Applications NOW OPEN for our 2023 Pre-Accelerator
We have officially opened applications for our 2023 North East Pre-Accelerator Programme 🥳
Funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority, the 5-month programme will help early stage founders build a business with high scaling potential by surrounding them with experienced founders, investors, and peers.
They will also benefit from a £10k investment grant (no equity taken).
The programme will take place from January to May 2023. Applications close on 7th November. You can apply via https://bit.ly/ApplyIgnite23
If you’re not sure whether the programme is right for you or if you’d just like to have a chat, our CEO Jo York has set aside Wednesdays AM and Thursdays PM for virtual meetings. You can book your slot via Calendly: https://calendly.com/jo-ignite/pre-acc-2023?month=2022-10
We’ve also put a handy FAQ on our website with more information about the programme & eligibility: https://www.ignite.io
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for ambitious founders who want to build big companies. Primarily we are looking for strong founder market fit. This can mean you have either experienced the problem you are trying to solve or have deep domain experience, something that shows us you have a unique insight to the problem.
The pre-accelerator programme is for early stage founders — you may only have an idea, you could have a prototype built or indeed you might have a few early customers.
You can be a solo founder or a team and while we embrace software developers you do not need to be a ‘techie’ to apply. Historically, about fifty percent of our pre-accelerator founders are non-technical and indeed some of the most successful companies in our portfolio have been built by non-technical founders.
Please note the North East Pre-Accelerator programme is for companies based in the North East of England only, and we require companies to have a registered address, or be willing to register, in the North of Tyne area specifically.
“I took part in the Ignite Pre-Accelerator last year, knowing it would give me and my CTO Nikhil the best chance of making our startup, Grid Finder, a success.”
“The Ignite accelerator is about changing the way you think. It helps you to properly contextualise and frame key decisions you make. It gives you a timeless set of skills that allows you to structure your process in an efficient, effective way.
“Over 5 months, we were privileged to receive hours of insightful, challenging, pivot-inducing advice and feedback from Ignite alumni all over the world. We also met our angel investor through Ignite!”
Tom Bunten — Founder of Grid Finder
Why the Pre-Accelerator?
The Ignite Pre-Accelerator is a 5-month programme that will help you focus on launching and testing your business. During that period, you will receive mentoring and workshops from experienced entrepreneurs and investors to help you build and validate your business model.
To sum up the 5 core benefits of our pre-accelerator:
- Learn from experienced tech founders — we provide both a range of one-to-one support and workshops from experienced founders who have built their startups from nothing, who share their learnings with our cohorts.
- A dynamic & responsive programme — we deliberately cap the number of teams on our pre-accelerator to 15 every year. This enables us to shape our programme around their needs. We look at commonalities in the challenges faced by the teams and deliver workshops around them, in real-time.
- Surrounded by peers — you’re surrounded by a small group of fellow founders who are also working hard on turning their ideas into scalable businesses. We’ve seen people build lifelong friendships, as well as business partnerships, through Ignite programmes.
- A hub for accountability — week on week we’ll help you measure your progress, set goals, and to celebrate your wins. This will help you keep on-track and grow your startup more efficiently.
- £10K grant — successful participants each receive £10k in equity-free grant to help them really focus on their business.
To date, Ignite has helped more than 500 founders employ staff and raise over $150m of combined investment.
Last year we received over 100 applications for the programme and we’re really looking forward to hearing from a wide range of ideas. We welcome both new applications, as well as applications from individuals who applied for an Ignite programme previously.
For more information and to apply visit https://ignite.io
