North East founders encouraged to apply for 2023 tech pre-accelerator

Applications have officially opened for Ignite’s 2023 North East Pre-Accelerator Programme.

The programme is designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs build businesses with scaling potential.

Successful applicants can benefit from 5-months of workshops and mentoring with experienced tech founders, and will receive £10k in equity-free investment.

Funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority, the pre-accelerator is the third of a range of programmes delivered by Ignite to help drive digital business growth in the region.

Founders who are interested in the programme, can apply before November 7th via the Ignite website

In addition, Ignite CEO Jo York, is hosting virtual catch-ups for anyone who is interested in learning more about the pre-accelerator. These can be booked via Calendly

Tom Bunten, Founder at Grid Finder, said: “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 gives you a timeless set of skills and helps you to properly contextualise and frame key decisions you make for your startup.”

“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, Kevin, through Ignite!”

Jo York, CEO at Ignite, said: “With the Pre-Accelerator, we’re really focusing on developing founders by surrounding them with experienced individuals who can help them understand how to build a scalable business.”

“Last year, we had an amazing response for the programme, receiving over 100 applications. We have to keep the cohort small so that we can design our workshops around the needs of founders.”

“We’ve now opened a new application round - a new opportunity to apply - so whether you have a new idea you’d like to explore further or perhaps you’ve applied before - we’d love to hear from you”

“A common misconception about our Pre-Accelerator is that your business idea needs to be really solid when you apply. It doesn’t. You don’t need to have customers or be in revenue, and we don’t ask for business plans or strategies in our application process. What we really want is to help founders test if their business idea is addressing a genuine customer pain, and if it could have scaling potential.”

“If anyone is unsure about whether to apply, please don’t hesitate to reach out for a cup of tea and a chat”.

Applications for the 2023 Pre-Accelerator close on 7th November.

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