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King’s Entrepreneurship Institute

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Idea Factory

Everything begins with an idea...

Idea Factory is King's incubation programme and competition, open to King's students, staff and alumni. 

Got a problem you care about solving? You might have the start of an idea or have already begun exploring a solution. Idea Factory helps you take it further. 

You'll speak to potential customers, test your thinking and find out if your idea is worth pursuing. You'll also meet other founders, get feedback along the way and compete for a share of £9,000 in funding. 

Idea Factory 2026-27

Idea Factory kicks off in October, and will end on 17 February 2027 with 10 teams competing at the final Pitch Off. To get started, sign up to our online Launch event on 21 October to find out what to expect from this year's programme and hear from previous participants. 

Applications open on 5 December. In preparation, we'll run four practical workshops online from 28 October to 25 November. You will work on your own idea, learn how to find the right people to speak to and start having useful conversations with potential customers. Sign-up for the workshops is opening soon.

Prizes

Winners of Idea Factory will receive a share of £9,000 to help develop their ideas, as well as mentoring, and access to desk space at the Entrepreneurship Institute hub.

FAQs

The competition is open to King’s students, staff and alumni. External participants are only eligible as part of a team lead by someone affiliated to King's. Previous applicants and semi-finalists can re-apply with the same idea.

You can enter solo or as a team. If you apply as a team, the Lead Applicant must be affiliated to King's (as student, staff or alumni) and will submit one application on behalf of the team.

No, you can take part with an early idea that you are still exploring. You do not need a finished product, business plan or polished pitch. The workshops are there to help you understand the problem you want to solve, speak to potential customers and develop your thinking before you apply.

You can still apply to Idea Factory if you are unable to attend the workshops. We highly recommend joining the sessions, as they are designed to help you explore your idea and prepare for the application at a comfortable pace. All of the online sessions will be recorded.

We want to understand the problem you are trying to solve and what you have learned from speaking to people who experience it. Your application should tell us who the problem affects, what you found out through your research, and how those conversations have shaped your thinking. You do not need to make your idea sound perfect; we want to understand what you have actually learned.

Yes. International students are welcome to take part in Idea Factory, including students on a UK Student visa. You can join the workshops, carry out customer research and take part in the early-stage validation activities covered by the programme. However, a Student visa does not allow you to be self-employed or engage in certain types of business activity. This can include trading as a sole trader or partnership, acting as a company director, or working for a company in which you hold 10% or more of the shares. If you are unsure whether something you plan to do is permitted, please contact the King’s Visa & International Student Advice team for guidance.

Yes. Idea Factory is open to ideas for charities and social enterprises as well as commercial ventures.

No. Your idea can address a problem or opportunity in the UK or elsewhere in the world.