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Driving a new wave of tech entrepreneurs in London

Posted on Feb 09, 2015 by  | 0 Comments

London is increasingly the place to be for ambitious tech entrepreneurs in the UK. Every month, we hear new reports of exciting new initiatives for start-ups in London; January has been no exception.

One of the main news stories of the past month has come from CyberLondon (CyLon). CyLon will be Europe’s first accelerator programme focused solely on cyber security tech start-ups. Opening its doors in the Spring, CyLon hopes to drive the next generator of cyber security tech innovators.

CyLon has been co-founded by Alex van Someren of Amadeus Capital Partners (van Someren previously co-founded internet security start-up nCipher, which was taken public in 2000). His fellow co-founders are Grace Cassy and Jonathan Luff of strategic technology consultancy Epsilon Advisory Partners.

Sitting on the advisory board are John Bradford, of start-up accelerator Techstars, and Eileen Burbridge of Venture Capital firm Passion Capital.

CyLon is launching its first 13 week programme in April. With funding available for up to 10 teams a year, CyLon is hoping to attract applicants from a range of industries including defence, health and retail. It promises to connect its team up to a host of mentors including “key government agencies, successful cyber entrepreneurs, academic experts and leaders of business that depend on cyber-security to succeed”. With such a wealth of expertise at their fingertips, tech teams who are successful will be sure to reap the benefits of their participation. Certainly, participants are assured of a dynamic environment with access to like-minded entrepreneurs and experts in the field.

CyLon’s closing date for applications to its first programme closes on 2nd March 2014. If you think your start-up could be part of the new wave of cyber security tech stars, then this is an opportunity you do not want to slip through your fingers.

Another exciting new London-based initiative comes in the form of Property Innovation Labs (Pi Labs).

Pi Labs will be another European first: a property-focused tech accelerator. It too will offer a 13 week intensive mentor-led programme, culminating in a series of Investor events attended by angel investors, Venture capital and Private Equity groups.

Pi Labs has been founded by Faisal Butt (co-founder and CEO of Spire Ventures) and Umesh Kumar (former associate of Techstars and Oxygen). It will be operating in partnership with global real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield and property VC Spire Ventures.

Butt explained that he hopes Pi Labs will “help spawn the next wave of tech company success stories”. His vision is to make the UK the centre for innovative property start-ups within Europe, and to empower high-calibre start-up ventures to become a success in their field.

Both Pi Labs and Cylon look set to establish themselves as the leading London-based accelerators in their respective sectors, and it will be interesting to see how they develop. Other key and established London accelerators include Level 39 (the leading Fintech accelerator) and White Bear Yard (co-working space).

In future blogs we will look at other accelerators outwith London, so watch this space…

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