We’ve partnered with Barclays Eagle Labs and UK Government to deliver two new programmes: Product Builder and Scaleup. Our work together is in keeping with Plexal’s mission of solving society’s challenges through collaboration with government, startups and industry.
The programmes will be funded through the Government’s £12m Digital Growth Grant, with an ambition to tackle some of the key issues businesses face and drive regional growth in the UK tech sector.
Here’s what you need to know to get involved.
Barclays Eagle Labs Product Builder Programme powered by Plexal, funded by the UK Government
Product Builder is designed to fit around the busy lives of budding entrepreneurs. This online programme will teach you how to develop, test and validate a digital product.
We believe in the power of collaboration and digitally-enabled innovation to solve society’s challenges. Throughout this programme you’ll work with experts and meet likeminded founders to share your journey.
- Applications open – Tuesday 2nd May 2023
- Applications close – Thursday 15th June 2023
- Programme launch – Monday 3rd July 2023
Intrigued? Register your interest.
Why join?
With support from best-in-class speakers, mentors and course materials, our Product Builder Programme will help you accelerate your product from idea to build.
By the end of the programme, you’ll have rapidly prototyped your digital offering, tested it with users, validated it with industry experts and produced a pitch deck to take it to market. Please note, we will not take any equity or intellectual property if you’re selected to be part of the programme.
Who’s it for?
Our Product Builder programme is for anyone looking to learn the fundamentals of designing and testing a digital product. Whether you have an idea or industry expertise with a desire to innovate, this programme will teach you the core technical and business skills that’ll take you to the next level.
- Future founders with an idea
If you have an innovative idea, the programme will allow you to carve out time to work on your product. We’ll help you stress-test the validity of your idea, introduce you to industry experts and help you understand basic product build principles. You’ll also be surrounded with like-minded individuals to learn from and could even meet your future co-founder. - Budding entrepreneurs
If you have an area of industry or academic expertise and are looking to innovate, the programme will help you validate your market, create a value proposition and test an MVP. We’ll teach you the fundamentals of ideation and rapid prototyping, all while networking with others that could help you on your journey.
Barclays Eagle Labs Scaleup Programme powered by Plexal, funded by the UK Government
This six-month programme is designed to support scaleups as they navigate their rapid growth trajectory. Through a connected UK-wide ecosystem of founders, mentors, investors and customers, all content is tailored to address the unique challenges faced by the nation’s fastest growing scaleups. By using the power of collaboration and digitally-enabled innovation this programme supports scaleups to solve society’s biggest challenges, from building healthy communities to enabling sustainable innovation.
- Applications open – June 2023
- Applications close – August 2023
- Programme launch – September 2023
Intrigued? Register your interest.
Why join?
You want to scale to the next level and we want to help you.
You’ll have access to mentors and qualified coaches to tackle your specific business challenges; connect and collaborate with leaders at some of the UK’s fastest growing scaleups; build meaningful relationships with industry, corporate specialists and bodies, potential investors and customers. Please note, we will not take any equity or intellectual property if you’re selected to be part of the programme.
Who’s it for?
This programme has been specifically designed for companies demonstrating the greatest potential to grow and flourish. We’re looking for applications from businesses with more than ten employees, c.£1m and above in turnover or investment and 20% growth in turnover and employees each year for the past three years.
The programme is sector and technology-agnostic and could include tackling challenges such as mental health, ageing societies, clean growth, productivity, inequality or otherwise.
Are you using technology to help solve society’s challenges, from supporting healthy communities to enabling sustainable innovation? We want to hear from you.
Hannah Bernard, Head of Business Banking, Barclays said: “We are delighted to continue to play a role in driving growth within the UK tech sector by helping startups, scaleups and entrepreneurs build successful businesses. The Digital Growth Grant will make our support accessible to even more businesses up and down the country and enable us to provide tailored growth programmes, first-class business mentoring and access to even more resources to drive further growth.
“By leveraging the depth and breadth of our wider banking connections, supporting our communities and enabling entrepreneurs to develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed, we are helping all businesses to grow. This is the ethos that has been driving Barclays Eagle Labs since its inception in 2015 and drives every single colleague in our broader Business Banking team.”
Read on for more detail in The Times article by Richard Tyler – Barclays’ £12m grant to fuel tech start-ups in the regions.
