Creative Business Accelerator 2026
UAL’s Creative Business Accelerator is a program for graduates with active businesses ready to grow. It offers workshops, tailored support from industry professionals, mentoring, peer coaching, and a participation bursary.
Developed by UAL Careers and Employability with Google for Startups, this program equips you with the tools to build a sustainable, successful creative business and expand your professional network.
Who can apply?
To be eligible to apply you must:
- be a UAL graduate who has been awarded a Bachelor, Masters or PhD degree
- have graduated from UAL within the last 5 years (between 2021-2025)
- be a founder or co-founder of a business trading in the UK
- be based in UK and able to attend in person and participate fully in the programme.
For you application to be considered you must:
- already be running a creative business (which could be a social enterprise or commercial) or developing a product that has potential commercial intellectual property value
- have spent at least a year on enterprising activity to develop your business/product idea
- have developed some form of income generation for your business/product idea
- have an existing customer/client base.
We particularly welcome applications from those currently underrepresented in the creative and digital industries. This includes students and graduates who are: disabled or have a specific learning disability; Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic; LGBTQ+; are the first in their family to attend university; or are from a low socio-economic background.
How to apply and deadlines
Before you start your application, make sure you have read all the information on this web page.
Key dates
Step 1 – online application
- 5 June 2026, 9 am. This deadline has now passed, and applications are closed for this year.
- Week commencing 8 June 2026.
You will be advised if you have been shortlisted.
- Week commencing 15 June 2026.
Shortlisted applicants will interview and present.
- Week commencing 22 June 2026.
You will be advised if you have been selected for the programme.
- Week commencing 20 July 2026.
Accelerator programme starts.
- End of November 2026.
Accelerator programme ends.
Complete the application form (Word doc, 55KB). You will be asked to talk about:
- your creative business
- your plans for developing and growing it
- how you will benefit from taking part in the Accelerator programme
- your business financials – including financial forecast
- how you will contribute as an active member of the group.
If you would prefer to submit a filmed or audio application, please see below for guidelines to help with preparing your application.
Step 2 – submitting your application
Complete the online Creative Business Accelerator submission form. Available Summer term 2027.
You will be asked to attach your application form. You can include financial information in separate documents. You can include a document of additional materials, i.e. visuals/designs of your work.
Step 3 - shortlisting
Applicants will be shortlisted by a panel and those that best meet the selection criteria will be invited to a panel presentation.
Step 4 – interview and panel pitch
To assess suitability for the programme, shortlisted applicants will be required to pitch their business to a panel.
Step 5 – selection
Successful applicants will be invited to join the Accelerator. Before the start of the programme there will be an onboarding process.
Please note that all decisions are final.
Supporting you
If you have any questions or believe there are any barriers to your participation in this opportunity or you have any access requirements you wish to discuss, we would be happy to talk to you. Please contact us in advance at enterprise@arts.ac.uk.
What we are looking for
We are looking for participants who:
- have plans for the growth of their business
- show how taking part in the Accelerator aligns with their business plans and will benefit them
- are committed to contributing to and learning from other Accelerator participants
- have a business that is innovative or offers a unique creative product or service.
Your commitment to the programme
You must agree to:
- Commit to attending all sessions during the programme.
- Commit to being active in developing your business between sessions.
- Commit to attend all sessions with your assigned mentor
- Prepare for and follow up on all training and one-to-one sessions.
- Commit to actively engage in creating a supportive community with other participants.
- Complete all evaluation questionnaires.
- Give back a total of 6 hours to student enterprise learning at UAL.
Guide for filming your application
If you would like to submit your application by film, read the the guidance points below before you get started.
Filming or audio requirements
- Your application should be no more than 8 minutes long
- Answer all the questions on the application form.
- Films should be in landscape.
- Include a link to your film or audio file (uploaded to YouTube / Vimeo, or a similar platform), and if it is password-protected, don’t forget to include the password with your link.
Tips for filming directly to camera
- You can film using your phone, a camera or on your computer.
- If you’re using your phone or camera and don’t have a tripod, prop it up using something like a book so that you don’t have to hold it the whole time.
- Make sure you are well-lit. Put your light source (a window or lamp) in front of you.
- Centre yourself on the screen and film with the camera at eye level. Don’t shoot from below.
- Stand a few feet away from the backdrop if possible to avoid casting shadows on it.
- Make sure you film somewhere quiet to avoid background noise.
- If you’re filming on your phone, use the back camera, which generally records higher-quality footage than the front-facing “selfie” camera.
- Avoid clothes with thin stripes or busy patterns, which can cause feedback on the camera.
- Don’t use the zoom function on a smartphone. It degrades the quality of the footage.
