Start-Up Incubation

The InnovationRCA Incubator brings together talented teams from design, business and technology backgrounds, helping them transform innovative ideas, products, service concepts and prototypes into viable business propositions.

We help graduates create new startup firms that can attract further funding and become self-sustaining or create intellectual assets that can be licensed or sold to other firms. Our goal is to not only generate financial returns from this process but also to create the next generations of designer entrepreneurs and business innovators.

Our Offer to Start-Ups

Early stage startups accepted into the InnovationRCA incubator receive seed funds, intense business mentoring, access to our business networks, investors and office and work space at InnovationRCA in the Dyson Building, Battersea.

The InnovationRCA Incubator serves as a hub of entrepreneurship and enterprise with an active community of very early, and early stage startups, entrepreneurial fellows, and business experts. InnovationRCA has a lively calendar of events designed to champion its incubated startup community and facilitate useful knowledge exchange and introductions.

We have supported a diverse range of early stage startups all of which have had design-tech at the core of their offer. To view a summary of the innovative startups which are currently in our incubator or which have gone on to launch products, raise follow-on investment and exist independently, click here

1. Start-Ups interested in joining the InnnovationRCA Incubator

New Start-Ups seeking seed funding, business support and access to space

Our annual Selection Process to recruit new startups into the InnovationRCA Incubator where they will receive seed funding as well as intensive business mentoring begins with a call for Expressions of Interest, inviting graduates from the Royal College of Art, Imperial College and its Business school, to submit project proposals. For more information about the process, click here

Start-Ups seeking business support and access to space

A limited number of spaces are sometimes available for early-stage startups seeking to join our community and benefit from the business support services and space on offer but which are not seeking seed funding from InnovationRCA. In these cases our selection criteria focus on the nature of the startup, its team and its needs. To inquire about a place, our offer and charges, email reshni.soman@rca.ac.uk. We endeavour to interview you and give you a decision within two weeks.

2. Graduates and Entrepreneurs wishing to join design-tech Start-Ups

InnovationRCA receives inquiries and requests from talented designers, engineers and innovators who have exciting new business ideas and who are trying to build a startup team and company and jointly embark on an entrepreneurial journey. InnovationRCA also receives inquiries from people who want to work in startups and bring useful skills such as past startup business experience or significant domain knowledge.

As part of our process of selecting new startups which would be awarded seed funding and win a place in our incubator we host a number of matchmaking events and endeavour to make introductions on an ad hoc basis to help connect designer-innovators with new potential team members. Our goal is simple: to facilitate the formation of strong investable startup teams with balanced sets of skills for success (for example business-design-engineering or business-design-software).

If you are interested in joining a startup team, have experience in a startup or have gained strong commercial or financial experience, and are able to devote time to working in a startup, we would be happy to hear from you. Please register your interest here

3. Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa

The Royal College of Art has secured 10 places on The Home Office's Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) scheme which allows entrepreneurial graduates with world class innovative ideas to remain in the UK to develop their businesses following graduation for 12 months initially.

As a higher education institution in the Highly Trusted Sponsor category, the RCA will be able to sponsor outstanding graduating students who win a place in its InnovationRCA Incubator to stay in the UK. This will allow the graduates to develop their businesses in the UK for 12 months initially and the stay may be extended for a further 12 months, providing the Royal College of Art, as sponsor, is satisfied with the business progress made during incubation.

Successful graduates may also be able to sponsor dependents provided they meet the Tier 1 maintenance requirements.

To qualify for the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa, candidates will need to apply to the Incubator and participate in the selection process.

For more information, please visit the Home Office website