Geovation Programme returns for 2019 to help start-ups break through

The application process has opened for the Programme, which is based at Geovation’s Hub in Clerkenwell, London.

The Accelerator Programme offers numerous advantages for GeoTech and PropTech start-ups. It puts people in touch with a network of mentors who are established entrepreneurs, industry leaders and advisors. A grant of £10,000 for six months, with the opportunity for another £10,000 afterwards, is available - along with 12 month’s free desk space at the hub. Programme members are given access to technical expertise, Ordnance Survey and HM Land Registry data, and open data sources. They also receive one-to-one sessions and workshops covering finance, fundraising, business planning, legal and intellectual property, company law, and coaching on presentations and pitching.

Alex Wrottesley, Head of Geovation, said: “We want to hear from any new start-ups, entrepreneurs and developers looking to solve customer problems with location data, or creating new digital solutions in the land and property sector. Geovation offers a unique combination of funding, expertise, relationships and resources and the teams on our Programme find themselves at the heart of our vibrant GeoTech and PropTech community.

“As well as financial assistance, mentoring and workshops, we are unique in providing access to a dedicated software development team in house, who work closely with our cohort companies to run lean experiments and build and release their first products.

“All of this combines to help these emerging start-ups break through.”

Backed by Ordnance Survey (OS) and HM Land Registry, the Accelerator Programme has produced a steady pipeline of success since its introduction in 2015. 84 start-ups have gone through the programme, creating more than 200 jobs and raising £23.3 million in investment funding.

Names to pass through the hub’s doors include property licensing data company Get Rentr, sexual harassment mapping app creators Safe In the City, and pay-as-you-fly commercial drone insurers Flock (which has gone on to raise nearly £3 million in investment funding).

Pae Natwilai, founder of drone software company Trik, was accepted on the programme last year. Her company automatically turns drone photo feeds into interactive 3D models for the structural inspections of buildings.

She said: “Through Geovation we have grown our team significantly and managed to secure pre-seed investment from two amazing investors, Alex Chesterman the founder of Zoopla and Simon Franks, founder of Lovefilm.

“Next for us is scaling up the system and marketing it globally.

“We are currently finalising a deal with a couple of large engineering enterprises both in the UK and internationally.”

Jonny Britton, co-founder of land data platform LandInsight, went through the programme in 2015. He said: “Geovation has a technical group of people who could give you real-time consultancy to how you can start moving faster with that data to put it into your products.

“Whenever you are with a group of people who are really pushing those boundaries, it’s a fantastic place to be.”

Olly Thornton-Berry is co-founder of PropTech start-up Thirdfort, which works with lawyers to securely hold money during property transactions.

He said: “Geovation has been immensely helpful, supporting us from incubation to a business with over £670k in funding, a testable product and two new developers working in house. We now feel we have a foundation to grow from and Geovation has been integral to that foundation.”

Another PropTech company aided by the programme was Hipla, which developed a Home Buyer Passport to improve transparency in the home buying process.

Co-founder Adam Phillips said: “Receiving backing, guidance and help from HM Land Registry, Geovation, and Ordnance Survey has helped our early stage start-up gain a much steadier footing than it otherwise would have done. Their help with early stage funding, office space, data and market insights has been invaluable. Their support has meant we are now in a much better position to deliver on our objectives of improving the home buying process.”