How We Work
WHAT WE DO
Mission Studio exists to build, launch, and scale startups that tackle the UK’s most pressing challenges head-on.
We’re a co-builder, working alongside Founders to prove that startups can deliver significant social impact hand-in-hand with achieving venture scale and strong financial returns.
We go all-in on a small number of ventures each year to maximise their chances of success. We prototype rapidly, and move with a bias for action to bring high-quality ventures to life, fast.
DESIGN
Using our research and insights on problem identification, we rapidly generate a range of potential solutions and narrow them down through a series of rigorous, hands-on tests and validation activities.
We meticulously test our riskiest assumptions and work to answer "killer questions", ensuring the commercial and impact viability of each concept. The result is a partially validated concept, ready for a founder to be recruited and lead the next phase, Build.
BUILD
We hold ourselves and our founders to world-class standards, with regular check-ins and stage gates to track progress against our targets over the 6-month Build stage.
Our end goal is for founders to spin out as an early-stage venture-backable company.
At the end of Build, Founders pitch to our investment committee. If successful they spin out and we invest £200k.
ACCELERATE
We leverage our networks and expertise to help with investment readiness, recruiting key hires, and customer acquisition. Our aim is to empower our Founders to secure their first external raise and scale their impact.
OUR MISSIONS
We build ventures that bring Nesta’s missions to life: from giving every child the best start in life, to increasing the number of healthy years lived in the UK, to accelerating the path to net zero.
A FAIRER START
Our mission is to give every child the same chance to thrive by 2030.
We build ventures that give every child the best chance to thrive – from tackling access to perinatal care to strengthening early years provision. Our focus spans new models of community-driven childcare, tech-enabled support for families, safer digital spaces for children, and solutions that empower the early years workforce.
A HEALTHY LIFE
Our mission is to halve the prevalence of obesity in the UK by 2030.
We build ventures that make healthy choices the easy choices. That means reducing obesity at scale, supporting food SMEs with making better products, and building tools that spark healthier consumer habits. We also explore adjacent levers—from agriculture to product reformulation—to shape healthier lives across whole communities.
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Our mission is to reduce home carbon emissions in the UK by 30% by 2030.
We build ventures that cut carbon emissions in the home. From affordable retrofits, to new financing solutions and workforce retraining, we focus on innovations that scale impact fast while ensuring homes, communities, and businesses thrive in a low-carbon economy.
