Confidence on stage
Speak in front of a live audience inside a real university lecture theatre.
Now open · Hosted at LSE · UCL · KCLSummer programmes now open · Hosted at LSE · UCL · KCL
Because life is not multiple choice.
Three real-world summer programmes for ages 9–18. Students build, back, and pitch real ventures inside UCL, King's College London, and LSE.
Learning beyond the syllabus. Hosted at the London School of Economics & Political Science. Each cohort limited to 20 students.
3
Summer programmes
9–18
Age range
3
London university venues
0
Exams
Three programmes at a glance
Build it. Back it. Pitch it.
Three distinct summer programmes across UCL, King's College London and LSE. Two age brackets: 9 to 13, and 16 to 18.
- 01
Enterprise Programme
A business your child builds, pitches, and sells from scratch.
Ages9–13Dates29 Jul – 4 AugApply bySun 26 JulPlaces20 - 02
Investors Programme
Where pocket money becomes a portfolio.
Ages9–13Dates29 Jul – 4 AugApply bySun 26 JulPlaces20 - 03
Industry Programme
Where a transcript becomes a track record, and a network.
Ages16–18Dates11 – 15 AugApply bySat 8 AugPlaces20
What your child will leave with
More than a project. A new way of thinking.
Build & sell a real product
Take an idea from sketch to shelf, and watch a stranger pay for it.
Money fluency
Cost, pricing, profit, margin, and value, understood by doing, not memorising.
Real customer research
Surveys, interviews, and competitor analysis with strangers on campus.
Networking skills
How to introduce yourself, ask a question worth answering, and follow up so a five-minute chat becomes a real connection.
A pitch and a business story
An idea they can articulate, defend, and be proud to talk about.
Parent video compilation
A keepsake summary of the week, the pitches, the market, the moments.
Certificate of completion
A formal certificate marking the venture and the work behind it.
What parents say
Let me start by thanking you for offering this unique and incredibly valuable program for our kids. Maanya has come away with some tremendous takeaways from the experience and is already looking forward to attending any future events. It was wonderful to see how each child was celebrated during the award ceremony. The thought and care that went into recognizing every participant made it truly special. A big congratulations to the entire Gridless team.
Gunjan Satyawadi
Parent of Maanya
Thank you to you and your team, Samara, for a wonderful new experience. AI loved it and learned a whole host of new actionable concepts. Your thoughtfulness and care throughout were also exemplary. A great start to your venture! ♥️💪🚀
Mary Carmen
Parent of Ana-Isabelle
Mine have never done public speaking before so this was a revelation and they've always turned down public speaking opportunities. So to see them so bold and confident it's testament to your method. Also the comfortability of the children speaking in their own pace and way you're definitely a benchmark coach and mentor to them. And picked the right team.
Sarah Ekundayo
Parent of Eugenia and Corey
Dear Samara, Very impressive on all levels! Thank you for giving the parents the opportunity to witness the children's creativity and hard work in action. You have created a wonderful platform for them to put their resourceful minds to work in innovative ways. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Kudos to you and your team!
Ines Micali
Parent of Giulia
Hi Samara, Thanks for organising such a great programme. Edgar learnt so much from this exceptional experience. I ask him what one thing he wanna change to the programme, his only ask is to make it longer. Thanks again for the effort in putting this all together. Well done
Steven Chan
Parent of Edgar
Take a look
From the founding cohort.
Market research
Students on the King's Strand campus, testing ideas with strangers.
Pitch day
Pitching live in an LSE lecture theatre to a real audience.
Live market
A central London market stall, real customers, real money kept by students.
In the room
Inside the cohort — workshops, sessions, and ideas in motion.
Behind the scenes
The making of pitch day.
On the ground
Out in London, putting the work into practice.
Founder
Samara Mahmood
King's College London · AI & Philosophy BSc · IB graduate
I built Gridless through the King's Entrepreneurship Institute, where I was the winner of the Enterprise Award, which gives me access to a network of entrepreneurs, world-class facilities, and some of the top students in the UK. I have been tutoring literature and performance at LAMDA for three years, and every student I have worked with has achieved a distinction.
Before I built Gridless, interviews meant listing the clubs and tasks I'd done and trying to reverse-engineer a lesson from each. Building a real venture changed that entirely. For the first time I had authentic answers about the skills and experience I had actually developed. I want students to have that before applications and university, because it is a major head start: a network, real knowledge, and a story most people their age simply do not have.
I am 19, close enough in age to relate to the students I work with, and far enough into university and industry to open doors for them.
Inspiring venues
The room changes everything.
Lecture theatres, formal presentation rooms, and campus spaces shift perception. Students aren't participating in a simulation, they're working in spaces where decisions are made, research is debated, and futures are shaped.
Sir Arthur Lewis Building
LSE Seminar Room
Where small teams refine, debate, and rebuild ideas in close quarters.
Central London campus
King's College London, Strand
The ground for market research, interviews, and customer testing.
London School of Economics
LSE Lecture Theatre
The stage for live pitches in front of a real audience.
Central London · evenings
Networking Event Space
Where students meet founders, current university students, and senior industry figures over open networking.
Bloomsbury campus
UCL Seminar Room
Studio-style sessions where ideas are generated, stress-tested, and committed to.
Live trading venue · Investors programme
Central London Market
Where students go to watch the market in motion, study the traders, the customers, the pricing, and learn how a real market works.
What makes Gridless different
A programme designed around access, proximity, and place.
01 / Network
University connections
Sessions are hosted on UCL, King's, and LSE campuses, supported by current university students, and enriched through conversations with founders, academics, and senior industry figures. University stops being a distant goal and becomes a familiar, motivating part of learning, with the kind of connections that, on merit, can reach well beyond Gridless.
02 / Mentors
University student tutors
Gridless is led and supported by current students from LSE, KCL, UCL, Imperial, and Bayes, on degree courses directly relevant to the work. They are close enough in age to genuinely connect with students, and far enough into university and industry to act as credible mentors, role models, and door-openers.
03 / Place
Inspiring venues
Students work in seminar rooms, pitch in LSE lecture theatres, and sell at a live market in central London. These are the rooms where decisions are made, research is debated, and futures are shaped, and the standard of the work rises to match the room.
Parent trust & safeguarding
Designed with safety, structure, and trust.
Gridless is designed with clear supervision, small cohorts, safeguarding procedures, and professional learning environments. Documentation including DBS confirmation, NSPCC training, insurance, and safeguarding policies is available upon request.
Clear supervision
Trained staff present throughout every session.
Designated safeguarding lead
A qualified lead appointed for every cohort.
Small cohorts
Capped at 20 students for close mentoring and care.
Documentation available on request
DBS, NSPCC training, insurance, and policies.