Hackathons are for anyone who has a business idea and wants to learn more about becoming an entrepreneur. You will begin to learn the entrepreneurial skills you need to bring your business idea to life.

Launchpads are for entrepreneurs who have a business idea, understand the problem they are trying to solve, and are ready to start their entrepreneurial journey. Over twelve sessions, you will learn the basics of entrepreneurial mindset, business strategy, finance, marketing and pitching that you need to get your business off the ground.

Incubators are for entrepreneurs who have been running their business for some time and are ready to start focusing on growth and expanding their team. Over nine workshops, you will learn the skills you need in business modelling, product/market fit, finance, legal, branding, wellbeing and pitching in order to make your side hustle your full-time job.

Accelerators are business and leadership programmes that have been designed for entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their business and impact. Over twelve workshops, you will evaluate your personal leadership strengths and the opportunities for your business to grow, and tap into the knowledge of the other entrepreneurs on the programme to plan your path to sustainable growth.

You can see all the programmes we’re currently offering on our programmes page: www.hatchenterprise.org/our-programmes

Hatch programmes are for entrepreneurs based in the UK. Every programme we run has different application criteria that allows us to best tailor our support.

This New Founders programme aims to level the playing field in entrepreneurship, so we welcome and prioritise applications from underrepresented groups including Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority founders, women and other marginalised genders, disabled founders, and LGBTQIA+ founders. Some cohorts are reserved for entrepreneurs who meet specific criteria, which you can see on each application form.

The Launchpad is suitable for you if you:

• Have a business idea and want to launch your own business
• Want to increase your business knowledge, skills and confidence
• Want to be part of a cohort of other entrepreneurs
• Are based in the UK

The Incubator is suitable for you if you:

• Are based in the UK
• Have a minimum viable product, have started trading or have a business background
• Want to increase your business knowledge, skills and confidence
• Want to be part of a cohort of other entrepreneurs
• Are based in the UK

The Accelerator is suitable for you if you:

• You are the founder or director of a business based in the UK
• You have an annual turnover of roughly £40k+
• You employ at least one member of staff or full-time equivalent
• You want to increase your business knowledge, skills and confidence
• You want to network and be part of a cohort of other entrepreneurs
• You can commit to the workshops and Demo Day

(Some eligibility criteria is subject to change)

The Hackathon is suitable for you if you: 

• You have identified a social or environmental problem you would like to tackle 
• Are based in the UK

You can express your interest in one of our programmes using the application form. Try to answer the questions in as  much detail as possible, as we don’t ask applicants to submit a business plan or model. The programme manager will then be in touch to let you know if you are invited to an interview as the next stage. In the interview, we will ask questions about yourself and your business to see if you are a good fit for the programme. After the interview, we’ll let you know if you have been selected to take part in the programme.

In each of our programmes you will get access to:

• Expert-led workshops 
• Facilitated group sessions with other entrepreneurs
• 1-2-1 support 
• Support developing and practicing your pitch 
• Networking and events
• Membership of Hatch’s community of founders

Until further notice we will continue to run all of our programmes online.

If you would like to apply for a bursary sign-up to the programme using the application form above and if your application is successful you will be invited to an online interview, during this interview you can ask about applying for a bursary place.

No. Hatch’s programmes provide support to entrepreneurs, but we don’t take any equity or stake in your business.

Like most early-stage programmes, Hatch cannot sign an NDA, but we won’t share any confidential information from the application process or interviews.

Most of the Hatch team either have been or are entrepreneurs, so we understand how tricky it is to commit to recurring meetings when life is so busy. However, one of the most encouraging pieces of feedback we receive from entrepreneurs is that our programmes allow them to take a step back, to work on the business rather than in it. Therefore we ask that participants attend at least 75% of all workshops and events.

After you finish the programme, you will become part of the Hatch community. You can continue to interact with other entrepreneurs, join events, and share news and opportunities.

For the Hackathon, you are both welcome to book places separately and take part together. 

For the Launchpad, Incubator and Accelerator programmes, we ask that there is one primary founder who takes part in the programme and attends the workshops. Co-founders or business partners are welcome to attend some events and 121 support alongside the main founder.