The UK startup sector has long been a much-cherished part of the British economy, with major new companies launched regularly. But the pipeline of new ideas and new talent is likely to grow even stronger thanks to a suite of services to support the tech ecosystem. Early stage startups within the United Kingdom can call upon a powerful resource to help them turn their ideas into reality.
Eagle Labs, an initiative from Barclays bank, has created the Eagle Labs Academy—an online learning platform packed with practical guides, mentoring sessions, and inspirational founder stories—alongside a package of support available to tech startups and scaleups funded by the Digital Growth Grant from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Whether you’re a student dreaming up your first side-hustle or a scaling startup seeking rocket fuel for further growth, the Eagle Labs Academy aims to make entrepreneurship accessible for all. Users can dip in and out of self-paced lessons across modules covering everything from sourcing cofounders to fundraising, product design, and leadership. The resources have been designed to help those setting up their tech-focused businesses to scale, and are provided free of charge to founders and users.
The goal of the Eagle Labs Academy, which launched on January 9, is to equip founders with the skills, knowledge, and connections to navigate every stage of their startup journey. The interactive platform features downloadable templates and toolkits designed to accelerate progress. Ever-evolving content will continue to be added, leveraging the advice of those who have already accelerated their business.
Expertise from partners who have gone through that journey, or who can offer help and support to newly-founded businesses in the tech space, is included throughout the Eagle Labs Academy journey. The range of delivery partners offering participants their specialist insights include AccelerateHER, Capital Enterprise, CodeBase, Foundervine, and Plexal.
The Eagle Labs initiative was created by Barclays in 2015 to support the UK’s fast-growing tech and innovation sector. In the past twelve months, it has supported over 4,500 businesses who have benefitted from mentoring and business growth initiatives. Alongside the latest unveiling of its Eagle Labs Academy, Eagle Labs also offers free access to thought-leadership report insights, and one-to-one mentorship from more than 50 innovative and experienced industry leaders.
The Academy aims to turbocharge founders’ ambitions, connecting them to the help they need regardless of background, location or stage of business. You can quickly and easily get answers to the key questions that most founders ponder, from how to raise capital, to when you might want to make your first hire.
Eagle Labs has partnered with experts from the UK’s bustling startup ecosystem, who have contributed mentor interviews, how-to content and inspirational founder stories that are featured on the platform—allowing those struggling with the intricacies of setting up their tech business to get tips and tricks from those who have been there and done that, learning from their mistakes and capitalising on their successes.
Just come up with the idea for your startup or a minimum viable product? There are tips on how to set yourself up for maximum success. Alternatively, if you’re at the stage where you’ve got the basics in place and are looking to scale up significantly, the platform can provide practical considerations for growth, leading to tailored support through Barclays’ industry-leading programmes.
Whether accessed via desktop, tablet or mobile, the Eagle Labs Academy platform promises a user-friendly learning experience for founders. Progress can be easily tracked via personalised dashboards, with lessons consumed through articles, videos, and downloadable materials.
It’s all in aid of supporting founders, who are often time-poor and need to tackle the most pressing challenges they face at a time and pace of their choosing. Many of the initial lessons focus on crucial subjects such as product design, fundraising, marketing, and scaling a startup. But a wide span of content also caters to early-stage founders, covering areas including building your founding team, structuring share allocation, and testing initial ideas. You can pick and choose in what order you look at modules, and don’t need to complete one to see the next: It’s tailor-made for maximum success.
Registration is free and open to any UK-based founder, not just Barclays customers. All users need to do is create a free account to access the learning materials. If you or your cofounders have questions about setting up your business that aren’t covered in the online materials, you can smoothly transition from digital lessons to real-world support—making the Eagle Labs Academy a uniquely valuable proposition.
You can turn that idea of setting up a business “one day” into “day one” of your startup via the online learning platform. If you feel it’s time to shift your entrepreneurial dreams into gear, head to the Eagle Labs Academy website to sign up.
