What is Rise?

Rise is Colorintech’s pre-accelerator program that puts entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds through an 8-week program. The program is made up of workshops, lectures, and office hours covering a range of invaluable content for early-stage entrepreneurs. The aim is to help founders accelerate their ideas, learn best practices while gaining access to a community of fellow founders, investors, and experts.

01

Fits around your schedule

Workshops in the evenings and weekends

02

World-class experts

Learn from experienced operators and successful investors

03

Showcase

Pitch your startup to leading early stage investors and accelerators

Entry Requirements

  • You identify as belonging to an ethnic minority
  • You are pre-seed and have not raised more than £150k
  • You have an idea or product in MVP stage or early product-stage, that uses technology to solve a real demonstrable problem
  • Enthusiastic and ready to network and grow with others
  • You can commit to the 8-week program (4 hours a week)
  • You are based in Europe

The Program

Designed in collaboration with industry partners, our program is specifically for pre-seed founders

1

Founder Resilience

We uncover the highs and lows of the startup journey and techniques you can use to recognise stress and build resilience

2

Building an MVP

Understand the building blocks of creating a minimum viable product and getting feedback from users

3

Mastering the pitch

Learn the value of storytelling and the components of a great pitch

4

Building relationships and creating a culture

Explore how to build relationships with customers, co-founders and employees

Immersion

Selected students have the opportunity to join our Immersion trek where they will go to one of the leading tech hubs in Europe or the US

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Previous Mentors

Ruben Portz

Founder of TractionPad

Gavin Presman

Author and Sales Expert

Dami Hastrup

Co-founder and CEO of MOONHUB

Lenna Lou

Founder of The L Factor

Andy Davis

General Partner & Co-founder, 10x10

Seven Jacobs

Founder of In Search of Leaders

Tashan Nicholas

Coach at Relyte

Irina Gheorghiu

Co-founder of ZIM

Scott Ohene-Nyako

Branding Specialist at 478Studios

Ina Yulo Stuve

Head of Startup Marketing at AWS

Ken Thomas

Investor at Backfuture VC

Neetu Puranikmath

Investor at Cooper Family Office

Sahil Sethi

Co-founder at Maji.io

Jinesh Vohra

CEO & Founder at Sprive

Eleonora Mantovani

Principle at PROFounders Capital

Dan Pandeni Idhenga

Investor at 1818VC

Rahmon Agbaje

Co-Founder at Loud Parade

Nigel Hall

Advisor and Angel Investor

Abi Mohamed

Head of Marketing and Business Development at Extend Ventures

Hattie Willis

Co-founder at IfWeRaise

Bjion Henry

CEO at navreo.ai

Damilola Fasawe-Aderinto

Investor at Greenhouse Capital

Yasemin Gunes

Mountside Ventures

Valérie Aelbrecht

VC Investor at AlbionVC

Oyinkansola Adebayo

CEO & Founder of Niyo Group

Rakesh Kasturi

Sprintdoctor.io

Theo-Lee Houston

Founder at Slinger

Previous Sponsors

We've worked with

Our Alumni

Lewis Goode

Founder & CEO @ AfriVest

Invest. Connect. Community. AfriVest is a pan-African, community-focused equity crowdfunding platform powering an African-led and African-enabled, African future.

Pius Bozumbil

Founder of TruTalent

AI-powered talent sourcing and shortlisting platform: delivering a seamless journey from top talent discovery to interview readiness. Gone are the days of sifting through countless resumes and wrestling with complex decision-making processes. Our innovative AI-powered platform empowers with accelerated candidate generation and an efficient shortlisting and nurturing of top talent. Our mission is to transform how recruiters engage with potential candidates, creating a seamless journey from disco

Estelle Agyeman

CEO and Co-Founder of KARR

Founded in 2017, KARR is an innovative technology platform using cutting edge systems to automate the UK vehicle industry. By providing an efficient management tool, KARR users are able to reclaim control over their vehicles finances. Say hello to the money management platform that's created an easy to use solution for UK motorists.

