Programme FAQ

Each of our programmes is designed for a different stage in your entrepreneurial journey, from idea to scaling.

Launchpads are for entrepreneurs who have a business idea or have just launched their business, 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, branding, and pitching that you need to get your business off the ground.

Incubators are for entrepreneurs who have been running their business as a side hustle and gained some traction and are now looking to make the business more sustainable and have a clearer strategy. Over nine workshops you will learn the skills you need in business strategy, culture and mission, social media, legal, storytelling, PR, pricing, customer journey mapping and pitching in order to help turn your business from a side hustle to 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. Some of our programmes are reserved for or prioritise founders from groups that are underrepresented in entrepreneurship, including women and other marginalised genders, or Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic founders, founders who are working on a social or environmental impact business, or founders from a specific geographic region.

You can find out more about each programme’s eligibility criteria on the programme page.

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.

After the deadline for the programme applications have passed, a Hatch team member will be in touch  to let you know if you are invited to an interview. Depending on when you apply, this may take a few days to a few weeks. During the interview, we will ask questions about yourself and your business to see if you are a good fit for the programme. In some instances, an interview may not be required.

After the interview, we’ll let you know if you have been selected to take part in the programme. We aim to get back to you within 1- 4 weeks with a decision. Some programmes may have additional criteria which we use to assess your suitability. For example, some are for women only, others may require that you have a social or environmental impact and some are based on your turnover. 

In each of our programmes you will get access to

• Expert-led workshops
  
• Facilitated group sessions with other entrepreneurs
  
• 1-2-1 mentoring and coaching
• Support developing and practising your pitch
  
• Access to our additional community events + networking opportunities

Our accessibility supports include, but are not limited to:

• Assistance completing the application form via Zoom or phone call
• Alternate application form formats (large print, audio)
• Providing interview questions ahead of time
• Captions enabled on all sessions
• Option to have the camera off
• Session materials sent in advance
• Support workers are welcome to join sessions, as well as AI notetakers upon permission from all cohort participants. 
• Additional support from the programming team, including 1:1 sessions
• Experts and facilitators representative of the cohort
• Frequent breaks
• Expert sessions are recorded for review afterwards as many times as you’d like
• Flexibility around attendance, e.g., if you cannot attend a session, we can offer a 1:1 catch-up with the programme manager

All of our programmes take place online, either via Zoom, Butter or other online meeting software.

Thanks to our incredible corporate partners, we are able to offer our programmes at a reduced rate to participants, and in some cases for no cost. You can find the prices for each programme on the programme application page.

Hatch Enterprise’s operates a trust-based self-referral system, when it comes to bursaries. It is our policy to offer bursaries to anyone who:

• Is unemployed or underemployed.
• Is eligible for government assistance, including Universal Credit or benefits.
• Would risk their ability to meet their basic needs (eg. buy food, pay childcare, pay rent or make debt payments) by paying to join one of our programmes. This includes the needs of anyone who you may have a responsibility to as a carer.
• Would reduce their ability to afford things like public transport or fuel, or their ability to commute to work by paying to join one of our programmes.
• Anyone who has an unstable housing situation, and/or anyone who has very limited expendable income or savings.
• Anyone who would negatively affect their ability to run or grow their business by paying to join one of our programmes.

Additional partnerships also enable us to offer free places to residents of the following housing associations: Peabody, The Guinness Partnership

If the cost of the programme is a barrier, you can indicate that you would like to be considered for a bursary in the application form to reduce or remove the programme cost.

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 doesn’t sign an NDA with participants, but we never share any confidential information from the application process or programmes.

Hatch’s programmes are part-time and designed to fit around your business and your life. Most programmes will have a maximum of 8 hours of workshops a month and we ask all participants to attend all programme events unless they have communicated with the Programme Manager beforehand.  Some programmes offer additional support opportunities via 1-2-1 mentoring, extra optional events or a set of recommended tasks to complete outside of your 8 hours of monthly workshops. All content is designed for Founders to follow at their own pace whilst on the programme.

When you graduate from the programme, you will become part of the Hatch community. You can continue to build connections with other Hatch founders, access exclusive events, masterclasses, perks, and share and receive news and opportunities.

We ask that there is one primary founder who takes part in the programme and attends the workshops and 121 support. Co-founders or business partners who are not on programmes are welcome to attend 121 support alongside the main founder. There may be additional opportunities for participation, but this would be detailed to you by the programme manager.

Once you have completed and graduated from a Hatch programme you may be eligible to apply for a grant through the Hatch Fund. The grants team at Hatch will let you know about eligibility criteria and how much funding you can apply for when applications for grants open. We work with our grant-making partner, Groundwork, to administer this fund.

The amount you can apply for will vary based on two factors; what programme (Launchpad, Incubator or Accelerator) you’ve graduated from, but also which of our partners is supporting that specific programme. As an example, it’s possible that two Launchpad programmes running at the same time will have differently sized grant pots available at the end of the programme. This amount is largely dictated by our partners. Also worth noting, not all applicants will be successful as the grant fund is competitive, and the total maximum amount applied for may not be awarded.

Most of our programmes have between 12-18 participants in a cohort. Sometimes we
run multiple cohorts at a time, so some of your sessions may have multiple cohorts brought together for particular sessions giving you even more opportunity to network with like minded founders on a similar journey to you!

Hatch is open to all business models, sectors and industries. So whether you are creating a product, service or marketplace, selling to individual consumers or businesses, seeking funding or bootstrapping – our programmes can help you and your business.