Over the last 11 years, Ignite has actively been helping founders grow, launch and scale their startups. Through our Accelerator and Pre-Accelerator programmes, we have supported over 500 founders, raising more than £150M investment across the UK and beyond.
What is the Accelerator?
The Ignite Accelerator is an 8-week programme for established technology companies who need help with scaling or raising further investment. The programme, which runs from September 2023 to November 2023, is open to applicants from across the North East of England.
The purpose of the programme is to help founders build better investment teams to help them scale their businesses. We support you throughout this process, providing dedicated investment coaching and connecting you with a range of mentors, including entrepreneurs and investors who have experience raising seed rounds. Plus, we will be facilitating a funded trip to the United States to help you build global connections.
Is my company a good fit?
We are looking for scalable companies who are looking to raise investment to grow and compete on a global scale. Companies need to have evidence of traction. This means that you’ll either be in-revenue, or have done sufficient customer validation to know there is a big demand for your product.
How do I apply?
Applications are now closed.
Are the programmes full time?
Yes and no. Whilst the programme schedule itself is not full-time, we expect your commitment to your business to be full-time. We want you to make the most of being on the programme by focusing on building your company.
The 2023 programme is delivered as hybrid, with a blend of some in-person content and remote, virtual content. Successful teams are provided with a weekly schedule in advance to enable time for any alternative arrangements to be made such as commuting, childcare or other pre-existing commitments.
Do I have to be part of a team or can solo founders apply?
Either! It's possible to build a successful company as a solo-founder or as part of a team. We are more concerned with your progress than the number of people on your team.
We are not based in the North East. Can we still apply?
The accelerator programme is for North East based companies only.
However, we don't require all of your team members to be located in the North East of England. If you have co-founders or team members elsewhere in the world, that's absolutely fine, as long as your business is registered in the North East of England.
Do you accept teams with remote members?
Yes. We have no problem with remote team members or developers as long as they are committed to the company.
What funding will I receive?
Our 2023 Accelerator does not provide direct funding, but Accelerator teams will receive a funded trip to the United States for one member per team. Plus, all teams are eligible for £250K of credits from some of our partners, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Digital Ocean, GitHub, SendGrid, Nexmo, Autopilot, Pipedrive, Stripe and more.
Do I have to pay to take part in the programmes?
No. There is no monetary cost to taking part in our programmes and we don't ask for equity. However, please note that our trips only fund one person per startup. Additional members are welcome, but you will have to cover their costs if you wanted to go as a team.
Does it matter how my business is currently funded?
No, we care about you being successful no matter how your business is funded. Whether you're bootstrapped/self-funded, venture-backed or something different, we'd love to hear from you.
What happens after we finish the programmes?
We will continue to help as you move forward with your business by offering advice and support. You will also join our Ignite community and will be invited to all alumni meet ups and events.
Do I have to be technical?
No, you don’t have to be technical to join Ignite. We can help you regardless of your technical experience or knowledge. However, it will be to your advantage to be technical if your idea or company needs that expertise.
Do you take equity of my company?
No. There is no monetary cost to taking part in our programmes and we don't ask for equity.
How will you help companies raise investment?
We support companies up to the point where their model and metrics are in a highly investable state. However, we believe in raising at the right time for the right reasons and a large part of why we exist is to support founders in getting to that stage. We give teams a large amount of exposure to investors, as well as founders who have experience raising investment. We run a series of workshops, introducing company CEOs to the most active early stage angels and VCs from across the UK and Europe such as Passion Capital, Balderton, Techstars, 500 Startups, DN Capital, Forward Partners, ADV, Northstar, Backed.vc, Episode 1 and ProFounders.
Do I have to pay for any travel during the programme?
We’ll cover the costs of flights and accommodation for one founder from each company to travel to the US to meet investors, mentors & founders — you just need to cover the cost of food. Additional team members are welcome, but not funded.
I have some more questions
No problem! We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at northeast@ignite.io and a member of the Ignite team will get back to you.