- Read through the application form and prepare your questions in advance. You might want to use notes or cue cards to help you while recording your video responses.
- Rephrase the questions at the beginning of your response e.g. ‘my business is a...”; “my 5 year plans are...”
- Be yourself; we want to get a sense of who you are and how you will benefit from taking part in the Creative Business Accelerator.
- Check the audio and video quality are clear before you include the link in your application form
Any questions?
If you need any further guidance, please contact enterprise@arts.ac.uk.
What the programme includes
A bursary will be awarded to allow participants to attend and take part fully in all aspects of the programme. The bursary will be paid at stages during the programme and is dependent on meeting key milestones.
Through the programme, you'll learn to:
- Plan strategically for growth
- Improve your business model
- Price your work and plan financially
- Manage cash flow and budget
- Develop your brand and reach target clients
- Understand and value your IP
- Pitch and create a funding plan
- Manage your time effectively
The programme also offers opportunities to:
- Develop leadership skills
- Gain confidence in business decisions
- Plan for business growth
- Identify and develop potential markets
- Expand your industry network
Programme format
- Dates are to be confirmed, but will likely take place every Thursday, 23 July – 26 November, 11 am – 4 pm.
- At the end, you’ll present a pitch to a panel of experts.
- You will be matched with an industry professional who will provide mentoring support between December 2026 and May 2027.
Who else will be on the programme?
The programme will include around 10 UAL graduates from various creative disciplines, including fashion, tech, social enterprise, art, and design.
Participants will represent a mix of product and service businesses, reflecting the diverse courses and practices at UAL.
Meet the 2026 cohort
Ashley Lloyd Lewis, Ashley Lloyd International Limited
Ashley Lloyd is a luxury womenswear Ready-To-Wear fashion brand. Ashley Lloyd’s main focus is ensuring that all products are made with attention to detail and quality luxury fabrics. They must also convey the message of strength and women's empowerment, which Ashley Lloyd prides itself on. This is expressed thoroughly in every piece of clothing. We describe our clothing as “pieces of armour, which women can wear to fight against the daily battles they face”.
YICHU LI Studio
Yichu Li is an award-winning artist. Grounded in a techno-feminist perspective, her work spans digital art, moving images and sound-based performances. These are often presented in immersive exhibition contexts. Her practice examines the evolving relationship between identity, power, and digital culture. Yichu is an Artist Fellow of the National Arts Club, the winner of the Best AI Film - Asian Art Film Festival, Best Experimental Film - Arklink AI Film Festival Awards, 2nd Female Photographers Support Program, Best Project Award - AI International Film Festival, and the Aion Digital Art Prize. Yichu’s works have been exhibited and performed internationally. This includes Paris Photo, AI Film Awards Cannes, The National Arts Club, Peckham Digital, Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre, The Wrong Biennale, Video Art Miden, Artspring Berlin Festival, Berlin Music Video Awards, Piksel Festival. Her audiovisual performances have also been featured in Sónar+D Music Festival, Kappa FuturFestival, Burning Man, King’s College of London, Fabric London, Riposte Art Rave.
Caio Sanfelice Studio
Caio Sanfelice is a Brazilian photographer, visual artist and founder of Caio Sanfelice Studio. The London-based creative practice specialises in portrait, editorial and fine art photography.
Caio's work explores identity and representation with a dash of fantasy, particularly through queer and immigrant experiences. The practice explores how photography can help people see themselves differently. It also aims to tell stories that are often overlooked.
Caio is currently expanding the studio beyond photography by developing workshops and educational projects. He is also launching 'Excuse My ARTcent', a podcast exploring art, identity and belonging through conversations with artists and creatives from diverse backgrounds.
Cecilia Liu, the imperfect doodle club
Cecilia Liu is a London-based illustrator, artist, and founder of The Imperfect Doodle Club. Her practice explores intuitive drawing, mixed media image-making, and playful approaches to creativity. She is often inspired by nature, animals, everyday observations, and the idea of reconnecting with one’s inner child.
Cecilia studied Illustration at Camberwell College of Arts. She completed both the Graduate Diploma and MA Illustration (2021-2023). Her work has been recognised by awards including the AOI World Illustration Awards, 3x3 International Illustration Awards, and iJungle Illustration Award. Alongside her personal art practice, she has worked on murals, commercial illustration projects, creative workshops, and community-based drawing events.
Through The Imperfect Doodle Club, Cecilia creates relaxed drawing experiences, creative courses, and illustration-based products that encourage people to enjoy drawing without pressure or perfectionism.
Alex Picasso Messer and Louie Stewart, Different Gravy Studio CIC
Different Gravy is a creative studio specialising in photography and film-based projects, with an emphasis on celebrating culture and community spirit.
