First week at Ignite Accelerator 🚀

tl;dr Working at an accelerator is exciting, fast-paced and an introduction to a new way of living. Here’s to what’s to come!

After a week working for Ignite in Newcastle I have found some time to sit down and sketch out my experience and the lessons I have learned so far. The hope is for this to become a more regular account of the tech-startup ecosystem in the North East.

So where to start? Well, during my first week I have been introduced to some incredible startups and founders, truly an excellent group of passionate and driven people. The atmosphere in our co-working space is one of enthusiasm and support. Everyone has bought into the Ignite philosophy of challenging one’s foundations in order to build something that will lead to a sustainable and successful start up. There is so much that I have been taught in the last week from being in this community but I just want to highlight three lessons from my first week (still struggling to let go of the #ruleofthree).

We don’t take risks enough

I have a lot of respect for the founders, alumni network and mentors involved with Ignite. They have all taken risks. Starting something from scratch in a small team takes up your whole life and is a daunting prospect. However without risk there is no innovation. I have learnt that there are people who are willing to take the risks to bring about innovation and to create value but that without a support network and startup ecosystem it will not happen. Ignite has created this in the North East and is a great example to follow. It is clear that there is a drain on talent from the northern universities as from experience most graduates look for opportunities in elsewhere (London comes to mind first). I hope that Ignite and the ongoing work in Newcastle can help to encourage people to take risks and use their talent to build something exciting in the North.

Community building is key to success

There is a lot we can learn from the start up ecosystem in general. Something that comes with being a part of a co-working space is that the community is as important as its individuals. It is incredible to see people helping each other out with no expectations of reciprocity. The community is a tool for startups to use. It is a given that all startups lack financial resources and so it is vital that they have a support network of talented people who want them to succeed. No one is here just for themselves and that is something that Ignite facilitates and holds dear to itself.

We should constantly question our assumptions

Finally, as many startup founders will know it is key to constantly question what problem you are solving, whether it is a problem people need a solution to, and how you are going to demonstrate this to the wider community. It is all too easy to say that of course these are things we should be asking ourselves regularly, but do we do it enough? Probably not. I have learnt that an outside perspective is unbelievably valuable in validating our assumptions and that this is something that is hard to come by without a network of people who have learned from their own experiences and are willing to share. I am glad that I have found such a network and can be a part of it!

A quick plug before I finish → if you want to become a part of the Ignite family go find out more and apply for the next programme starting in 2019.

To sign off I must thank the team at Ignite for bringing me on board. I am super excited to work with them, learn from them and develop over the next few months!! So thank you very much Wil Benton, Gabriela Matic, and Tristan Watson!!

❤