Got an idea for a product, a service or something completely new?

SETsquared Bath’s fully funded Idea to Opportunity programme gives you the time, tools and support to explore your idea, test whether there’s a market for it and work out what to do next.

Applications are now open.

You’ve got an idea. Maybe it’s something you’ve been thinking about for months, a problem you’ve spotted through your work, or a product or service you think people might need.

But how do you find out whether it could really work?

Perhaps you’ve talked it through with friends, done a bit of research or even made a start. But there’s still that nagging question: is there actually a business in this?

That’s where Idea to Opportunity comes in.

Three weeks to explore what’s possible

SETsquared Bath is inviting people at the very beginning of their business journey to join a practical, fully funded programme designed to help turn early ideas into potential business opportunities.

Taking place in Bath across three weeks in November and December, Idea to Opportunity gives you the space, tools and support to properly explore your thinking.

You’ll work alongside others at a similar stage, share ideas, challenge assumptions and start finding answers to some important questions.

Who is your idea really for? What problem does it solve? Would people actually want it? And how could you build a business around it?

You’ll get to explore all of this in a supportive, interactive environment, with practical exercises, useful business tools and opportunities to learn from others.

You don’t need to have started a business

This programme is for people who are still figuring things out.

You might be a designer with an idea for a new product. A creative technologist exploring an application for something you’ve developed. Someone working in an agency who’s spotted a gap in the market. Or perhaps you’ve had an idea sitting in the back of your mind for years and you’re finally ready to give it some attention.

You might even have started something already, but want to work out whether you’re heading in the right direction.

You don’t need a business plan, a polished pitch or all the answers.

You just need an idea you’re interested in exploring and a willingness to find out whether it has real potential.

And while there’s plenty of creativity in the process, the focus is firmly on exploring commercial opportunities. By the end, you’ll have a much better understanding of whether there’s a viable business to develop and what you need to do next.

What will you actually do?

Across three in-person sessions, you’ll move from exploring your idea to understanding how it could work in practice.

Session 1: Thursday 26 November, 9.30am–12.30pm

Start with the idea itself. Who might your customers be? What problems are you solving? And why should anyone care? You’ll begin shaping your proposition and identifying the assumptions you need to test.

Session 2: Thursday 3 December, 9.30am–12.30pm

Explore how your idea could become a business. You’ll look at potential business models, challenge your assumptions and start identifying what you need to find out before taking things further.

Session 3: Thursday 10 December, 9.30am–4.30pm

Bring everything together. You’ll develop a short pitch, practise telling your story and have conversations with experienced founders, business people and members of the wider innovation community.

No intimidating pitch competition. Just the opportunity to get some useful feedback, build confidence and make new connections.

There’s also time between sessions to test your thinking, talk to potential customers and develop your idea.

What will you leave with?

You’ll come away with a clearer understanding of your potential customers, the problem you’re solving and how a business around your idea might work.

You’ll have practical tools to continue developing it, feedback from people with different perspectives and new connections within the local innovation community.

Most importantly, you’ll know a lot more about what to do next.

And if you discover that your original idea needs to change? That’s valuable too. Better to find out early, before you’ve committed significant time and money.

Is Idea to Opportunity right for you?

If you’ve seen SETsquared Bath’s Smart Scale programme and thought it sounds interesting but you’re not quite at that stage, Idea to Opportunity could be a great place to start.

Smart Scale supports established businesses looking at their next stage of growth. Idea to Opportunity is for people who are still exploring whether there’s a business worth building.

The programme welcomes people from Bristol, Bath and across the wider region, and your idea doesn’t have to be technology-based.

All three sessions take place in person at the University of Bath Innovation Centre in Bath.

Ready to give your idea a proper chance?

Idea to Opportunity is fully funded, with applications closing on Friday 13 November 2026.

The programme starts on Thursday 26 November and runs across three weeks, finishing on Thursday 10 December.

If you’ve got an idea you’d love to explore, we’d love to hear about it.

Find out more about Idea to Opportunity and register your interest

Not sure whether your idea is ready? Take a look at the programme and get in touch with the SETsquared Bath team. We’re always happy to have a conversation.

Visit SETsquared Bath

You don’t need to know exactly where your idea will take you. Finding that out is the whole point.

About SETsquared Bath

Creativity and technology go hand in hand. At SETsquared Bath, we help turn ideas into businesses and support established companies to grow, with practical advice, expert guidance, valuable connections and opportunities for fully funded support.