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For many Disabled people, mainstream employment can feel like a space that was never designed with them in mind. Progress towards accessible workplaces is slow, reasonable adjustments are hard-won, and these realities make the modern workplace a difficult place to be for many of us living with disabilities.
But for a growing number of people, entrepreneurship is becoming a more visible, more viable form of employment which offers something different: a job that works around individual needs, and a chance to bring innovations to life which build a better world. This makes support for Disabled Entrepreneurs in the UK more vital than ever.
With this in mind, we partnered with longstanding Hatch backers Linklaters and Funding Circle to build a specialised version of our Get Ready To Start programme that addresses these exact challenges – offering support which gives Disabled people the space to gain entrepreneurial knowledge, community, and confidence that doesn’t push them into self-employment, but gives them the foundations they need to make that decision for themselves.
In January, we welcomed a new cohort of aspiring entrepreneurs through this special iteration of our Get Ready To Start programme.
This article outlines what happened once they arrived.
Get Ready To Start: The Stepping Stone We Know Aspiring Entrepreneurs Need
It is only because of open-minded, impact-focused partners like Linklaters and Funding Circle that we can deliver this type of support for pre-launch Disabled entrepreneurs in the UK where we know it’s deeply necessary.
Why? Because taking a leap of faith to start a business is a luxury. Without the safety net of secure finances, or a network of likeminded people who can support you, starting a business often remains an aspiration. And this problem feels all the more real when we look at why Disabled people start businesses in the first place.
Research shows another reason this matters.
The Programme
With Funding Circle and Linklaters, this Get Ready To Start programme was designed specifically for Disabled people at the ideation stage of their entrepreneurial journey. It provides guidance before they have evidence of traction, a foundation we know is critical to truly leveling the playing field for entrepreneurs in the UK.
The programme supported 19 people with an idea who weren’t yet sure whether running a business was right for them, or whether their idea was even a viable one in the first place.
Together with 25+ volunteers from programme partners, each participant received vital learning opportunities that covered the fundamentals of starting a business alongside a suite of opportunities that built a thriving peer network.
Founders also received incremental feedback and guidance from our outstanding volunteers, who have significant experience in areas such as customer research, legal requirements, and pitching.
‘It Has Changed My Life’
By the end of the programme, 89% of participants had either already launched their business or have plans to do so within the next 12 months. Collectively, programme alumni will also be seeking over £2.5 million in equity, grant, loan and donation funding.
One example is Ed Shearer, who arrived on the programme not expecting to become an entrepreneur at all. His business, Neurodivergent Joy, aims to support employers and employees to identify and implement effective workplace adjustments.
Get Ready To Start completely changed the way that Ed thought about entrepreneurship.
‘Before I started the course, I never thought I would be an entrepreneur. Over the last three months, this has changed my mind.
Now I am officially self employed and have a viable business idea. The course has given me the confidence to step out and really make a go of it. Being autistic, sometimes I don’t see myself in a positive light.
That has changed and thanks to Get Ready To Start. It has changed my life.’
– Ed Shearer, founder of Neurodivergent Joy
For Sam Kenyon, who is building neurodivergent-inclusive party boxes and adventure games for children through Frolic & Fable, Get Ready To Start helped transform her ability to see herself as an entrepreneur with a viable, clearly articulated business plan that she can start to build.
‘Hatch’s support and guidance have been invaluable for me. I arrived with a business idea that I really believed in but hadn’t yet found the confidence to articulate clearly.
The practice pitch session was a particular highlight. Presenting to the friendly dragons was challenging for me, but the support leading up to it, and the feedback I received afterwards have enhanced both my confidence and the products I create.
Hatch have given me the skills to understand my business and my customers in ways I had never considered before, and this has given me a much stronger foundation to build from.‘
– Sam Kenyon, founder of Frolic & Fable
Yasmin Ahmad joined Get Ready To Start with a mission to address significant problems faced by people experiencing chronic pain. Her new platform, My Chronic Pain Atlas, will give people a smarter, structured way to track their experience to support clinicians in providing the right care.
