Where to start
Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Playlist
To hear from founders sharing their own journey to a social innovation venture, or perhaps you want to learn more about commercialising your research, follow our ‘Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation Playlist’.
You don’t need to have a fully-formed business idea to explore entrepreneurship. You can establish a good foundation by building your network, learning the ins-and-outs of funding, and finding a mentor.
Each business relies on a high-quality idea and the funding to support it, but its success also depends on the founder’s personal resilience and determination. You should be able to recover from failure, and pivot your ideas into something that might work better. The key to this is building your network and accepting advice.
Do some soul searching and honest thinking about your strengths and particularly your weaknesses. Do you have the resilience, discipline and thick skin you’ll need? Some questions to get you started:
- What is your attitude to risk?
- How do you react to crisis or failure?
- Are you prepared for hard work, often with little free time?
- Are you prepared to have much less money than your peers in your early days?
- Can you work without feedback and guidance from bosses or colleagues?
Autonomy is often the biggest personal driver for entrepreneurs, alongside financial independence and doing something you really believe in. These rewards can outweigh the risks of entrepreneurship, particularly if you're:
- focused on getting things done
- able to enthuse others
- resourceful
- positive-minded
- possessed of strong self-belief
- good at networking
If you want to get some insight into the workings of a start-up before going it alone, working for a start-up can be a good idea. Aside from networking, here are just some of the ways you can find opportunities:
Job boards
- Handshake
- Working in Start-ups
- Escape the City
- Unicorn Hunt
- AngelList
- Otta - a way to search for roles at start-ups in London
- Kandidate - non-technical roles in London
- Sifted – jobs board for opportunities in start-ups
Start-up incubators and co-working spaces
Events
Talks, workshops, and pitch sessions are run by various societies and groups in Cambridge (see the section below on ‘what Cambridge can offer’). Careers Fairs, particularly the Science & Engineering Fair, often have start-ups looking to recruit graduates to their unique teams. Look through the list of start-ups who attended our 2020 Start-Up Fair.
Resources
Entrepreneurship at Cambridge: A directory of support (under Entrepreneurship)
One of the joyful and accessible elements of becoming a founder is that there are no formal qualifications needed. There are no ‘golden tickets’ to becoming a founder - but having a good grasp of funding and business administration is useful and you may find that entrepreneurship topics are of such interest to you, you would like to research them.
You can access a range of short courses or classes to support your founding journey via IE Cambridge.
Further study
Postgraduate courses, Fellowships and other types of study/research into entrepreneurship topics can deepen your expertise and provide resources for research (social innovation; funding and space for cutting edge research, for example).
If you are interested in an entrepreneurial view on your research interests, Masters programs PhDs or Fellowships that have an innovation focus can maximise the commercial potential of your research interests.
Examples of entrepreneurship and innovation further study
These are examples of programmes where entrepreneurship is a main focus of study, but it is useful to ask questions of any programme: Do they have optional entrepreneurship modules? What types of organisations/guest speakers do they have connections with?
At Cambridge
These are example programmes, for a full list of current programmes, see the course directory for postgraduate study.
Other examples via universities, academies and professional bodies
- Flagship Pioneering Fellows
- Bio Innovate Ireland Fellowship
- Bio Design Stanford University Innovation Fellowship, Standford University
- Fellowships funded by bodies, such as ARIA (Advanced Research + Invention Agency), for example those with Cambridge NeuroWorks.
- The British Academy Innovation Fellowships Scheme (Humanities & Social Sciences)
- Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowships
Immersion programmes - you can join before you have a specific business idea
- Access the useful 'Entrepreneurship at Cambridge: A directory of support' (PDF) from the Careers Service in our Graduate Digital Publications (scroll down to Entrepreneurship).
- Entrepreneur First (EF) - based in London, for technical graduates
- Alacrity Foundation - a grad-scheme-like programme based in Wales
Accelerator programmes - see the NESTA report on UK Start-up Support Programmes and Accelerators
- Accelerate Cambridge
- Santander Universities Growth Accelerator
- Kaufman Foundation Listings - extensive list of US-based entrepreneur programmes and resources
- Silicon Valley Internship Programme - one-year internship aimed at UK computer science graduates
- Y Combinator - one of the best known accelerator programmes in Silicon Valley
Competitions, prizes and grants
- Creator Fund
- The Tech Crunch
- The Pitch UK
- Shell Start-up Engine UK (focus on energy renewal)
- UnLtd Awards
- Growing Business Awards
- Royal Academy of Engineering – Launchpad Competition
- Entrepreneur Handbook - small business grants
- Entrepreneur Handbook - competitions and awards
- Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards
- Varsity Pitch
- Innovate UK EDGE
Other support
- Centre for Entrepreneurs - the UK’s leading entrepreneurship foundation
- New Enterprise Allowance - for those moving from state financial support
- The Prince’s Trust - start-up support for young people up to age 30
- Oxbridge Angels - Oxbridge MBA alumni providing funding to scaling start-ups
- The Cambridge start-up scene is vast and very active, but can be complicated to navigate. As a student the best place to start is by joining a student society. They run some fantastic events, bring in high-profile guest speakers, and give you a chance to meet like-minded people - even potential co-founders.
- You can access a range of support at Cambridge, whether you are just working out what 'entrepreneurship' means or you are ready to develop your business, there is support, networking and guidance available. The below guides will give you the stepping stones of where to start:
- Access the useful 'Entrepreneurship in Cambridge' Guide (PDF) from the Careers Service in our Graduate Digital Publications (scroll down to Entrepreneurship).
- Explore the landscape with the Royal Academy of Engineering. Their Explore The Entrepreneur’s Handbook and their Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub: The Entrepreneur’s Handbook.
- IE Cambridge is the collective hub of activity in Cambridge. This site can guide your journey whether you’re eager to learn more and get involved, got a great idea, starting a venture or are ready to grow your company. Join the entrepreneurship community, see events and search for support via IE Cambridge.
- Gov.uk Business and Self-Employment pages - extensive and clear resources on all aspects of setting up and running a new business, including legal structure, company registration, and trading obligations
- UK Gov Finance Support - database of 500+ opportunities
- Startup Loans – government-backed start-up loans of up to £25,000 with mentoring support
- Unreasonable - useful information and initiatives for entrepreneurs solving global issues
- Silicon Valley comes to the UK - brings Europe and Silicon Valley together, with a focus on scaling
- TechStars - accelerator and mentorship opportunity programme, advice and articles
- LinkedIn Learning - short-courses - helpful to upskill in business, data and tech
- Start Up Donut - guide to the practicalities of launching a business
- Start-Ups - website guide to financing your business
- The Startup Magazine - UK based digital magazine for entrepreneurs
- Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) - the "entrepreneurs’ think tank"
- Nesta - innovation charity
- ‘The Young Entrepreneurs’ Journey’ podcast by Yasmina Ellins (Spotify, Apple etc)
- Prospects' pages on self-employment & starting your own business
- TargetJobs' pages on 'how to become an entrepreneur when you graduate'
Now you have looked at this page, think about your next steps. Everyone's journey is different. There are many ways to move forward. Here are some actions you could take now:
- Look for roles using the resources above.
- Talk to alumni working in this field via Handshake or LinkedIn.
- Talk to a Careers Consultant - book a 1:1 appointment through Handshake.
- Attend events - watch for relevant events.
- Ready to apply? Use the CV and cover letter guide to draft a CV or an application. CareerSet is a tool you can use to review your CV and cover letter. Write a speculative application.
- Subscribe to the Entrepreneurship Careers Newsletter