Case Study: King’s College London turns research into startups and boosts graduate entrepreneurship with Wazoku

King’s College London - Customer Case Study

King’s College London, partnering with InnoCentive/Wazoku, created the Lion’s Den Challenge to address high graduate unemployment and to encourage postgraduate and PhD researchers to consider entrepreneurship as a career path. The challenge targeted students who do research but weren’t part of the business community, aiming to turn research ideas into viable businesses through a structured competition and practical training.

The programme combined marketing outreach, a launch event, four expert-led workshops, networking and mentorship, online submissions and judged pitches, plus post-competition support via Lion’s Den Plus and Enterprise Connect. Results include several successful ventures (notably CellCap Therapeutics, which later attracted $1M in research funding), winners who left jobs to launch businesses, broader skills and confidence among participants, and a stronger entrepreneurial culture at King’s.

King’s College London

Michael Hill-King

Director of Partnerships & Consultancy