Tobi Akinyemi

Founder of TwoShot

TwoShot is reimagining the music sampling landscape with its advanced technology. With a rich library of over 200,000+ samples, our platform offers artists AI-driven sample generation, next-gen natural language search, and seamless DAW integration. Beyond enhancing the creative process, we've demystified music licensing, enabling artists to clear tracks swiftly. Dive into a world where TwoShot AI brings your musical vision to life effortlessly

Ted Haile

Founder of Presales.ai

Presales.ai is a co-pilot for technical sales people.

Junior Makame

CEO and Founder of SocialPro

SocialPro is an AI-powered tool that removes the guesswork from social media growth. It analyses a creator's niche and delivers a personalised content plan for maximum engagement and reach. With 24/7 growth tracking and valuable insights, SocialPro advises on improving the visual and audible aspects of content to boost performance.

Charisma Mehta

Co-founder, Project Alix

Alix exists to enable people to make confident choices about money and reduce stress. Our money wellness transformation system makes personalised interventions available to people who want to feel more in control of their money. We also support organisations whose objectives align to this mission.

Prasun Chakraborty

CEO and Founder of Genevation LTD

Genevation offers personalized cancer vaccines as a revolutionary treatment option for cancer patients. Our vaccines are tailored to each patient unique genetic makeup, providing a targeted approach to cancer treatment. With Genevation, patients can receive a personalized treatment plan that offers hope for a brighter future.

Rohit Shetty

Founder and CEO of ArtBrowserTV

ArtBrowser TV is an on demand visual arts streaming channel for art lovers. Winner of Innovate Uk’s Fast Start competition, ABTV was launched with a focus to support the visual arts community in response to the global disruption impacted by Covid19. Coming onto our 5th cohort, he had some money raised and an expanded catalogue with growing access and new things happening! Keep an eye out.

Felix Ochefu

Founder and CEO of Kahana

Kahana is intuitively designed to streamline the process of creating and booking your post-lockdown group holidays. Built with the travel community using advanced technology, Kahana decentralises the group holiday creation and booking process, and enables a one-of-a-kind user experience created for the modern Explorer. Felix came onto our 5th accelerator cohort, has pitched on numerous stages including Websummit, and is growing to raise a first round.

Elizabeth Blege

Co-founder and CEO

At efitter, we are committed to empowering our users by providing simple and innovative solutions to the fashion industry's biggest problems. The vision is to revolutionise the fashion industry by personalising the online shopping experience. Elizabeth joined us on our fifth annual accelerator cohort in 2023 and is closing a round and initial clients on a b2b product offering.

Berne Omolafe

Founder and CEO of Pyrntd

Unlocking a new reality with 3D content transformation, the future of content engagement and contextual advertising. They turn 2D content into 3D immersive experiences. Berne came onto our fifth accelerator cohort, having raised a pre-seed and is closing a seed round now.

Keefy Yap

Founder of YapYap

We are a group of passionate dog lovers that came together with a common goal. To connect all city dog parents. Keef came on our fifth annual accelerator cohort, and it resulted in interest from angel investors and her growing community is super exciting!

Theo-Lee Houston

Founder and CEO of SlingerStaff

For Slinger businesses, the platform is revolutionising the hiring process by getting rid of old practices that no longer work. Slinger vets potential workers by video, gets rid of advertised shifts on an average of 60 seconds, and gives budding and booming businesses a cost-effective way to attract full-time staff if they later need it. Theo has been part of the Google Black Founders Fund, raised 500k, and was on our 5th annual accelerator cohort!

Cynthia Asije

Co-founder and CEO of Adrielounge

Creating Susutainable Textile Products from Waste to combat environmental pollution. Building a tech product to support production, and with a team of over 10 people, this Paris-based startup is interesting to watch! Cynthia joined our fifth annual accelerator cohort.

Audrey Limery

Founder and CEO at Kweevo

Winning over 5 awards and becoming a Microsoft partner, Kweevo is an AI & Analytics SaaS Platform hosting a suite of Innovative and Automated Supply Chain Data Apps. Audrey joined us on our Traction Club 2022 programme and has won more recognition since!

