An AI incubator, across the East Midlands.
For founders in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northants — an operator-led incubator that lives in the region rather than visiting it. James is in Derby. Phil is in Nottingham. Between them, every East Midlands brief lands on the day, not on the next train south.
The East Midlands is one of the most underserved regions in the UK startup ecosystem. There’s real talent here — spin-outs from Nottingham, Loughborough and Leicester universities, ex-Rolls-Royce engineers, ex-Boots commercial leaders, a quiet bench of operating founders — and almost no incubator that runs from inside the region. Most AI founders end up either commuting to a London accelerator or working alone for two years before they hit the wall.
Moonlabs runs from inside the East Midlands. Two operators based in the region: James Freestone (co-founder, commercial & capital lead, Derby) and Phil Mostyn (delivery lead, Nottingham, ex Dell / GoDaddy / Foodhub, trained AI-native by James and Louis). They cover the region between them: James drives Derbyshire and the western half of Leicestershire; Phil drives Nottinghamshire, eastern Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and into Peterborough. Louis (technical architecture, Norwich) and Shivam (funding, London) join the work as needed. Same operator team behind Homemove, home.co.uk and homedata.co.uk.
Same Moonlabs Incubator commercials, regionally delivered: 1% tech-for-equity on the company, 10% success fee on capital raised, £999 commitment on signing credited back at round close. No application fee, no cohort calendar, no demo day. Rolling intake, founder-paced, across the whole East Midlands.
Two operators in the region
Not one Moonlabs partner who happens to drive in for a brief. Two senior operators — James in Derby, Phil in Nottingham — based in the East Midlands and running operating UK businesses in the same week they sit in your founder reviews.
The whole region inside an hour
Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Burton, Mansfield, Chesterfield, Lincoln, Newark, Worksop, Coalville, Hinckley — all inside a same-day on-site brief from one of the two bases. Northampton and Buxton are inside a half-day. Most of the East Midlands sees its operator face-to-face.
London commercials, regional delivery
Same Moonlabs Incubator shape that operates anywhere we work: 1% + £999 + 10% on capital raised. Operators on your cap table for the technology — not a Soho office hourly rate, not a fund cheque with a portfolio model behind it.
Common questions.
Why an East Midlands incubator rather than a London one?
For founders based in the East Midlands, the honest answer is: less commuting, an operator who can be in your office the same day, and a programme shape designed around the founder’s timeline rather than a London cohort calendar. For founders based in London, the answer might genuinely be "go to a London accelerator." We’ll say so on the first call if we think the geography weighs against us.
What does "East Midlands" actually cover for you?
Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire as the core (the triangle from Derby–Nottingham–Leicester is inside an hour from at least one of our two bases). Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire as the periphery (Lincoln is ~1 h from Nottingham; Northampton is half-a-day from either base). We extend into Sheffield, Birmingham and Coventry when the brief calls for it — those see us less often but still in-person where it matters.
If both James and Phil are in the East Midlands, who do I work with?
Depends where you are and what your bottleneck is. James (Derby) leads commercial and capital — he’s the natural first call if your wedge is fundraising-readiness or commercial positioning. Phil (Nottingham) leads delivery — he’s the natural first call if your wedge is "we need to ship the product on a real stack." For most briefs, both are involved at different moments. Louis (architecture, Norwich) and Shivam (funding, London) join the work remotely as needed.
Is this the only AI incubator in the East Midlands?
No — there are good options across the region (BioCity in Nottingham, Ingenuity Lab at the University of Nottingham, the Loughborough University Innovation Centre, programmes attached to Derby and De Montfort universities). They tend to be longer cohorts, university-affiliated, or sector-specific (life-sci, agri-tech). Moonlabs sits in a different lane: AI-native, operator-led, rolling, with operators on the cap table rather than mentor-of-the-month rotation.
What about founders further afield — Lincoln, Northampton, Sheffield, Birmingham?
All inside our wider catchment. Lincoln is comfortable for Phil from Nottingham (around an hour). Northampton works as a half-day from either base. Sheffield and Birmingham see us less often but still in-person where it matters — James drives over from Derby; Phil sometimes takes Manchester or Liverpool on the same travel day. We don’t pretend to be local to every city we visit; we are honest about what same-day vs half-day vs travel-day looks like on the first call.
The full Incubator page
The full Moonlabs Incubator offer in one place — process, pillars, commercials, founders we work with.
About James, Louis, Phil & Shivam
The operators behind the work. £5m+ raised for their own companies, ~£10m across their broader career, AI-native since the week ChatGPT shipped.
More Academy entry points.
The Academy is one course with many doors. Each of these pages is a different entry point into the same twelve weeks.
Build the company you keep meaning to build.
Tell us about the idea and where in the East Midlands you are. James or Phil — whoever’s closer — will come back inside the week with a meeting slot at your office.
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