The Cooper Project continues to attract lots of strong applications from ambitious tech founders, and selecting startups to join the cohort is becoming an evermore competitive process.

Our Incubator Manager, Rose Tran, has just onboarded four founders who reflect the breadth of talent choosing to build their businesses within the Sheffield Technology Parks (STP) community. Working across EdTech, digital infrastructure, remote-worker wellbeing and sports management, each brings deep sector expertise, a compelling problem to solve and the ambition to make a real impact.

Over the coming months, they'll benefit from dedicated workspace, tailored business support, mentoring and, crucially, the opportunity to learn alongside fellow entrepreneurs as they develop their ventures.

Settl

After more than 15 years working across marketing, sales and operations, James Coughlan is building Settl - an app to make remote working healthier, more productive and less isolating.

The platform helps remote workers discover laptop-friendly cafés and hospitality venues where they can work in a welcoming, communal environment, while supporting local hospitality businesses to attract customers during quieter periods. James explains, "Our aim is to lower loneliness, isolation and burnout when working remotely, and at the same time, support the hospitality sector."

Flash Revise

Final-year medical student Mardaan Shah founded Flash Revise after combining his background in neuroscience, medicine and entrepreneurship with a passion for improving how students learn.

The platform uses adaptive flashcards, spaced repetition and personalised revision planning to help students prepare more effectively for exams, while giving teachers greater insight into student progress.

"My background combines healthcare, education and entrepreneurship,” says Mardaan, adding: “I have a particular interest in using technology to make personalised, high-quality learning accessible at scale."

TwinLayer

Drawing on more than 14 years' experience across digital banking, payments and product management, Chukwudi ‘Chuck’ Ndubueze, alongside co-founder Kingsley Chibundu, is building TwinLayer.

The platform helps SMEs understand how their cloud services, applications and digital infrastructure connect, enabling them to identify risks before changes lead to costly disruption. Chuck comments,

"We are solving that blind spot by helping SMEs see how their systems connect, understand the risk of change and act before disruption happens."

BallBridge

Licensed FIFA football agent and sports lawyer Funbi Ogunfuwa founded BallBridge after seeing first-hand how fragmented the business side of sport can be.

BallBridge brings together tools for contract drafting, client management, deal tracking and professional networking into a single platform designed for agents, athletes, parents and sports organisations. Funbi’s aim is to level the playing field for agents at all levels, and streamline processes for all involved, from athletes and their families, to sports businesses.

"BallBridge replaces all of it with one system,” he explains. “It’s built for structure, precision, efficiency, and clarity."

A community of ambitious founders

Every Cooper Project cohort brings together founders with different experiences, challenges, motivations, and perspectives. And it’s become one of the programme's greatest strengths, creating an environment where entrepreneurs learn from one another as well as from mentors and advisors.

We're excited to see what James, Mardaan, Chuck, and Funbi achieve over the coming months, and we're delighted to welcome them to the Cooper Project and the wider STP community.