Joshua Akinsanya

Founder and CEO of Heartnet

Heartnet combines electromagnetic protocol and digital twins to distinguish authentic drugs from counterfeits.​ We solve the 200 Billion dollars epidemic of Falsified medicine and help Pharma companies meet the new global regulatory requirement for Track-and-Trace (DSCSA 2023). Joshua came onto our 5th annual accelerator cohort, has been a part of Techstars, and has raised 6 figures of other private money too. He's on an upward trajectory!

Sohaib Ahmed

Founder and CEO of &facts

Real-time insights into consumer behaviours, needs and motivations for your brand using real-world data – powered by &facts. For e-commerce brands, Sohaib has raised a 500k round and growing with an increasing customer base. Sohaib came on our fourth annual accelerator programme, and continues to be an active part of our community.

Jaron Soh

Co-founder and CEO of Voda

The LGBTQIA+ Mental Health App: Discover self-guided therapy programmes designed by leading LGBTQIA+ psychotherapists. Voda's programmes are derived from the gold standards in psychotherapy, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Jaron joined us on our fourth annual accelerator programme and is finishing a pre-seed round, already serving thousands of customers!

Mandeep Soor

Co-founder and CEO of Bendi

Meet the only data intelligence software uncovering global ESG issues your business cannot afford to ignore. Now and in real-time. Mandeep and the Bendi team was on an early annual Accelerator cohort, and have since pivotted, grown, and started solving a real pain point, as proven by raising 6 figures of InnovateUK funding and raising funds.

Janu Shan

Founder and CEO of CareIQ

CareIQ provides real-time health intelligence for the healthcare system, trusted by GPs and doctors, supporting with early detection of key health challenges for patients. Jan came on our third annual accelerator cohort, and is working on some exciting stuff that we'll be keeping an eye on them to announce!

Aaron Bedward

Founder of BsktPay

Bskt helps car dealers sell cars online in less than 30 minutes as opposed to days or weeks with their innovative fintech solution, having raised some money and working with early clients. Aaron was on our third annual accelerator programme, and our unique Traction Clubbprogramme in 2022.

Jinesh Vohra

Founder and CEO of Sprive

Sprive helps homeowners get mortgage-free, faster, by providing solutions and easy ways to pay off a mortgage sooner, working directly with lenders and corporate partners. They have raised a couple of rounds and continue to do so. Jinesh joined us on our third annual Accelerator Programme cohort.

Erika Clifford

Managing Director of Just Recruit

Just Recruit is an easy-to-use recruitment platform for small companies. Erika joined us in an early accelerator cohort and bootstrapped to 6 full time staff all while owning another business and being a full time mum! An incredible team with great impact.

Amit Patel

Founder of Peachy

Peachy is a simple and flexible insurance provider solution taking place online for individuals and businesses. Amit joined us on our second accelerator cohort and has since raised rounds of funding valued at an estimated £1M+, growing to get onto bigger programmes and expand the team and client base.

Sahil Sethi

Co-founder and CEO of Maji

Maji is the first tool you need to power your financial wellness strategy, for businesses who want to better support their employees in an affordable way. Sahil came onto one of our earlier Accelerator Programme cohorts, and has since raised a round and built a team of 10, earning 5 figures MRR and growing!

Imwen Eke

Founder at New Party Rules

New Party Rules Labs is an immersive experiences games studio developing several experiences and products inspiring and educating users through stories. Imwen joined us on our Metaverse Grant Programme supported by Meta in 2022.

Dami Hastrup

Co-founder and CEO of MOONHUB

We provide high-quality training, for forward-thinking companies by immersing their staff in interactive, VR, role-playing scenarios, helping them gain and retain more knowledge. Dami was a recipient of our 2022 Grant Programme funded by the Meta XR Grant. They have raised multiple rounds at several $M in valuation!

Nina Salomons

CO-FOUNDER OF ANOMIE

Using VR to create ​narratives and bring mental ​health care into the future. A client-led VR software solution for therapists and ​coaches, allowing clients to create their own virtual ​worlds to tackle their problems. Nina joined us on our XR Trade Mission to Singapore in 2023 and has since closed first big clients, on an incredible road to success! Watch this space!

