Today, we’re opening up applications for Rise 2020, our pre-accelerator program for underrepresented entrepreneurs who want help to level up their startup ideas. The 7-week accelerator will begin in Feb 11 and is free to participate for selected founders. You can apply now here.

Last Year’s Stats

12 companies were accepted into our last batch which received over 150 applications. In less than a year, our first cohort has raised over £100k, been accepted onto a leading accelerator and been featured on the BBC, Financial Times and more.

Here are some stats about last year’s Rise applicants:

  • 77% from a BAME background
  • 46% women
  • 8 in 10 had a business idea that they worked on for 3+ months
  • 91% were bootstrapped, without external funding

You can watch our Rise recap video below —

Who should apply

We created the Rise pre-accelerator to help underrepresented entrepreneurs accelerate their ideas, gain access to a community of investors, recruiters and ultimately be able to achieve the right outcome for them.

For some, this might mean getting initial seed investing, joining an accelerator or getting recruited into a startup/big co etc.

Honing in on the same mission, we’re looking for entrepreneurs who are post idea stage with little traction or funding. We are sector-agnostic although we found last year that our session content and community expertise leans towards internet/e-commerce startups in the consumer/b2b space.

Rise 2020 Curriculum

This year’s workshops will focus on more practical advice that early stage startups can use as well as incorporating founder wellness and goal-setting.

  • Building your team & culture
  • From idea to MVP
  • Funding your startup
  • Nailing your narrative + pitch
  • Blitzscaling and hacking your way to growth

New for 2020, we’ll be launching office hours, rise summit and an open pitching session.

The program will gain 4 new dedicated office hours outside of the core curriculum where entrepreneurs will be able to sit down with experts from Facebook, Colorintech and Microsoft for Startups to stress test their ideas. To conclude Rise, our Showcase will be part of a half-day conference (dubbed Rise Summit) which will be open to the public.

Stay tuned for more updates.

We’re really excited about this year’s program and hope you’ll enjoy the changes we’ve made to try and make it more inclusive and a better experience for new founders. You have until January 17th to register for Rise .