Their practice is centred around improving access to education and resources for young people and creating more opportunities in the arts.
Helena Palmeira
Helena Palmeira is a London-based Brazilian artist and designer. Her practice explores materiality as a carrier of memory. An MA graduate from Central Saint Martins, and 25/26 Sarabande Foundation Resident, she creates sculptural pieces that integrate historically and culturally significant materials. For example, Amazonian seeds, native woods, and colored stones. These serve to preserve and reactivate narratives embedded in their origins. She is driven by a commitment to highlighting Latin American materiality and its significance. Her work questions conventional perceptions of luxury while proposing a vision rooted in memory. Inspired by experiences of migration, she explores how acts of packing, securing, and carrying can transform both object and wearer. Helena's work has been exhibited at the 2026 Collect Art Fair at Somerset House and showcased during London Design Festival, where she received the Public's Choice Award. Rooted in storytelling and material research, Helena approaches her practice as a space for reflection, cultural reclamation and transformation.
Lola Lee, ReelFood
Lola Lee is the founder and creative director of Reelfood, a London-based documentary production company and food media platform.
With over a decade of experience across television, journalism and documentary filmmaking, she creates stories that explore people, culture and the environment through the lens of food. Alongside producing original documentaries, Lola works with restaurants, chefs and food brands to create documentary-style films and visual storytelling that connect with audiences.
She is a 2026 UAL Future 50 Winner and is passionate about building Reelfood into a sustainable media business that combines commercial creativity with meaningful storytelling.
Niamh Emily Coughlan
Niamh Coughlan is an Irish fashion designer whose practice brings Irish heritage into conversation with contemporary club culture. She does this through sustainable material research and storytelling. A graduate of London College of Fashion, she creates handmade, limited-edition garments. The process involves using deadstock textiles, reclaimed materials and experimental surface techniques. This produces pieces built to be worn on a dance floor as much as preserved in an archive. Rooted in cultural storytelling, her work draws on archival photography, Irish landscapes and traditional craft to explore identity, belonging and collective memory. Her practice is shaped by long-standing relationships within the electronic music community, dressing artists including IMOGEN, Surusinghe, Saint Ludo, Manuka Honey and Sarah McBriar, founder of AVA Festival. Coughlan has been featured in ELLE UK, completed a residency at Somerset House through Makerversity's Makers with a Mission programme, and was recognised as a "One to Watch" at UAL's Pitch It in 2024.
Iman Sidonie-Samuels and Tyla Jade Parsons, Studio Sessions London Ltd
Founded by 2 passionate creatives, Studio Sessions is an ongoing series of events. They aim to bring people together through different arts and craft activities. Through work with knowledgeable facilitators, they use artistic practice to create space. A community-oriented approach allows people to learn collectively, make new friends and rediscover their artistic sides in a relaxed environment.
Juan and Daniel Montanchez, Vista Pictures
Juan and Daniel Montanchez are Peruvian twin brothers and co-founders of Vista Pictures. Vista Pictures is a Photo Tours company operating in London and Paris. After graduating from the MA Graphic Branding and Identity at London College of Communication, they launched Vista Pictures from scratch in April 2024 with no external funding. In just two years, the business has completed close to 2,000 bookings. It's seen peak days of 11 photo sessions and generated more than £47,000 in the last 12 months. Today, each brother leads the growth of one city while continuing to expand the brand internationally. Their mission is to help creatives build sustainable careers from their art. They aim to transform urban photographers into professional entrepreneurs.
Harinad Pottamkulangara Manoj and Yash Shah, EcoLattice
Harinad is a product designer with 5 years of experience spanning medical product design (maternal, neonatal and assistive) and consumer products. He is driven by a focus on meaningful products made to scale and sell. As CTO of EcoLattice since June 2024, he has developed a proprietary product development system. This is now being patented. He is leading work in Large Format Additive Manufacturing. This will be exhibited at the London Design Festival, Surface Design Show and Birmingham Trade Show. Yash is a material research specialist and CEO of EcoLattice. EcoLattice is a design-led materials company pioneering recyclable 3D-printed foam alternatives for the furniture, automotive and wellness industries. Their goal is to replace 30% of PU foams by 2030.
Sana Jazeer and Mizba Pathan, Neoscapes Lab
Neoscapes Lab is a collaboration between Sana Jazeer and Mizba Pathan. Sana is a vision-driven and research-led designer and spatial researcher. Mizba is a relationship-focused and impact-oriented Events and Innovation Manager. Neoscapes Lab is focused on developing biodegradable, living infrastructure for festivals and outdoor spaces. They focus on materials that sense, communicate, and regenerate urban environmental conditions. The dual-phase approach to production turns insight into measurable impact.
What's on
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International Futures: Industry Day
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