure, and budget-friendly solution for travellers, allowing them to book insured luggage storage at vetted local businesses such as hotels and shops. The startup has partnered with companies including Booking.com, GetYourGuide, Premier Inn, and Expedia.
The business Jacob set up with friend Anthony Collias now handles more than 2 million bags a year. The platform operates in over 1,000 cities across 75 countries and is experiencing triple-digit growth, with plans to expand further this year.
Jacob and Anthony are among the hundreds of students and graduates who’ve grown their own ventures with support from UCL in the last decade.
Every student, staff member and recent graduate at the university is eligible to access the free support on offer at BaseKX, UCL’s entrepreneurship hub, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.
The support at BaseKX helps inspiring ideas and ventures come to life at UCL, giving students, staff and alumni the entrepreneurial skills, tools and confidence they need to create their own exciting future.
Entrepreneurs who wish to grow their ventures can apply to join UCL’s equity free Hatchery startup incubator programme. Those accepted then have access to two years of focused support, working alongside UCL’s entrepreneurship business advisors, plus free office space in King’s Cross.
More than 600 new student startups were launched at UCL between 2014 to 2024. Collectively these businesses have raised over £461 million in external investment and employ over 1,900 people.
"The support we received from UCL was essential in giving structure to our early ideas," says Jacob. "It helped us challenge our assumptions and gave us the confidence to take our pitch to real investors and secure our first funding round. BaseKX became our first proper office, and I have very fond memories of our time there and the friendships we made along the way."
Supporting new businesses to thrive
UCL alumna Jia Li (MSc Social Development Practice, 2017) is another graduate whose business has grown significantly as part of the Hatchery programme.
Her consultancy Arcas & Callisto acts as a bridge between UK and Chinese businesses looking to exploit new, more sustainable building technologies.
"As the world is moving to less of a competitive business environment, and more of a collaborative one, we want to help organisations in the UK and China work more closely together to develop and embrace technologies that are better for the planet," explains Jia.
Since being part of the Hatchery, Arcas & Callisto Consulting has established itself as a trusted name in the UK and Chinese building sector. The startup has won a major research contract as part of Horizon Europe, one of the world’s most prestigious research programmes organised by the European Union.
As well as receiving help with securing the visa she needed to develop her business as an international student, Jia says the support from UCL’s entrepreneurship advisors was fundamental in getting her venture to where it is now.
"The team at UCL Innovation & Enterprise were extremely helpful in supporting me in areas like business insurance, accountancy and mentoring. Jivko Hristov, Entrepreneurship Advisor at UCL Innovation & Enterprise, has been so supportive. He believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and has given me the confidence to keep going."
Facing challenges as part of a community
Setting up your own business comes with multi-faceted challenges and areas to get to grips with, of course, from testing the viability of your idea, to building a relevant network, to securing investment.
For many of the entrepreneurs, being part of a thriving community at UCL, with expert advisors and other founders facing many of the same issues by your side, proves immensely valuable.
Victoria Ndoh (MSc in Ethnographic Documentary Filmmaking 2019) says building her business as part of a community has helped her develop her ideas much faster than she could have done on her own.
The Vactraca necklace she’s designed offers mothers in low-income countries a new way to keep track of their children’s routine immunisation records and avoid vaccine preventable diseases. She’s now working with the government in South Sudan to pilot 2,000 Vactraca necklaces in refugee and displaced person camps.
"It’s hard to put into words how valuable the help has been. For example, we needed advice on intellectual property registration in China and a contact at the Hatchery immediately helped us with getting the Chinese patent for Vactraca. They also put us in touch with our industrial designers. So being part of the community has helped us move forward with our vision much, much faster."
James Della Valle, BSc Architecture 2020 and MArch Architecture 2023 graduate and co-founder of BoxxDocks, is also a big fan of the community available to anyone at UCL who wants to set up their own business or develop their entrepreneurial skills.
"One of the best things about being part of the Hatchery is being surrounded by other UCL entrepreneurs. We ask each other questions, we signpost each other to different bits of support. Having that community is game-changing."
Solving problems, improving lives
As for what types of ventures have been launched at the university in the last decade, new businesses have been conceived and brought to fruition in everything from health tech to education equality.
Many of the businesses have developed products and new technologies that are now solving urgent problems and being used by thousands or even millions of people to improve their lives.
Zubair Junjunia (UCL Mathematics 2020) whose education platform ZNotes was also supported in the Hatchery, is now a global force reaching over six million students. As well as being listed in this year’s Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list, he won the Diana Legacy Award in 2021 for his exceptional contribution to education.
Meanwhile for others, UCL’s entrepreneurship support has acted as a springboard to other opportunities such as prestigious accelerator programmes.
Three tech startups, Humanloop, Hubble and Synth, all delivering innovative digital solutions, were selected for the Y Combinator programme in 2020. And Florence Ettlin and Talitha Abraham (MSc Entrepreneurship) were one of 12 startups to join Techstars in 2024, with their pocket concierge business KALAB.
"Being an entrepreneur is not only about creating a startup"
Although many students and graduates undoubtedly tap into UCL’s entrepreneurial support with the aim of launching their own ventures, UCL alumnus David Peinturier is keen to point out that the resources on offer aren’t just for budding founders.
David used his experience on a UCL hackathon to build contacts and secure his dream job in sustainability.
"I think it’s important to remember that being an entrepreneur doesn’t have to mean ’I’m building a business’.
"Being an entrepreneur is a mindset. It’s about the way you lead your day to day. And it’s all’about your ability to learn and welcome challenges. That’s what the UCL events and programmes can nurture in all’of us."
Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement), said: "As we celebrate BaseKX turning ten this year, it seems the perfect moment to look back and reflect on all the fantastic ventures that have come to fruition at the university in that time.
"We’re exceptionally proud of all the founders and the teams supporting them here at UCL. Thriving ventures are being launched at UCL every year, with ideas being tested and developed and taken forward - many of which are now having impact in all kinds of sectors and fields.
"We look forward to continuing to support our students, staff and graduates to develop their entrepreneurial skills and incredible ideas, and invite anyone interested to tap into the support on offer.
"UCL is a fantastic environment within which to turn your ideas into something tangible, with all the support and encouragement you need around you to make it a success."
- University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT (0) 20 7679 2000
practical workshops to help people find out more about entrepreneurship, and build entrepreneurial skills
programmes walk people through how to set up their own venture or explore the idea of working for themselves
bespoke programmes, advice and support for anyone who wants to test or grow an idea for a business or other venture
Hatchery startup incubator programme , which gives entrepreneurs access to tailored advice, mentorship, and free office space to help them grow their venture.
Henry Killworth
E: h.killworth@ucl.ac.uk
