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photo of Ben Cole speaking at previous Venture Crawl event

31 Jan 2019

Loughborough University alumni help launch #LondonVenture Crawl 2019

Two of the University’s entrepreneurial alumni helped launch this year’s London #VentureCrawl last night (Wednesday 30 January), which will see Loughborough join 12 other universities on a day of urban entrepreneurship exploration.

The London #VentureCrawl takes place on 20 March, when more than 300 of London’s most entrepreneurially curious students get together for a trip across the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Students are taken on specially chartered London buses to visit some of the area’s most successful high growth companies, as well as the accelerators, incubators and investors that supported them to scale. They also get to hear from VIP guests and mentors and take part in business challenges and workshops.

#VentureCrawl ends with a huge networking opportunity and a chance for a lucky few students to pitch their ideas to a panel of investors.

The event is designed to give students the opportunity to connect to real-world businesses, be inspired by the UK’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and gain skills in self-confidence, creative thinking and leadership.

Loughborough alumni Laurence Kemball-Cook, founder and CEO of Pavegen, and Christina Akintoye, founder of Honey’s Skincare, were both part of last year’s #VentureCrawl and joined yesterday’s launch to explain why they got involved.

Ben Cole, Stakeholder Development Manager for Loughborough University London who hosted the launch said: “Learning is not just about being in the classroom; it’s about getting out there and experiencing how it’s done.

“Entrepreneurship is not a spectator sport and in London we have an unrivalled eco-system that supports our entrepreneurs – it’s on our doorstep, part of our network and hugely valuable to introduce our students to. It’s great to join events like the London #VentureCrawl and show students what is possible and it is wonderful that our alumni support activity like this.”

Successfully piloted in 2017 by King’s College London and expanded in 2018 to nine London universities, the 2019 Venture Crawl is a unique partnership between King’s College London, UCL, London South Bank University, Brunel University London, The University of Westminster, Loughborough University London, Birkbeck University of London, University of East London, London College of Fashion, The University of Greenwich, City, University of London, Regent’s University London. 

To get involved in this year’s London #VentureCrawl please contact b.p.cole@lboro.ac.uk.