Work independently or start your own business with help from START UP
Help at any stage
Do you want to start or grow a business or independent career?
If you want to explore ideas, establish an innovative new service or use your skills and specialisms to create your own opportunities, we can help you at every stage of your journey from pre-idea to launch and beyond.
Our support to business founders, freelancers, and independent professionals includes confidential one-to-one coaching, online workshops, peer-support groups, equity-free grant funding, a business pre-accelerator programme, co-working space and more.
For founders and pioneers
We support all areas of the self-employed, working with hundreds of students and graduates as individuals or teams. There are currently 191 START UP-supported businesses trading with a combined annual turnover of almost £100 million. Between them, they've raised over £35 million in external investment, won national and global awards and created 672 full-time equivalent jobs.
START UP Coaching is free, confidential and tailored around the specific needs of you and your business or independent career.
You'll meet one-to-one with one of our START UP Advisers who all have first-hand experience of being self-employed and are well connected to our regional and national network of entrepreneurs. You'll gain their insights and direction on the steps to take to achieve your goals as well as relevant introductions to their extended network.
Book an appointment either online or in person, via MyCareer.
START UP Space is a free, open plan co-working area located on Level 1 of the King’s Gate building with space for group work, formal meetings and informal conversations. Simply turn up with your laptop or use one of our open access workstations whenever you need a city-centre base. Features and covid-safety measures in place include:
antibacterial wipes for you to clean desks and shared equipment before and after use
hand sanitiser to keep your hands clean
disposable masks to wear when you're not sat down
partition screens between desks
a meeting table and TV screen with HDMI connector for presenting
START UP Huddles are our peer-learning and support groups for those already working with a START UP Adviser. They'll help you share your journey with likeminded peers so you can network and take on challenges together. If you'd like to join a huddle, ask your START UP Adviser.
We endorse eligible international students who want to remain in the UK after graduation to develop and grow an innovative, viable and scalable, UK-based business through the government's Start-up Visa route. Read more about our START UP visa endorsement.
