Startup alumni support
Support for Undaunted alumni startups
Our commitment to supporting cleantech innovation extends well beyond the formal end of the programme. For these companies graduation from Undaunted is just the beginning – we continue to provide resources and support to help them continue their journeys so that they can go on to have successful impact on climate change.
Investment and funding
The most pressing need an early-stage startup faces is securing the right kind of funding at the right time. Helping teams to connect with investors and secure investment is a core part of our alumni programme.
Investor connections
Bespoke Matchmaking: matching and introducing alumni startups to potential investors aligned by sector, stage, investor type and vice versa.
Pitch Opportunities: regular opportunities to interface and pitch to potential investors face-to-face.
Investor Events: regular opportunities to participate in and attend Undaunted events aimed at climatetech investors.
Imperial Investor Network: growing database and network of climatetech and generalist investors who sign up to “follow” Greenhouse alumni progress via the Imperial Investor Network.
Imperial Investment Portal: virtual startup showcase profile visible to the Imperial Investor network, which indicates and notifies investors of fundraising status.
Funding opportunities
Grants: disseminating news and availability of new pots of grant funding for climatetech firms.
Business support, knowledge, and skills
Mentors, advisors and experts: we nurture an extensive network of specialists and experts with whom we can connect alumni for advice as needs arise.
Pro bono support: our innovation ecosystem includes providers who are willing to support climate and sustainability startups with free support in areas such as legal, risk, tax, IP.
Knowledge sessions: provide dedicated regular support through webinars and info sessions covering key business challenges and skills, including grant writing, R&D tax credits, B-Corp certification, climate policy and legal advice.
Guides, reports and other resources: we are developing a comprehensive set of resources that aim to provide expert advice in key areas, such as our Space Guide for Startups, and our work leading the Women in CleanTech initiative.
Physical space benefits: we can provide a London business and postal address, and occasional meeting room provision.
Networking and community
Undaunted sits as a central node in climate innovation within London and the UK. Our work connects us with a broad mix of cleantech players: investors, corporates, public bodies, policy makers, academics, mentors, experts, advisors and more. We play a key role as an interconnector to ensure opportunities reach the right audiences and valuable connections take place.
Curated events: events dedicated to nurturing our alumni and ecosystem, providing space and opportunities for valuable connection and promotion. Event have included: Jawdrop 2023 (see video to the right); Undaunted Alumni Summit 2024; our annual London Climate Action Week Innovation Showcase.
Event invitations: sharing the array of events and opportunities we receive directly with relevant alumni startups. This includes invite-only events, speaking opportunities and showcases, for example, Bill Gates launching Cleantech for UK at Imperial 2023; COP28 Innovator Showcase via our work on the UNICEF Innovation30 initiative; Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy visit to White City Innovation District 2025.
Business development
Opportunities to meet potential customers: Undaunted is connected to a wide variety of organisations and corporations who are keen to deploy innovation solutions in their businesses. We liaise to provide regular business development opportunities for alumni to interface directly with potential customers and adopters.
Imperial initiatives: Undaunted alumni can benefit from Imperial initiatives and resources.
A recent example: we took five startups to New York Climate Week 2025 for an international showcase, which also included an exciting milestone announcement from Notpla, who participated in our accelerator programme in 2017.
Sector and ecosystem engagement
Climate Policy
Climatetech Policy Coalition: Undaunted is a founding member of the Climatetech Policy Coalition which represents cleantech startups within the UK policy space. We engage with alumni on their views, taking their perspectives, experiences, and insights to government via an annual ClimateTech report: read the latest report.
Cleantech for UK: Undaunted is also a founding member of Cleantech for UK, a leading advocacy body representing a powerful coalition of 12 company builders and investors, spanning the innovation lifecycle—from start-ups to established IPOs.
Horizon scanning: alumni stay up to date on UK and international climate news and policy, with insights from Imperial Grantham Institute’s expert policy team.
Government consultations: we encourage and support alumni to input on government calls for specific relevant issues.
Advice and mentoring
1-to-1 meetings: door always open policy to meet virtually or face-to-face with any alumni who wishes. For example – working 121 with a founder on an investor pitch/presentation.
Email availability: open inbox for any alumni to reach out with an enquiry. We seek to point them in the right direction and get the support they need.
