CityVentures announces new partnership for social mobility in entrepreneurship

CityVentures, the University’s business support service, has partnered with Diversity VC and Social Mobility Ventures to create change for working-class founders.

The new partnership was announced at a recent ‘Social Mobility & Research Showcase’ hosted at Better Space, an affordable co-working space and incubator for social enterprise in Islington and joint venture between City St George’s, University of London and Islington Council.

Each organisation will bring a unique skillset to the partnership. CityVentures designs and delivers entrepreneurship programmes, Diversity VC is a non-profit working to make venture capital more inclusive and will deliver ecosystem mapping, and Social Mobility Ventures empowers state-educated founders, operators and investors and focuses on founder data and VC funding.

At the event, the team at CityVentures presented research that aims to transform how the UK supports aspiring founders from working-class backgrounds. The research presentation was followed by a panel discussion with entrepreneurs who shared their experiences navigating challenges in the startup space. One of the founders on the panel was Bayes Business School alumnus Damola Timien, founder of premium spirits company Spearhead Spirits.

Entrepreneurship and social mobility: what the research says

CityVentures commissioned research into entrepreneurship and social mobility which was carried out by Kelly Bewers and Stephen Miller. The research investigated the significant gap that persists in the participation of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in the startup ecosystem.

The feasibility study explored the different barriers and opportunities for social mobility through entrepreneurship and was conducted through a combination of desk research and consultation with a lived experience advisor.

The key finding of the research was that a complex relationship exists between entrepreneurship and social mobility. Those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds have advantages with human capital (such as education and skills) and social capital (including access to networks) which makes them more likely to succeed in entrepreneurial ventures.

The research found that a large portion of entrepreneurial activity in the UK is concentrated in London and the South East. The study identified recommendations for further research areas including exploring cultural attitudes towards entrepreneurship; learning from existing programmes; increasing and standardising data collection on the issue; and analysing regional opportunities in London.

Partnering for change

Ralph La Fontaine, Head of Entrepreneurship at City St George’s, said:

Together we believe we can drive forward research and share funding and research to start to change the dial on who sets up businesses. Our shared aim is to make the startup ecosystem more inclusive and see greater representation of all founders; especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

“This work is just beginning; we're looking to partner with other universities across the country and other eco-system players to experiment and cascade learning across the country to ensure that all founders are recognised.”

On the new partnership with CityVentures, Nina Slingsby, Strategic DEI Advisor and founder of Diversity VC, said:

“We’re proud to be partnering with CityVentures and Social Mobility Ventures on research exploring the experiences of founders from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Diversity VC has ten years of experience working in the UK and around the world to improve the sector when it comes to inclusive behaviours."

We know that the flow of capital shapes who gets to build, grow and succeed, so it is so important that we improve diversity and embed strong inclusive operating systems and behaviours to create a fairer and stronger venture ecosystem.