Jamie Ritblat is the founder and chairman of Delancey Real Estate, the specialist real estate and advisory company he launched in 1998. Today, Delancey Real Estate’s diverse portfolio of office, corporate, retail and residential assets includes prime locations across London.
This article will look at Cyber Runway Ignite, a programme created to address challenges faced by the UK cyber sector, supporting six high-potential founders and helping them to grow and scale their start-ups.
Plexal is an innovation company owned by clients of Delancey Real Estate. Founded in 2017 as an innovation centre, Plexal provides coworking space at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with the 68,000-square-foot property housing more than 120 East London small businesses.
In August 2023, Plexal announced that it was continuing its partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, welcoming six high-potential start-up founders to particate in the latest Cyber Runway Ignite programme. From aspiring entrepreneurs with promising concepts to growing start-ups and early-stage businesses with big dreams, Cyber Runway was launched to help fast-track growth of innovative companies. The UK’s largest cyber accelerator, Cyber Runway was created to address some of the biggest challenges faced by the UK’s cybersecurity industry, providing a means of supporting the most promising innovators in the country at various stages of growth while ensuring diversity, inclusion and regional representation.
Enabling members to retain 100% of their intellectual property and equity, Cyber Runway was launched simply to help UK cyber businesses grow and flourish. Funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Cyber Runway is delivered by Plexal with support from the Centre for Secure Information Technologies and Deloitte.
Cyber Runway offers a range of support for entrepreneurs and start-ups, providing each member with a personalised growth plan to help them progress through the accelerator, as well as commercial and product development support. The programme presents business masterclasses, where members can learn from the best on how to raise their next round of investment.
Cyber Runway offers extensive opportunities for mentorship and one-on-one advice, providing founders with the benefit of expert advice in specialist areas such as finance, marketing and legal. With a chief commercial officer and chief technical officer available to support its members, Cyber Runway also offers engineering support, with CSIT engineers helping members to test new features and products and providing advice on technical decisions. Members also gain access to real-world deployment models within a safe area via CSIT’s Cyber Range.
Cyber Runway enables founders to present pitches in front of a global network of investors, with its Grow and Scale members also benefiting from industry introductions. The programme connects founders and start-ups with a community of peers, enabling them to participate in a range of virtual and regional events.
Providing access to an extensive resource library, including a treasure trove of expert-written information and advice for cyber start-ups, Cyber Runway links businesses with global and regional cyber hubs in Manchester, Cheltenham, Tel Aviv, New York, Sydney and more.
Designed for exceptional leaders from cybersecurity start-ups, the Cyber Runway Ignite programme is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and implemented by Plexal. The programme helps founders to unleash their leadership potential, scaling their start-up to new heights.
Over the course of the six-month programme, Cyber Runway Ignite provides a bespoke, highly personalised package of support that incorporates professional services, mentorship, leadership coaching, international exposure, a founder’s retreat, and connections to industry and investors. Cyber Runway Ignite is designed for directors seeking to establish themselves as a role model for their sector, helping them to become more impactful leaders and gain access to a unique community of peers who share similar experiences, hopes and fears.
Founders selected for Cyber Runway Ignite come from a diverse range of backgrounds, including everything from performing arts and education to the military. Seeking to break down barriers and bring more inclusivity to the cybersecurity sector, Plexal is proud to partner with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to deliver Cyber Runway Ignite, providing a growth platform to help UK cyber start-ups launch, grow and scale. The chosen six Cyber Runway Ignite founders receive bespoke support including mentorship, virtual workshops and deep-dive days, as well as an opportunity to gain international exposure by taking to the stage at 4YFN, Mobile World Congress.
The latest Cyber Runway Ignite cohort was selected with a specific focus on driving diversity and inclusion throughout the cybersecurity industry. Half of the start-up founders participating in the programme are women, with members from a range of different backgrounds. Created to close equality gaps while leveraging science and technology to drive national security and prosperity, Cyber Runway supports entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale-ups, with the ultimate goal of building the UK’s most connected cyber ecosystem.
