Testimonials
Crowdmixx Labs
the company behind Apptual.com, a crowd innovation platform for anyone wanting to turn their idea into reality: from mobile apps, to websites to new business propositions. “Collaborating with UCL has been invaluable because it has given us early market exposure to shape and refine our product while creating a track record. It allowed us to adjust our revenue model and adapt our product accordingly”
– Luke Raskino, Co-Founder & CEO
About
DECIDE (Digital Enterprise: Collaborative Innovation, Development and Evaluation) is a groundbreaking programme, enabling SMEs to trial their products and services within the UCL community and campus. This includes platforms to support digital development – such as the UCL App Store for mobile testing and collecting first user data – as well as access to assets for exploring new business models – like data or digital media.
We can support physical system deployment through m-payments or loyalty card programs in VCL, our virtual currency lab. UXL is our Living Lab for rapid field testing of products and services, with access to insights and opinions from our 22,000 strong student body. DECIDE also facilitates access to core UCL resources, including research and dissertation projects, internships and business support.
DECIDE is managed by UCL Advances, the center for entrepreneurship and business interaction at UCL, which is consistently rated among the top ten universities in the world. UCL has an extensive history of successful partnerships, involving businesses of all sizes, drawing on an ecosystem that includes academics, industrial partners and some of London’s most exciting start-ups.
What we can help you with
DECIDE can help SMEs that require new product or service validation support. To this end if you are accepted onto the programme, our team will help you refine your proposal, support trial design and development, provide feedback on technical feasibility, and enable access to focus groups and data collection.
The benefits of working with us
The importance of evaluating and validating the efficacy of products and services for early stage businesses cannot be underestimated. Bringing a new product or service to market involves estimating many unknowns; evaluating technical risks, responding to consumer feedback and fine tuning market positioning. All of this takes time and money, but it also often requires a scale of commitment that limits innovation in small companies.
By offering UCL as a “living-lab” in which new products and services can be tested, DECIDE will enable SMEs to gain access to domain expertise, platform support and sample customers that are typically beyond the means of all but the largest enterprises, helping businesses to “decide” how and when to launch, raise capital and overcome barriers to market acceptance.
And, moreover, our service is free of charge.
