[This blog is a little outdated, see here for more up to date information.]
With overwhelming evidence to show that supporting women in growing their business ventures will increase employment opportunities locally, bring about new products and services as well as increase GDP in the UK, Hatch is currently in the process of selecting candidates for our new business accelerator programme that will launch next month.
While our Launchpad and Incubator Programmes have already helped hundreds of entrepreneurs start and build their businesses since 2014, this unique and exciting new accelerator programme will focus on helping London based female entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses.
Having reflected on comments made by female entrepreneurs completing our current programmes, as well as feedback from the mentors, consultants and coaches we are partnered with, we became interested in the specific challenges that women face as entrepreneurs and how to resolve them.
Starting, building or scaling a business is not easy, and there are many obstacles faced by both female and male entrepreneurs. That said, there are specific challenges that affect women more than men, such as access to finance, absence of role models and lack of confidence in skill sets.
After surveying over 100 female founders and speaking to enterprises that specifically support women such as Unltd and ClearlySO, we discovered the other challenges they find most debilitating to growth. From this research, we devised a programme that allows women to scale their existing businesses, whilst addressing the points they feel hinder both business and personal development.
Running as part of the London wide Female Founders Programme, our specific Female Founders Accelerator for South London based entrepreneurs, will focus on three main themes: Stepping into Greatness, The Self as a Source of Strength and being part of and growing a thriving community.
Participants will take their business to the next level through focused business workshops led by field experts, inspirational talks from female founders and one-to-one coaching and consulting. Resilience will be developed through self-reflection, insightful activities and leadership workshops. The programme will ensure healthy, sustainable growth for the future by balancing business and personal development. The women will not only gain perspectives from a variety of established female founders, but will also benefit from learning, supporting and swapping skills, with peers who are experts in their field.
Case Study:
From pop-up to permanent residence, Noemi was part of Hatch Incubator Cohort #3 back in 2015. We could immediately see her passion and love for what she does. Her Berlin Brunch concept resonated not only with us but with many others. Since launching her concept, she’s gone from pop-up stalls and residencies at various locations to opening London’s rst Berlin brünch Cafe in London Fields!
Noemi has gone from testing to validating her concept, whilst at the same time improving her operations, deepening relationships with local suppliers and building her brand.
Financial assistance from J.P. Morgan has allowed us to heavily subsidise the programme, offering a professional, high quality course at an affordable cost.
We would like to thank other partners who will be helping us deliver this programme including the Thomson Reuters Foundation TrustLaw, Ogunte, ClearlySO and Weil