London Startup Tour 2018 with HSLU

On behalf of Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, I was able to lead the London Startup Tour over two days. I introduced 24 students, mainly undergraduates, and a few start-ups from the university's own Smart-up accelerator, to the London start-up scene.

With around 200,000 start-ups, more than 150 co-working spaces, 70+ incubators and accelerators, and around $5 billion in VC funding, London is the queen of Europe's startup cities. Berlin and Paris can only just about match a fifth of that investment volume. Paris is catching up fast, but I do not believe it will overtake London. It is also impressive that around 300,000 jobs in the tech industry generate around £56 billion in revenue.

19 unicorns - most of them in East London

Asos, TransferWise, Wonga, Deliveroo, Just Eat - most of the billion-dollar companies cluster in the east. East London Tech City had its origins in Silicon Roundabout near Old Street Station. It was only in 2008, after the severe banking crisis, that empty offices were used to attract start-ups. With the government and the city, major tech firms such as Microsoft, Google and others were brought in, and close work was done with the various universities. Ten years later, it is a hive of activity and creates significant value and many new jobs.

Three packed days

Coworking spaces, accelerators such as Level39 and entrepreneurs at different stages shared their lessons at various locations across the city, inspiring the aspiring founders.

Of course, I also spoke about my own career path. What mattered most to me was to point out that the students are exactly at the right age to start a start-up: no children, no mortgage, and free to base themselves wherever they choose. So let's get going!

Christoph from the UX firm thisplace.com moved from Switzerland to London in 2005. Of course, he spoke about the differences between the UK and Switzerland and shared his lessons. thisplace has since been sold to a Japanese company. His main message: connect with as many people as possible, stand out and rise above the crowd. Otherwise, you will not be noticed.

Work.Life Co-Working - real collaboration

We then went to Work.Life Fitzrovia in west London. The newest of the company's eight coworking spaces.

Elliot, co-founder of Work.Life, spoke at length about building his start-up. He too once sat comfortably in the corporate hamster wheel, with little risk and fully planned days. He and his co-founders set out to bring more life into everyday work. People should enjoy going to work, and they want to create that environment. And they do it very well. I work at Coworking London Fields myself. It is defined by an active community, is quiet and homely. The locations are deliberately kept small so everything stays personal and easy to oversee. It makes sense, because a person can hardly handle more than 150 friends and colleagues anyway.
Many coworking spaces make the mistake of seeing it only as a new model for renting office space. But above all, it is about building a community and offering long-term and short-term tenants as much flexibility as possible, but above all value and connections. Tip: if you are in London, book a free tour and work for a day for free.

Early-stage start-up GetDrank

Tim Hill usually works as technical director and designer at Ruin Studios. He later had a good idea, but made many mistakes when implementing it. He shared these with us: spend enough time understanding the target groups and their needs, research, research, research. And not just at the computer, but directly with the people.

Fintech

The fintech accelerator Level39 was also impressive. Before 2008, 90% of the value created in Canary Wharf came from traditional finance. Today, fintech start-ups are an essential part of this striking New York-style district.

Boxpark

The container shopping mall right next to Shoreditch High Street Station is a great start-up and is currently replicating its concept in Croydon and Wembley. It contributes to positive gentrification and, through its shopping and food containers, makes derelict areas more attractive.

Embassy and pitch session

Of course, a visit to the Swiss embassy was a must, and the highlight of the tour was certainly the pitch session. The students could work on their own start-up ideas full of inspiration and then present them. Life is a pitch!