Startup Manufactory Ltd
Startup Manufactory is a London-based organisation that actively promotes entrepreneurship through a variety of ecosystem activities such as hosting startup events, public speaking and lecturing at universities. Startup Manufactory also provides expertise to organisations conducting public policy research.
The firm was founded in 2013 by Matt Kuppers, a former PhD student at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and is part of the European startup ecosystem. Enterprising Oxford, a University of Oxford initiative to help encourage and support entrepreneurs, reported that the firm has been nick-named "McKinsey for Startups".
Entrepreneurship education and public speaking
The firm encourages entrepreneurship through holding numerous workshops, courses, and lectures at universities and events in the European Union on various topics, including product development, angel investing and business plan development. It is a fixture at London Business School, and founder Matt Kuppers also mentors at the Entrepreneurship Summer School, an initiative run by Professor Jeff Skinner. The firm also developed and taught an ECTS-accredited 60-hour course in entrepreneurship named Startup Academy at INSEEC Business School London in 2015 which was endorsed by Director Ron Morris. Other activities include speaking at events at the University of Oxford, the London School of Economics and Political Science, events at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and at Orange Grove Athens, the incubator of the Embassy of the Netherlands. Startup Manufactory also talked with Aggarwal, founder of ShopClues and Droom during Startup Expo 2016 in Bangalore, India who serves as a role model for millions of young founders in India. Most notably, Startup Manufactory developed an angel investor course named Angel Academy, which was piloted with London Business School in 2016 and promoted by the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) and Tech London.
European Commission and Startup Europe
In 2015, the firm widened their scope and began supporting Startup Europe, an initiative of the European Commission. Startup Europe, headed by Isidro Laso Ballesteros and Bogdan Florin Ceobanu, aims to strengthen the business environment for web and ICT entrepreneurs so that their ideas and business can start and grow in the EU. Startup Europe work with a number of partners across the European Union who execute its affiliated startup projects. In partnership with FACE Entrepreneurship, financed under the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Commission, Startup Manufactory delivered a workshop titled Financial Fears at Wayra UK. In February 2016, Startup Manufactory co-organised Startup Europe Week London, an initiative implemented by Startup Europe Week. In one week, 16 startup events were held across London with a wide range of topics and over 2,500 tickets sold. Startup Manufactory also delivered a talk and chaired a panel discussion about how universities can promote startups at the We Start Lisbon conference held at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, backed by the Startup Europe project MY-WAY. In 2016, Matt Kuppers became an Independent Expert at the European Commission, evaluating EU-funded research projects as part of Horizon 2020.
Public Policy Research
In 2015, Startup Manufactory provided expertise to the Cologne Institute for Economic Research as part of their research for a study titled "Entrepreneurial culture and start-ups" for the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. In the same year Startup Manufactory also contributed to a study titled "Road mapping, Research Coordination and Policy activities supporting Future Internet-based Enterprise Innovation" by The FutureEnterprise project co-funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme and edited by the European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs.
Commercialisation of scientific research
In June 2016, Startup Manufactory was engaged by LSE Enterprise, the commercial arm of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) as a consultant. The founder Matt Kuppers joined as an Innovation and Commercialisation Manager to support academics looking to commercialise their IP and increase their impact through creating successful spin-off companies.
Consulting services
Startup Manufactory calls itself a "Startup Consulting Firm" as its services are geared towards individuals looking to start a business, startup companies and small and medium-sized enterprises. The services provided range from startup consulting, business plans, market research, venture feasibility studies, to financial modelling. Over the past years, Startup Manufactory supported numerous founders from the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East.