Lab2Mkt
A programme by Venture Center
Venture Center's flagship route for turning an academic or lab technology into a company, in exchange for equity.
At a glance
| Best for | Academic and public-lab researchers with a technology but no company yet |
|---|---|
| Stage | Idea – Early revenue |
| Format | In person |
| Cost | Takes equity |
About Lab2Mkt
Lab2Mkt is a three-stage process that bridges a technology invention with a full business plan backed by a working proof of concept. It is Venture Center's longest-running commercialisation programme and has produced spinouts from CSIR-NCL.
What you get
- Stage 1: technology and IP due diligence, market research, risk identification, and a proof-of-concept plan.
- Stage 2: help raising seed funds, incorporation, executing the proof-of-concept plan, and engaging beta customers.
- Stage 3: a detailed business plan, building out the executive and operational team, and raising a Series A round.
- Access to Venture Center's network of angels, venture capitalists, domain experts, IP professionals, government funding agencies and corporations at each stage.
Who can apply
- Researchers and teams at academic or publicly funded labs with a technology that could become a company.
How selection works: Venture Center takes on the technology, market and team risk at each stage, and in exchange holds an equity stake in the spin-off company it helps create.
How to apply: Write to the Lab2Mkt team.
Other Venture Center programmes
- Pre-Incubation (Ignition and Kickstart)Two pre-incubation tracks that take an early technology project from idea to a validated proof-of-concept plan.
- Virtual Incubation (Associate Incubatee Program)A remote membership for research-based companies that are not physically based at Venture Center.
- Resident IncubationOffice and lab space on the NCL Innovation Park campus, with mentoring and funding access built in.
- Investor Readiness Program (IRP)A 24-week cohort that prepares startups to raise their next round, ending in a pitch showcase to investors.
- Leap Global ProgramA six-month, equity-free accelerator supported by DST NIDHI for deep-tech startups aiming to scale internationally.
- BioIncubator (BIRAC BioNest)A DBT-BIRAC-supported bioincubator for biotechnology, biomedical and related ventures, hosting several of Venture Center's life-sciences schemes.
- Fellowships: SIIP and NIDHI-EIRTwo fellowship routes: one for sustainable, societal-impact ventures, one for individuals turning knowledge into a startup.
- BFI-BIOME FellowshipA fellowship, run with Blockchain for Impact, for innovation fellows building solutions to important healthcare problems.
- Grants: NIDHI-PRAYAS and Biotechnology Ignition GrantTwo standing, equity-free grant routes: prototyping support for idea-stage products, and early biotech funding.
- CSR Grants for StartupsThematic, corporate-funded grants that Venture Center administers on behalf of CSR partners.
- Seed Investments and BIRAC LEAP FundDirect equity seed investment plus routed government seed schemes, including the BIRAC LEAP Fund's larger equity ticket.
- Social Innovations (INCLUDE Program)Support for founders building sustainable, for-profit or not-for-profit ventures around societal problems.