ESCP Business School joins London Venture Crawl 2026

Open to higher education institutions from London and beyond, the Venture Crawl offers participants first-hand insight into what it takes to build and scale a business in one of the world’s most dynamic startup ecosystems.
 

Supported by ESCP's European Blue Factory business incubator, this inter-university event provided students with an opportunity to visit innovation hubs, startup networks and entrepreneurial support spaces across London, exploring resources available to anyone looking to establish a business in the UK.

Mapping out the crawl

Sixteen ESCP students from Master in Management, MSc in Marketing & Creativity, and Bachelor in Management (BSc) took part in the crawl. They were joined by peers travelling from the Paris Campus, as well as an external participant from the University of Aberdeen who chose to join the ESCP group for the day.

📍ESCP Business School - Blue Factory

The first stop was Blue Factory, ESCP’s European business incubator located within ESCP's London Campus. The space includes two dedicated co-working and meeting rooms for student founders and external programme participants, a fully equipped podcast studio, and a programme of expert masterclasses, internationalisation bootcamps, and community and investor events designed to connect students with the wider startup ecosystem in the UK and across Europe.

Blue Factory also offers four programmes for its student, alumni and partners. supporting ventures at every stage, from early exploration and ideation, through prototype and MVP development, to launch and scale-up.
 

📍Impact Hub Euston

The next stop was Impact Hub Euston, where students explored how social enterprises combine commercial viability with purpose and impact. Located within the Knowledge Quarter, the Hub sits among a cluster of research institutions, start-ups and cultural organisations, making it a great choice for anyone considering launching an impact-driven business.

Among explaining their different support solutions, the conversation explored how profit can be reinvested to serve communities and how impact-led business models are playing an increasingly significant role in the UK’s evolving economic landscape.
 

📍Santander X Work Café

At Santander’s Work Café, students discovered free co-working spaces open to entrepreneurs and local business owners. Beyond cosy tables and nooks, the space offered two bookable meeting rooms, and access to advisors and a community of early-stage founders. Conveniently located in the same Knowledge Quarter, the availability of free, practical infrastructure is a great opportunity to overcome early barriers related to costs and access to funding advice.

📍The British Library and its Business & IP Centre

The visit to The British Library highlighted another often overlooked resource. Alongside its historic collections, the Library hosts a Business & IP Centre offering free start-up workshops, one-to-one support, market research access, and intellectual property guidance. For founders approaching the £80,000 revenue mark, scale-up support is also available.

For those set at starting a UK business but who are still at the idea stage, the Library’s start-up toolkit and sector-specific business guides provide a great starting point.
 

Collaboration across UK universities

The London Venture Crawl is designed to bring universities together in support of entrepreneurship. Alongside ESCP, participating London institutions included King’s College London, LSE, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, Brunel University, Goldsmiths, University of London, Birkbeck, University of London, University of East London, University of Greenwich, Ravensbourne University London, and others, with additional international universities joining the initiative.

Each participating university selected one Pitch Champion, a current student tasked with presenting a venture idea in just 90 seconds during the evening competition hosted at King's College London.

Representing ESCP Business School were Riccardo Falini, Bachelor in Management (BSc) student, and Andrea Rosso, who presented Unify, a global education intelligence platform designed to make choosing a university more streamlined and accessible.

Could This Be Your Moment?

Over the past year, the UK has seen renewed political and media focus on economic growth, start-up ecosystems and productivity. From debates around AI-driven innovation to increased attention on social enterprise and responsible growth, entrepreneurship has been at the forefront of the national conversation, signalling a growing role in shaping the country’s economic future.

And yet, for many of us, the question remains personal: could I really start my own business?

What often holds people back is not a lack of ambition, but the uncertainty about how to develop an idea, where to find collaborators, how to secure funding, or simply how to take the first step. The good news is that the support structure already exists in many forms and shapes. In London and at ESCP, there is a large network of spaces, mentors, and partners ready to help current and aspiring founders move from idea to action.

If you have an idea, or even just the curiosity to explore one, this is the moment to be bold.

Reach out to Harry McDonough, Blue Factory’s start-up incubator lead in London, and discover how ESCP and its Blue Factory can support you at every stage of the journey. Sometimes, the only thing standing between an idea and a venture is the decision to ask for help.

Credit: Headline photo by David Tett