Growth Builder – Cohort 2 application deadline extended
Applicants for the UK’s Growth Builder scale-up support programme for high growth potential small businesses now have until midnight on Sunday 17 December to apply for the programme, which will begin in the new year.
Growth builder provides training, workshops and mentoring over a nine month period to unlock the potential of existing small businesess that have the power to achieve substantial growth.
It was the first programme of its kind to work with Government, universities, entrepreneurs, risk capital and leading UK corporates, and has been built specifically to help established British businesses ready to take on the next stage of growth. Growth Builder offers a curated peer network, an educational programme tailored to ambitious business leaders and access to introductions and networks through its cross-sector partners.
For the second cohort, the founding Growth Builder partners have been joined by leading law firm Stevens & Bolton. Partner Nick Atkins added:
Stevens & Bolton is delighted to join as a new partner to Growth Builder. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to engage with ambitious business leaders and support them in their efforts to scale-up their exciting businesses. We look forward to offering our expertise to support the development of the businesses involved.Nick Atkins, Stevens & Bolton
Proven record
Participants on the first cohort were overwhelmingly positive about the programme:
- 9 out of 10 participants would recommend it to their peers
- 89% said it has fundamentally changed their business strategy
- Participants raised over £10m of new funding and saw one sale during the course of the first programme
Entrepreneur and Growth Builder Chairman, Ben Fletcher commented on the completion of the first cohort:
It has been really gratifying to have so many high quality companies on the programme, and a privilege to have met so many of them over the last year. I hope that the topics they have been learning about, and the connections they have made, form the foundations of their on-going growth and success. We will continue to develop and improve the programme ready for the second cohort.Ben Fletcher, Entrepreneur and Growth Builder Chairman
Previous participants
Jennifer Newton, Managing Director of Express Microbiology (West Lothian, Scotland): “Growth Builder gave me the space and practical tools to improve on my people strategy within the business. This has allowed me to re-evaluate and improve the company’s future strategies and ensure the business is in a place to continue its rapid growth.”
Nick Churchill-Evans, Director of cloudThing Ltd (Stourbridge, West Midlands): “The programme has been really useful providing food for thought and practical, professional development that has had measurable impact on my business.”
Rosie Caley, Director of BasementWorks (Wandsworth, SW London): “I feel privileged to have been a part of Growth Builder and to have met such a wide range of business owners and entrepreneurs. It has provided me with a fresh perspective on my company, its place and direction within the industry, and critically, what I can do to build a successful and rewarding growth business.”
Jon Cornwell, CEO of Newsflare (Farringdon, North London): “Growth builder created the space for me to think about my business and then added in two crucial ingredients: other business owners facing similar challenges and insightful sessions on a range of topics to unlock faster growth. I finish the course wiser, with a richer network and a renewed hunger for learning.”
How to apply
Applicants apply via the website at: www.growth-builder.com.
The Growth Builder team can answer any questions applicants may have. They can be contacted by via email to enquiries@growth-builder.com.
Notes for Editors
Growth Builder is a national support programme for high-potential growth businesses backed by a consortium of large corporations, government agencies, universities, entrepreneurs and investors.
It offers a nine-month programme of support to leaders of small businesses that helps to address specific barriers to growth, enabling them to develop their companies creating jobs and earnings. The programme was developed by the partners from their experience of the Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (REAP), which helps regions to foster economic growth and was developed by MIT.
Growth Builder was launched in 2016 with a cohort based in London that attracted applications from across the UK and the programme is now looking to respond by recruiting and delivering cohorts in the UK regions over the next 12-18 months.
The programme delivery is led by Loughborough University London together with fellow founding partners BT, The Department for International Trade, Fast Growth Icons, NatWest, Pie Mapping, UCL and the UK Business Angels Association as well as delivery partner Stevens & Bolton.