Case Study: SETsquared (university business incubator) achieves startup–investor connections and funding access with Hivebrite

How SETsquared Partnership connects its university-affiliated startups with investors and opportunities

SETsquared Partnership is a UK university business incubator working with six universities to support startups from inception to exit and has helped entrepreneurs raise £3.9 billion since 2002. After 2020 the organization needed a more digital-first way to foster connections among its diverse audiences (investors, academics, startups and support providers) and to reduce its “gatekeeper” role, so it built an Innovation Platform on Hivebrite.

Hivebrite delivered a customizable, professional and user-friendly community platform launched in 2022 that “democratized” connections and supports programs like funding applications and investor showcases. As a result, SETsquared’s community now has 561 users (nearly 500 companies), a 65% activation rate for incubator-affiliated companies, and 9 targeted sub-groups — outcomes attributed to the Hivebrite platform’s flexibility and ease of use.

SETsquared

Lydia Green

Innovation Manager