Get Ready To Start helped her move the dial on her concept, shaping it into a focused, credible venture.
‘Our experience with Hatch has been genuinely pivotal in shaping both the clarity and direction of our business at an early stage.
Through the programme, we were challenged to sharpen our value proposition and better articulate the real-world problem we are solving for people living with chronic pain.
This was particularly important for us, as our users often live with complex, overlapping conditions such as neuralgia, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disorders, and chronic joint pain. Hatch helped us refine how we communicate this problem in a way that is both accessible and compelling to users, clinicians, and future stakeholders.
Hatch has helped us move faster, think more strategically, and build with greater confidence.‘
– Yasmin Ahmad, fouder of My Chronic Pai Atlas
Impact That Reaches Further
What’s striking about this cohort is what they’re building, who they’re doing it for, and what they care about. 79% of the programme’s participants were addressing at least one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through their business idea.
This matters. Because these outstanding future business leaders aren’t only creating livelihoods for themselves, they are also building solutions to some of the most pressing collective challenges of our time.
It Takes a Village
Across the 25+ volunteers who helped guide this cohort through the programme, over 80 hours of expert guidance were delivered across advisory sessions and our Demo Day, where volunteers took up the role of ‘Friendly Dragons’ to give feedback on each participant’s business pitch.
As a result of this collective backing, nearly half (47%) refined or pivoted their business models throughout the duration of the programme, responding to new insights and feedback with the kind of adaptability demanded by entrepreneurship.
“We are proud to partner with Hatch. Their focus on backing disabled and neurodivergent founders aligns strongly with our social impact strategy, which aims to empower communities by improving access to education, employment and enterprise, and by supporting environmental sustainability.
Through skilled volunteering and financial support, we want to build partnerships that create positive social impact for underserved and underrepresented groups who are growing sustainable enterprises that drive community-led, inclusive local economies.
The Get Ready to Start programme is a powerful example of this in action. Taking part in Demo Day as a volunteer ‘friendly dragon’ was a real highlight for me personally. I heard powerful pitches from founders whose businesses are rooted in their lived experience of being neurodivergent and/or disabled, and it was clear how much their confidence and clarity had grown. It was inspiring to see them ready to take their ideas to the next stage.”
-Lucy Harrison, Social Impact Senior Advisor at Linklaters
“We were delighted to continue working with our partners at Hatch Enterprise.
At Funding Circle, we help power small businesses in the UK, and we know how vital they are to the UK economy and communities, creating jobs and sustaining livelihoods. We recognise that diverse entrepreneurs experience unique challenges when it comes to starting or growing their business, and accessing finance. We’re particularly proud to have backed this iteration of the Get Ready to Start programme, dedicated to supporting disabled and neurodivergent entrepreneurs in the early stages of their journey.”
-Reem Akl, ESG Manager at Funding Circle
“Given the significant barriers Disabled people face in society, especially in employment right now, running a specialised ‘Get Ready To Start’ cohort for aspiring entrepreneurs with disabilities felt timely and relevant.
It has successfully shown participants that entrepreneurship and building something of your own is genuinely possible with the right tools in your arsenal.
None of it would have been possible without the incredible commitment of our partners at Linklaters and Funding Circle, whose volunteers brought expertise, warmth, and genuine investment in these founders’ success to the Hatch table. The result has been watching participants make life-changing decisions about their futures and capabilities, which is exactly why this work matters so much to us at Hatch Enterprise.”
-Rebekah Sun, CEO at Hatch Enterprise.
Want to help us build a better world through entrepreneurship by backing Disabled Entrepreneurs in the UK?
Get Ready To Start, like all our cohort programmes at Hatch, is only possible due to the generosity and commitment of our corporate partners, volunteers, and supporters.
If you’d like to find out how your organisation can help create more opportunities like this for underrepresented entrepreneurs, in pursuit of a fairer, more equal economy, we’d love to hear from you.
Explore charity partnerships with Hatch Enterprise
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