When starting a business, it can sometimes be hard to know how to take the first step, or to know if you’re ‘doing the right thing’. This is why we created Summer Startup.
Summer Startup is London Met’s flagship 6-week incubator programme that gives early-stage entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, and support needed to test ideas and turn them into viable business ventures.
Delivered in weekly sessions, the programme covers all the key startup topics such as idea testing, validation and viability, branding and marketing, customer discovery and acquisition, pitching and the fundamentals of finance and law.
About Summer Startup
Summer Startup is an intensive, hands-on programme designed to help you take a business idea from concept to execution. Explore your idea, test its potential, develop practical business skills and build the knowledge and confidence to take your next steps.
Through a structured programme of weekly workshops, guidance and practical activities, you’ll work through the essential stages of building your business – from testing your idea and finding customers to developing your brand, pitching your venture and understanding the legal and financial basics.
What you’ll explore
- Test and Validate Your Idea – Explore your idea, assess its viability and find out whether there’s a real opportunity in the market.
- Find Your Customers – Identify your target audience, understand their needs and develop strategies to reach your first customers.
- Build Your Brand and Marketing – Create a compelling brand and explore practical ways to market your product, service or venture.
- Develop Your Business Model – Turn your idea into a viable business by exploring how you’ll create, deliver and generate value.
- Pitch Your Venture – Develop your story, sharpen your pitch and learn how to communicate your idea to potential investors, partners and others.
- Understand Finance and Law – Get to grips with essential financial, legal and intellectual property considerations for starting and running a business.
- Learn from Experts – Get guidance, feedback and insights from experienced entrepreneurs and industry professionals.
- Build Your Network – Join a community of like-minded students and graduates, share ideas and make valuable connections.
By the end of the programme, you’ll have tested your idea, developed your business thinking and built practical tools and skills to help you move forward.
Regular workshops
Two of the most valuable parts of Summer Startup are the weekly workshops and regular accountability check-ins.
Our hands-on workshops are designed to give you the practical skills, tools and knowledge you need to shape, test and validate your business idea. You’ll put what you learn into practice and make real progress on your venture each week.
Accountability check-ins help you stay focused and motivated throughout the programme. They give you the opportunity to reflect on your progress, tackle challenges, set clear goals and keep building momentum.
Key dates for Summer Startup 2027
Applications open: Monday 1 March 2027
Applications close: Sunday 2 May 2027
Application outcomes: Monday 10 May 2027
Programme sessions
Pre-programme Welcome: Friday 21 May 2027, 1pm to 3pm
Week 1: Wednesday 26 May 2027, 1pm to 4pm
Week 2: Wednesday 2 June 2027, 1pm to 4pm
Week 3: Wednesday 9 June 2027, 1pm to 4pm
Week 4: Wednesday 16 June 2027, 1pm to 4pm
Week 5: Wednesday 23 June 2027, 1pm to 4pm
Week 6: Wednesday 30 June 2027, 1pm to 4pm
Commitment
Summer Startup is designed to support students and graduates who want to make meaningful progress on their business idea.
Alongside the weekly face-to-face sessions, you’ll need to make time between sessions to put what you learn into practice – testing, developing and refining your idea.
We know that students and graduates have busy schedules and other commitments, so you don’t need to have everything figured out before you start. However, making time to work on your idea between sessions and engaging fully with the programme will help you get the most from the experience and make real progress each week.
You’ll be supported throughout with guidance, feedback and accountability check-ins to help you focus your time, overcome challenges and keep moving forward.