We know that entrepreneurship in the UK is often described as open to anyone with an idea. But in reality, where you live in the UK still shapes what feels possible – and what support you can access.
At Hatch, our business support programmes exist to close the opportunity gap for entrepreneurs.
Our programmes are the foundation of our work: multi-month cohort experiences designed to support founders at every stage of their journey. Some arrive with early ideas and limited business knowledge. Others come ready to scale, hire or enter new markets.
However, what connects them is ambition and a desire to build a better world through entrepreneurship.
Each space on a Hatch programme is valued at over £6,000, bringing together mentoring, practical expertise, wellbeing support, funding opportunities and a long-term peer community. As a result, we don’t compromise on the founder experience. Because for many participants, particularly those facing socioeconomic barriers, this level of investment is what makes entrepreneurship viable in the first place.
A national footprint
Entrepreneurial talent exists everywhere, and we are increasingly expanding our work to match it.
Consequently, we supported 37% of founders based outside London last year (up from 28% the previous year). Underrepresented entrepreneurs joined our programmes from towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales. This includes Aberdeen, Exeter, Newcastle, Newport, Manchester and Milton Keynes.
Our national reach matters because opportunity has historically concentrated in the capital, and the data clearly reflects that.
Who gets to be represented as an entrepreneur?
In 2024, we used The Entrepreneurs Club research to explore how people across the UK perceive entrepreneurship.
To sum up, we found that a staggering 74% of people in the UK do not feel that entrepreneurs resemble them. Our research also showed that most people across the UK, especially those from underrepresented demographics, do not see entrepreneurship as accessible.
Furthermore, geographical location clearly shapes how people perceive entrepreneurship in the UK. The report findings highlight this impact.
Londoners were more than twice as likely to say an entrepreneur was someone who resembled them.
12% of London respondents were currently running a business.
In the North of England, that figure dropped to just 3%.
What does this tell us? Firstly, that confidence, visibility and access remain unevenly distributed. For many people outside major economic centres, entrepreneurship can feel like an “exclusive club”. Secondly, many people in the UK see entrepreneurship as distant, unfamiliar, or inaccessible.
But talent and ability are not concentrated in one region. Opportunity has been.
Entrepreneurship in the UK: Investing in founders who face geographical barriers
Over the past two years, we have made a conscious effort to expand our reach beyond the capital.
For instance, to mark Hatch’s ten-year anniversary we partnered with NatWest to distribute £100,000 in grants to ten programme graduates. The aim was to remove barriers to growth for founders operating businesses outside of London.
Applications were open to all graduates of Hatch programmes. Additionally, nine of the awardees were female founders, five identified as Disabled, and three were from an ethnic minority background.
As a result, many recipients used this funding to hire staff, develop products, or expand into new markets. The grants directly helped lay the foundations for practical progress.
£10,000 grant recipients included:
is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to make all schools and colleges more inclusive spaces through LGBTQ+ inclusion and Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE).
is an award-winning ‘tech for good’ social enterprise offering the first circular platform of its kind where people and brands donate clothes online, so communities living in clothing poverty can shop for free with the agency and dignity they deserve.
Emotional Dysregulation in Autism
is on a mission to improve recovery outcomes, patient experience, and feelings of empowerment for autistic children and young people. It provides peer support, training and social action in the Birmingham area.
aims to co-create and deliver inclusive experiences with local communities that support the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of children, young people and adults. The organisation delivers accessible classes, workshops, training and events.
provides yoga designed by Disabled people for everyone. Accessible and inclusive yoga classes that cater to any mobility level – empowering everyBODY to experience the benefits of yoga.
run by artist Rebecca Norris in North Yorkshire, is a pottery studio with courses, workshops, and community events that inspire and promote creativity.
The economic impact of participating in Hatch has been transformative. It has not only helped secure vital funding for our app’s development but has also provided the strategic insights needed to grow our business with confidence and purpose. Bixley Without the financial support of the grant, we would have been unable to create a high-quality, accessible digital health product in the timeline required to meet current public health demands.
Miranda McCarthy, founder of Adaptive Yoga Live
Entrepreneurship has the power to reshape local economies and address community challenges, but only if access is equitable.
We know from experience that problems within communities are best understood by the people living in them. Therefore, when founders from underrepresented backgrounds are supported to build businesses locally, the benefits ripple outward.
If entrepreneurship is to drive lasting impact, we must invest in those who have historically been excluded from it, not just those already positioned to succeed.
Looking ahead
In a digital economy, geography should not determine entrepreneurial success. However, closing the gap requires sustained investment, visibility, and resources for underrepresented and overlooked founders nationwide.
Our business support programmes are one part of that effort. We’re helping people move from idea to income, giving them the tools and agency they need to use their expertise and lived experience to build sustainable businesses that benefit all of us.
Now is a perfect time to stay in touch with us.
We’re expanding access to entrepreneurship for underrepresented entrepreneurs across the UK. We’re on the brink of launching our newest three-year strategy, which will build on our learnings from the past five years and look toward a future where everyone has access to the benefits entrepreneurship offers.
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