University Top 10 for Graduate Start-Up Businesses

Research has revealed that the University of Lincoln, UK, is among the best in the country for graduates wanting to start their own business, producing almost 600 start-up businesses in recent years.

A study carried out by leading business financial platform Tide, revealed the universities that have produced the most graduate start-ups, including sole traders, since 2014/15.

The figures are sourced from the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s intellectual property, start-ups and spin-offs data, referring to graduates between the 2014/15 and 2019/20 academic years.

Lincoln is in the Top 10 Universities producing nearly 600 start-up businesses; the most in the whole of the East Midlands region and the sixth most of any university outside of London.

Ruchi Aggarwal, Associate Professor and Director of Business Development, Lincoln International Business School, said: “We are delighted the university has been recognised nationally for such an important agenda as the creation of start-up and growth mindsets via student businesses.

“The University is dedicated to working with students and organisations to find solutions that enhance the contribution of business to society.

“For our students, that means developing their business skills and knowledge so they can graduate and make a difference in industry as responsible leaders ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This accolade is testament to that focus and vision.”

“Examples of startups from University of Lincoln Students include Distract, a successful digital marketing company: Distract is a great example of student enterprise. An award winning high growth digital marketing agency, Distract was set up in Lincoln in 2015 by two ex Lincoln students Peter Watson and Bradley McKenny (Marketing, 2016, Lincoln International Business School).

“Incubation spaces at the University – Sparkhouse, Think Tank were offered to Distract from 2016-2019, offering them hi-tech, energy efficient, cost effective and eco-friendly spaces that encourage creative thinking, as well as business growth.

“Another young and upcoming business start-up is Associate, set up by Declan and Luke (Business and Management, 2018, Lincoln International Business School), whose group project in class won a grant for £1000, was invested wisely to create their minimal viable product and is eyeing big growth in the immediate future.

“Associate is a digital communications platform, for and by students, that aims to improve collaboration and hence productivity of real-time student learning experiences.”

Other successful examples of start-up businesses include the Lincolnite, an award winning digital publishing new site with almost 800,000 monthly readers.

For more information on business start-ups and the Lincoln International Business School please visit the website here https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/lbs/