BUILDING A NEW GENERATION OF VENTURES.
Ambitious ventures. 6 months intense support. World-changing impact.
Founding and scaling a venture can be tough. At the OXFO Elevate accelerator we give you everything you need to succeed.
By leveraging OXFO’s powerful networks, partnerships and talent, OXFO ventures scale fast, raise significant investment, and innovate to reinvent and rebuild a better society and economy.
Our ventures have gone on to raise more than £40m in investment, are worth more than £140m, and have hired more than 150 employees - all in under three years. They’re revenue-generating whilst helping us tackle tough world challenges. Whether that’s helping combat the climate crisis, ensuring healthcare equity, or other critical Sustainable Development Goal.
Our bespoke programme is tailored to you and your needs. Our dedicated team, extensive network of internationally-renowned cross-industry experts and specialists, and community of successful entrepreneurs, are all here to help you rapidly scale and run a high-growth business long term, and build and lead an effective, purposeful team as CEO.
Some of the key ways we add value to you are;
- A comprehensive venture building and leadership curriculum from some of the world’s leading experts including ex-entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, thought-leaders and academics.
- Hands-on support from our exceptional global Resident Experts, mentors and founder coaches focusing on personal development & mental health. Additional networks and mentor opportunities are available to OXFO founders from Black, Asian and Ethnic minority backgrounds.
- Direct introductions to potential investors, funds, clients and partners and opportunities to secure grant funding, leveraging on our network of high-net-worth individuals and corporate sponsors
- Access to Oxford’s incredible talent for paid internship support and team-building
- £150k worth of partnerships - We give you access to over £150k of partnership benefits from Google, AWS, Hubspot, Twilio and more. We also give you access to free legal support and advice from key legal partners.
- And so much more..
Applications are open from 12th January – 12th February 2021 for cohort 4 which runs from April – October 2021. Ventures must be pre-Seed or Seed and have a University of Oxford student or alumni on the co-founding team. Full details, FAQS and the application form can be found on our website https://www.oxfordfoundry.ox.ac.uk/about-oxfo-elevate.
OXFO Elevate has a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 9.1
“The OXFO Elevate programme has supported venture growth, given founders fundamental skills for running a business, and ultimately made ventures valuable in the eyes of key investors and influencers. If you want to take your venture to the next level, I advise you apply.”
Reid Hoffman, Co-founder, LinkedIn | Senior Advisor, Oxford Foundry
“OXFO connects you with some absolutely incredible mentors, advisors, potential investors, and most importantly fellow founders. These became close friends who I still speak with regularly. I would highly, highly recommend you join the programme. It will undoubtedly have a huge impact on your business both for the duration and beyond.”
Will Cowell de Gruchy, Founder and CEO, Infogrid - Recently raised $15.5m Series A round from Northstar, JLL Spark, Concrete VC & reputable angel investors
“The Foundry created an inspiring and motivating place to learn and take our venture to the next level. The cohort and its mentors are so impressive that it makes you feel very humble and at the same time pushes you to perform at the same level. The Foundry team is a blessing for the program as they genuinely care about the individual success of the cohort participants. At least from my perspective the Foundry seems to focus even more on the founder and only sees the business as the result of it and I valued this very highly, especially given my numerous "pivots" that has made us now move towards what we hope will be a very successful trajectory.”
Fred Krahforst, Cofounder & CEO, Tradelink – Recently raised £3m Seed round from Fly VC, Point Nine Capital & reputable angel investors
Please email info@oxfordfoundry.ox.ac.uk if you have any questions.
- APPLY NOW FOR COHORT 4 (application is open from 12 Jan-12 Feb 2021)
- Full application FAQs
- Our mentors and experts
- The ventures we've supported so far
- Our ventures' global impact
- See press coverage of OXFO portfolio ventures
32 ventures, £40m investment raised, 150+ jobs created
What do we look for?
We support early-stage Oxford-affiliated ventures who have:
- a determination to make clear economic and social impact, and to help solve global challenges
- a passion for innovation, and no fear of risk
- a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and proof of concept
- a diverse and committed team
- demonstrable early traction, such as customers, pilots and partners
We are sector-agnostic - all industry areas are considered.
Feedback from ventures from cohort 2 of the accelerator:
100% of entrepreneurs said they would recommend L.E.V8 to other startups.
100% of entrepreneurs said the OXFO L.E.V8 accelerator exceeded their expectations.
Overall, the programme received a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 9.1.
The Elevate programme has supported venture growth, given founders fundamental skills for running a business, and ultimately made ventures valuable in the eyes of key investors and influencers. If you want to take your venture to the next level, I advise you apply.
With OXFO, Oxford has now established its own centre of entrepreneurial gravity. I've been coming to Oxford for years as a Silicon Valley speaker and a contributor to the ecosytem here, and now Oxford has a centre of innovation that is going to be self-reinforcing, and that will only get stronger and stronger. I'm glad to be part of it and I urge you all to nurture it, support it, be part of it - as much as you give, you’ll get back in multitudes.”