Imperial connectivity: from potential academic collaborations to involvement in Imperial initiatives, the linkages to a world-class university are of value to highly innovative scaling cleantech startups. For example: MBA Consulting Projects – alumni are eligible to receive MBA students to work on consulting projects for their business.
Profile and recognition
We put our world-class alumni teams forward for various award and recognition opportunities. Their success is our success.
Nominations
Awards and prizes: Undaunted is a trusted nominator in the climatetech ecosystem and are well placed to nominate the strong innovations we see. For example: The Earthshot Prize; Global Cleantech 100; Innovation Zero awards.
Speaking Opportunities
We provide regular speaking and promotional opportunities for the alumni to develop their skills and raise their profile, including via roundtables, panel discussions, pitch events, keynotes.
Image left: Notpla Co-founders, Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez and Pierre Paslier, with their Earthshot Prize in 2022. Notpla progressed through Undaunted’s accelerator, now known as The Greenhouse, in 2017.
Undaunted in numbers
270+
Undaunted’s programmes have supported more than 270 startups and spinouts.
$1bn+
Undaunted alumni have gone on to raise over $1bn investment since 2012.
>1,600
They operate across 30 countries worldwide, and have created over 1,600 jobs. As of September 2024 the total number of employees stands at 1,617.
Our alumni will have real-world impact
29 million tonnes of cumulative carbon dioxide equivalent forecast to be saved by 2030. This equates to 7% of the UK’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
7.4 million litres total fresh water to be saved by 2030, equivalent to the annual consumption of 75 thousand UK households.
Resources and programmes for climate innovators and SMEs
Finding your first space: a guide for startups
The UK has a growing climate innovation community, comprising businesses with varied and specialist space needs. Whether you are tackling the climate crisis in the energy, food, waste, transport or fashion sectors, finding and securing your first space as a startup can be overwhelming.
This guide covers what you should consider before committing to a space, from both a landlord’s and startup’s perspective. It explains some of the language and terminology that you might hear during the process, and offers top tips.
Women in CleanTech (WiCT)
Women in Cleantech (WiCT) is a project funded by the Mayor of London, led by Undaunted. It seeks to support female founders and innovators through active collaboration and events, showcasing existing networks and activities, and bringing together resources.
How far are we from gender parity in London’s cleantech industry? How can we bring more women into the city’s cleantech startups? What are the current barriers faced by women in entering and leading the sector, and how can we design these out?
Suppliers and resources
Imperial Enterprise Lab has two new resources to support startups and spinouts:
Peer-Recommended Supplier List – A list of trusted suppliers across services like accountancy, branding, IP, and legal advice—designed to help ventures find reliable support. Suppliers are included after receiving at least two recommendations from Imperial startups, spinouts, or relevant Imperial staff.
Resource Finder – A helpful collection of tools and resources for startups.
Green Tech Legal Collaborative
The Green Tech Legal Collaborative (GTLC), established in 2021 by Bloomberg and Imperial College London in partnership with prestigious law firms Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Ropes & Gray, is a pioneering initiative aimed at supporting climate-positive and sustainability-focused startups.
The GTLC is in its fourth year of providing pro bono legal support for Greentech startups from Imperial’s ecosystem in the early stages of their development. The program helps facilitate the development and delivery to market of new ideas and technologies to address climate change and promote sustainability.
Meet our alumni
Innovator Stories
The Undaunted team works with many innovators and startups across different sectors and contexts. Once they progress through our programmes these founders join a thriving network of alumni at different stages of the entrepreneurial journey.
Our companies
The ventures we’ve supported since 2012 have gone on to raise upwards of $1.3bn in investment, operating across 30 countries and creating over 1,600 jobs globally. Find out more about their tech, the sectors in which they work, and what stage they’re at as they seek to scale.
Accelerating to a Better Future Season Two (2024)
In this season of Accelerating to a Better Future we dive into the world of cleantech innovation, bringing startups and key stakeholders from Undaunted’s Better Futures Retrofit Accelerator, to share their “aha” moments, challenges, learnings, and victories—big and small.
Accelerating to a Better Future Season One (2021)
Tune into our podcast to hear from academics and entrepreneurs who are setting up businesses that tackle some of the great climate and environmental challenges facing the world.
