University of Lincoln launches Coventure, a single front door for founders, businesses and innovators

The University of Lincoln has launched Coventure, a new venture development platform that brings Sparkhouse, Think Tank and Enterprise together under one clear identity.

Coventure gives founders a simple way to understand the support available and a defined route from early idea to growing business, with workspace, mentoring and business support at every stage.

Why the change?

The University’s enterprise services have long helped students, graduates and entrepreneurs, but awareness of the overall offer remained low. The relationship between the services wasn’t always clear, and many people assumed the support was aimed mainly at students or technology-focused start-ups.

Coventure replaces separate services with one unified platform, with access to different facilities as and when they are needed.

What the name stands for:

Coventure is rooted in the belief that good businesses are rarely built alone. “Co” speaks to collaboration, community, co-creation and co-working. “Venture” reflects experimentation and commercial growth, and broadens how people think about innovation. It isn’t limited to technology or disruptive start-ups. It can be a new product, an improved process, a different way of delivering a service or a fresh solution to an existing problem.

The Coventure Pathway

Support is organised around four stages:

Student: For University of Lincoln students and graduates, with advice, workshops and a £500 fund to get started.

Incubate: For new businesses, with a first office at Sparkhouse and structured mentoring from day one.

Elevate: For growing businesses, with larger offices, a network of Lincolnshire businesses and advice on scaling.

Scale: For innovation-led businesses, with space at Think Tank, research partnerships with University academics and routes into KTP funding.

Workspace options include co-working in the Andrew Stevenson Venture Lab, offices at Sparkhouse and the Enterprise Building, larger spaces and workshops at Think Tank, virtual tenancy and bookable meeting rooms.

Built on what works:

Coventure builds on a strong track record. The University’s enterprise community has supported more than 1,400 businesses and helped create more than 1,600 jobs, with a three-year survival rate of 68%. The people, expertise, facilities and mentoring that have always helped founders remain at its heart, now brought together in a way that is simpler to engage with.

Dominick McOmish, Venture Development Manager at the University of Lincoln, said: “We are really pleased to launch Coventure. It gives us a single point of entry for any business looking to engage with the University of Lincoln. That might be a student with an idea who wants to start a business, an SME looking for valuable office space, or an established business that wants to innovate and scale through our academic expertise. Whatever the starting point, there is now one clear place to come and a pathway to help you take the next step with confidence.”

Find out more:

Not sure where to start? Answer three quick questions on our Find Your Support page and we’ll point you to the right stage of the Coventure Pathway, or book a tour of our workspaces.