Dale Perkins-McCook

CO-FOUNDER and COO OF INFINITY-METAVERS

Infinity-Metavers enables brands and people to build, host and stream their own Metaverse experiences, just like they can with websites on the internet today. Dale joined us on our XR Trade Mission to Singapore in 2023 and has since released new exciting products!

Jeremiah Emmanuel BEM

Welcome to RAFFL - Where Innovation Meets Engagement. We're a pioneering tech company at the forefront of marketing transformation, seamlessly integrating geo-location and augmented reality. Join us in redefining how brands connect with their audiences through captivating, interactive experiences that bridge the digital and physical worlds. Jeremiah joined us on our 2023 Trade Mission to Singapore for XR businesses, supported by Meta!

Ando Eniwumide

FOUNDER OF HAPPANING

Happaning is the go-to platform for discovering and sharing real-time insights into events and locations around the world, using cutting-edge technology to bridge the gap between virtual and physical interactions. We aspire to make a positive impact on people’s lives by enabling them to Live More Fully, Connect More Deeply, And Experience More Joy. Ando joined us on our Singapore XR Trade Mission in 2023 supported by Meta! Having raised a pre-seed round, we've got our eye on this superstar!

Oyinkansola Adebayo

Founder of Niyo Group

Niyo exists to economically empowering black women in technology, globally, using Immersive and Web3 technologies. Oyin joined us on our 2023 Trade Mission to Singapore, supported by Meta, where we brought 5 diverse individuals working in the immersive space to learn about a new ecosystem.

Richard Robinson

Co-founder and CEO of Robin AI

Richard joined us on our first-ever accelerator cohort in 2019, and since then he's built Robin AI into a Series B business, scaling to raising $26M early 2024. RobinAI is the AI Copilot supporting businesses with legal requirements and contracts, making high quality legal support accessible to so many more businesses worldwide.

FAQs

Will I have to attend sessions in-person?

Most of our workshops take place online. However, our final sprint will be an in-person residential in London and our Showcase event will also be in-person. If you are outside of London, we will support you to be able to attend these events (travel and other expenses).

Can I apply as a team?

The CEO or main founder should apply, if multiple founders are from underrepresented backgrounds. Otherwise, only a founder fitting our criteria should apply. More than one person from the same startup should not apply.

I don't have a startup idea. Can I still apply?

We are looking for founders actively working on an idea at MVP or early-product stage. If you are still at the ideation stage, we would love to direct you to our free Online course, you can find all the basics for building a venture here, rise.colorintech.org.

Who should apply?

The #Build Accelerator is designed for underrepresented entrepreneurs with a tech startup, who identify as belonging into one or more of the underrepresented groups including gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, disability, and other.

I already have a startup, can I apply?

Yes. If you already have a startup it means we can tailor our workshops around your actual business. We also can make the right introductions to our network of investors and mentors. So long as you fit our criteria, you can apply.

What are the key dates for 2024?

The application on this page closes 21st January 2024 at 11:59pm Stage 2 interviews take place 31st - 8th February 2024. Stage 3 interviews take place across w/c 12th February 2024. Final cohort announced 21st February 2024. Welcome call on the 2nd March 2024 Programme will end w/c 13th May

What happens after #Build?

We will support you on this programme to get funded and take the next steps with your startup. We'll have more programmes, events, and opportunities you could be invited to, and other new systems you'll be able to take advantage of. But whatever happens next, you'll join our extended Colorintech family of entrepreneurs and advisers and be invited to alumni events.

Do you take equity?

No and we have no plans to ever ask for some in the future. Colorintech is a registered non profit and our only objective is to help underrepresented entrepreneurs on their journey.

How much does the program cost to join?

The program is free. If you would like to support Colorintech financially please contact us.

Does my idea have to be a technology business?

Given the content of the program and the instructors expertise, we believe those who would like to develop tech enabled businesses would gain the most from the program.

Is there an age limit for this program?

No. We want to make this program inclusive and open to people from a breadth of underrepresented backgrounds regardless of age. However, you must be 18+ to apply.

Interested?

We've been waiting for you - Apply now

Register your interest

Interested?

We've been waiting for you - Apply now

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