Introducing The Escape Startup Shed

This is a legacy piece from 2014. We ended up running the shed and it was used as a launchpad for Pippa Murray and her now hugely successful Pip & Nut startup!

A new, slightly crazy, but simple concept to help one person launch their business.

So many people have great ideas for starting businesses but never do because there are so many blockers and fears involved. So we thought we’d do our bit to help someone with a great idea. Provide them with a free bed (shed) to sleep in and a free desk along with some support for a few months and help them launch their business. Welcome to the Escape Shed.

Rewind 4 years…. 

The biggest fear I had about starting Escape the City were around money. How do I start a business with zero income and still live in London? In my case I saved up enough for 6 months' rent and lived off £10 a day. The first 6 months were the most stressful, get past that and you’re doing well.

Fast forward 4 years….

We want to help people like us. We figured if we built a shed in our garden at Escape HQ (Battersea, London) we’d be able to offer one lucky person a secure, warm bed to sleep in, a desk in ESC HQ and take away the stresses of money so they can focus on launching their business.

Launching the idea:

On Monday 14th April 2014 we launched the concept in our newsletter. Turns out people love the idea of living in a shed. The Escape Shed launch page got well over 3,000 views within a few days and we stopped the applications coming in after 80 were received from all over world. We had everything from people wanting to launch hangover cures to handcrafted bamboo bikes.

Today we shortlisted a handful of applications and from today we will be sharing them on our Facebook page and letting our community decide on who they want to see in the shed. The winner will be announced at the end of May with a view to the first Escape Shed resident being welcomed in early June.

Stay tuned for updates!