The power of ideas: Celebrating UCL startups

On 3 July, UCL’s entrepreneurial community gathered to celebrate the remarkable achievements of UCL startups. The event was held at BaseKX, UCL’s dedicated entrepreneurship hub in King’s Cross.

The event began with a fireside chat with UCL alumnus Jacob Wedderburn-Day (MSc Economics), co-founder and CEO of Stasher. Jacob shared his entrepreneurial journey and how support from UCL helped him. He also shared his top tips for aspiring entrepreneurs and gave some insight into what’s next for Stasher.

Following Jacob’s talk, three participants on the UCL Venture Builder programme delivered a 90-second elevator pitch, showing the exciting new business ideas coming out of UCL.

UCL Venture Builder is a free 10-week programme open to UCL students, staff and recent alumni with an entrepreneurial idea. The programme helps participants get their idea ready for market and prepares them for the next steps on their entrepreneurial journey.

The spotlight then turned to startups in the Hatchery incubator programme, with awards acknowledging their impressive growth and contribution to the UCL entrepreneurial ecosystem. The winning startups received between £1,500 and £2,500 to develop their businesses.

The evening finished with a BBQ and networking session in the BaseKX courtyard.

Jerry Allen, Director for Entrepreneurship, UCL Innovation & Enterprise, said: “It was a fantastic evening celebrating our enterprising UCL community. We’re delighted to see so many of our entrepreneurs achieving great things. Many congratulations to all the award winners and we look forward to following your journeys.” 

The winners

UCL Hatchery Startup of the Year Award: Pentestify

Awarded for their resilience, ingenuity and commitment throughout the year.

Founded by Andrew Law (MA Business Administration and Management) and Lucas Martin Calderon (MSc Information Security), Pentestify provides continuous smart contract vulnerability detection to secure decentralised finance protocols against the rising threats of smart contract hacks.

Andrew said: "Winning the Startup of the Year award is a humbling recognition of our journey and the collaboration we’ve had with UCL over the last eight months. From support in research and grants through the Centre for Blockchain Technologies, to the networking provided by the Hatchery, support from people and teams across UCL has been a cornerstone in our success.”

Lucas said: “We've received tremendous support from the UCL Innovation & Enterprise teams who supported us in securing over £100,000 in grant funding, accessing a network of investors, and securing key partnerships with academic institutions and government organisations."

UCL Hatchery Engagement Award: Building Bones

Awarded for their outstanding engagement with the Hatchery incubator programme community and commitment to supporting fellow Hatchery members.

Building Bones, founded by Jenni Dowley (MSc Digital Health and Entrepreneurship), provides a tailored strength and conditioning programme to support bone health.

UCL 2024 Hatchery Intake Award: Someone Else’s Eyes

Awarded to the top-performing startup from the 2024 Spring and Autumn cohorts.

Founded by Samuel Landau (PhD Applied Psychology), Someone Else’s Eyes is a specialist consultancy which uses psychology to bring about organisational change.

UCL Hatchery Sustainability Impact Award: Major Books

Awarded to a company that integrates sustainable practices into their core business.

Founded by Kim Trần Thủy Thiên (MA Ethnographic and Documentary Filmmaking), Major Books is an independent press company dedicated to bringing Vietnamese literature to the English-speaking world.

UCL Hatchery Breaking Barriers Award: Empower Sounds Media

This award is presented to a company that champions equity, diversity and inclusion.

Founded by Maahika Singh (BA Geography), Empower Sounds Media helps female founders and social enterprises craft compelling narratives through professional storytelling.

UCL Hatchery Newbie Award: Consus Energy

This award highlights a startup from our latest cohort that has positively impacted and engaged with the Hatchery community.

Consus Energy will harness funded battery storage communities to make clean, affordable energy accessible to all. The startup was co-founded by William Moore (BA Geography) and Ethan McNeil (BSc Physics).

All winning entrepreneurs have been supported by UCL Innovation & Enterprise via the Hatchery incubator programme.

UCL Tech for Good Competition

Awards were also presented to the winners of The UCL Tech for Good Competition, a flagship entrepreneurial initiative led by the UCL Centre for Digital Innovation. The programme supports UCL students, alumni, academics and collaborators with evidence-based, commercially viable, and sustainable technological innovations.

Awards went to:

• Eye2Gene, a business accelerating diagnosis for patients with genetic eye disease through the power of AI, co-founded by Nikolas Pontikos, William Woof, Mark Fisher and Ismail Moghul.
• EuthaSafe, an electronically locked container aiming to reduce death by suicide in the veterinary community, co-founded by Steven Murdoch and Rob Walden.
• Dr Julian Medical Group Ltd, a platform for personalised mental healthcare through digital therapy delivery, self-help tools, and outcome tracking, founded by Dr Julian Nesbitt.

Entrepreneurial support at UCL

UCL’s thriving entrepreneurial community creates startups that attract millions of pounds of investment, creating jobs and spearheading innovation that boosts the UK economy.

Over the last five years more than 400 new student startups were created at UCL. Collectively they have raised over £356 million in external investment and currently employ over 1,900 people (HEBCI 2019-2024).

UCL’s most promising startups, founded by UCL students, staff and recent graduates, can apply to join UCL’s competitive and equity free Hatchery startup incubator programme. You’ll have access to tailored advice, mentorship and free office space. Surrounded by UCL’s expertise, resources and community, you’ll be in the very best place to grow your venture and make it a success.

Other entrepreneurial support includes workshops, masterclasses, programmes and events. Whether you want to build new skills to get ahead in your career, get a head start on working for yourself, or work with us on your own impactful venture, our extra-curricular entrepreneurship programme can help you create your own inspiring future. 

Links

Find out more about:

• Entrepreneurship support for UCL students, staff and recent graduates
• UCL's Hatchery incubator startup programme

Top photo: The winners of the Hatchery awards 2025: Andrew Law, Ethan McNeil, Samuel Landau, William Moore, Jenni Dowley, Maahika Singh.

Second photo: Jerry Allen, Director for Entrepreneurship, UCL Innovation & Enterprise, and Andrew Law, Co-founder of Pentestify.

Both photos by Juste Galminaite ©