Labs Launch 2013

Labs London 2013 Event @ WayraUK

On March 5, 2013, we celebrated the launch of Labs London 2013 with an event held at Wayra UK.  The  launch was an opportunity to meet the team behind Labs and gain some valuable insight into what the Labs programme has to offer digital media start-ups.

The event kicked off with an introduction to the scheme by Labs Programme Director Astrid Sandoval and was then followed by a discussion about the value of incubators, accelerators and  start-up weekend sessions. Overall the discussion was in favour of such programmes although the panel, moderated by Claude London, Digital Director for BBC Worldwide, all agreed that it was important to find the right programme for your company.

Panellist Ashley Stockwell – Academy Director, WayraUK, argued that as a start-up you need to look at what is being offered and work out what is good for your company. Simon Davies from Labs start-up Yakatak encouraged companies to seek the best they can, saying that if you know you are good, go to a good and credible incubator or accelerator.

The panellists were …

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Labs Chat 2

#LabsChat 27 February Overview

On Wednesday the 27th of February Labs held our first ever tweet chat on ‘Finding the right incubator or accelerator for your start-up’. We asked a total of seven questions during the hour long chat.

With the help of our contributors – Ingenious Britain, Seedcamp and General Assembly London the discussion was off to a fantastic start.

Here are the highlights and key takeaways from the tweet chat.

1.When should a start-up look to join (at what phase/stage)?

The general consensus here was that there was no one size fits all model although most tended to view the programmes as being most beneficial for those in the early stages. There was however an emphasis placed on there being a multitude of programmes catering for different types of companies at different stages.

@twhicher  added that his company found it valuable at the pre-growth stage. He clarified pre-growth to mean before a product-market fit has been found and ideas are still being tried – there is a product but not serious traction. He found the programme …

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Tweet Chat

@BBCWLabs Tweet Chat: Finding the Right Incubator or Accelerator for Your Start-up

BBC Worldwide Labs is excited to announce that we are hosting our very first tweet chat!

In advance of our Labs London 2013 launch, we are hosting a tweet chat focusing around the topic of ‘Finding the right incubator or accelerator for your start-up,’ #LabsChat is set to take place Wednesday 27th February at 5pm GMT (12pm EST).

With Seedcamp, General Assembly and Ingenious Britain all joining in, #LabsChat is set to be fun, informative and full of great tips and advice for those involved in the start-up scene.

About our contributors

Seedcamp is Europe’s leading micro-seed investment fund and mentoring program and are the most connected international seed investor in the world. Since launching in 2007, their family now includes more than 80 of Europe’s most promising startups with several acquisitions.

General Assembly transforms thinkers into creators through education and opportunities in technology, business, and design.

Ingenious Britain is a campaign designed around, focused on, and created for small businesses and their needs.

When: Wednesday 27th February

Time: 5pm GMT (12pm EST)

Where: #LabsChat

Topic:  Finding the right incubator or …

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Labs London 2013 v3

BBC Worldwide Labs unveils second programme for 2013

We are delighted to announce that Labs will be opening its doors for the 2013 mentorship scheme in June.

An induction session will be held on March 5 at Wayra’s Academy in London, giving hopeful applicants the opportunity to meet and hear from members of Labs team.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from Claude London, Digital Director, BBC Worldwide, Yakatak’s Simon Davies, MiniMono’s Melissa Clark-Reynolds, Flooved’s Hamish Brocklebank, Wayra’s Academy Director Ashley Stockwell and Google Campus’ Eze Vidra, as they discuss the value of programmes such as business accelerators, incubators, and weekend start-up sessions.  The Labs 2012 start-ups will also cover the opportunities and experiences they have been given via the Labs mentorship scheme.

Labs was first launched in September 2012, with six of the UK’s most exciting digital start-ups – wireWax, KO-SU, Flooved, Yakatak, MiniMonos and Foodity. Over the course of the past six months the start-ups have been integrated into BBC Worldwide’s ecosystem, working with experts across the business including technology, content, legal, advertising, marketing and sales.  They have also had opportunities to work with a host …

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GoodFood Foodity

Labs signs first commercial deal with Foodity

We are thrilled to announce our first commercial deal.

Foodity has now become the first Labs start-up to sign a commercial deal with BBC Worldwide.  BBC Good Food and Tesco will enter a partnership to bring the supermarket’s online shopping experience to GoodFood.com users.

BBC Good Food is one of the UK’s biggest recipe sites, and “with Foodity onboard,  Tesco’s online customers’ baskets will be automatically filled with ingredients, and it means they can shop at Tesco without leaving the GoodFood site.” (Paul Sawers, TNW)

“Our ambition when launching BBC Worldwide Labs was to discover some of the UK’s most talented digital startups who could share their knowledge and offer technology solutions to both BBC Worldwide and other publishers in the hope that partnerships like today’s would be struck … We are delighted by the news of this partnership that clearly supports the vision and objectives behind Labs.” Jenny Fielding, Head of BBC Worldwide Labs and Digital Ventures.

Read the full article by Paul Sawers, The Next Web

Published: 11 February 2013

To learn more about the Labs commercial deal, check out our 

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