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Entrepreneur Accelerator

Taking your business further, faster

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What is the Entrepreneur Accelerator?

The benefits of joining

Frequently asked questions

Hub locations

Help and support

Apply now

Start. Scale. Succeed.

Our Accelerator, Business Builder and Fintech Accelerator programmes have been tailored to empower entrepreneurs at any stage. It’s an amazing journey that is fully funded, and you don’t even have to be a NatWest customer.

Business Builder OpenClose

The programme

Business Builder offers early stage start-up entrepreneurs lots of exciting opportunities.

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Early stage start-ups

Business Builder offers entrepreneurs:

· An introductory ‘Ignition’ event

· An online learning portal

· Webinars and digital workshops

· A celebratory wrap-up event

Business Builder is also complemented by a variety of events based in the local hub, which are run by our Business Growth Enablers and other local partners.

Duration

Business Builder is an intensive, eight-week programme for early stage start-ups.

Fully funded

Business Builder is fully-funded for you. We do the funding, you do the growing, and we don’t take any equity in your business.

Satellite programmes

We also run satellite Business Builder programmes across the UK. Our next event is in Portsmouth.

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Accelerator OpenClose

The programme

Accelerator offers established entrepreneurs lots of exciting opportunities.

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Scaling up

Designed to ensure that businesses get the best chance to succeed, Accelerator entrepreneurs get:

· Free office space in a state of the art environment

· Wi-Fi and printing

· 1:1 coaching

· Access to business mentors

· Access to legal and tech advice from our partners

· Access to our unrivalled networks and supply chains

· Bespoke events

Entrepreneurs can progress through the six month programme up to a maximum of three times, making 18 months in total.

Duration

Accelerator is a six-month programme for entrepreneurs with high growth businesses who are looking to scale up.

Fully funded

Accelerator is fully-funded for you. We do the funding, you do the growing, and we don’t take any equity in any business.

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The programme

In 2018 we launched our specialist Fintech Accelerator in four of our hubs: Bristol, Edinburgh, London and Manchester.

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Specialist Fintech support

Fintech Accelerator businesses get:

· 1:1 coaching with our experienced staff

· A technology review and sales strategy analysis by Dell Technologies

· A review of your IP from our legal partner, Pinsent Masons

· Desk space in a NatWest Accelerator hub with access to hot desks across 11 other UK locations

· A product aligned NatWest mentor

· Bespoke webinars and Fintech networking events

· An investment strategy review

· International networking opportunities

· Opportunities to pitch your business to NatWest Innovation teams at a unique end of intake demo day

The Fintech Accelerator is fully-funded for you, all we ask is that you work as hard as we do to make the most of this opportunity to grow your business.

Duration

The Fintech Accelerator is six months and commences each April and October.

Fully funded

Our Fintech Accelerator is fully-funded for you. We do the funding, you do the growing, and we don’t take any equity in any business.

Frequently asked questions

On what criteria are applications assessed?

We have set criteria that we use to assess your suitability and that of your business to join the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator, Business Builder or Fintech Accelerator.

What we judge you on is simple and directly related to what will be asked of you on the programme. We want to make sure we can get the best out of you so that you can get the best out of us.

The kinds of things we consider are:

Are you the owner or decision maker in your business?
Are you working full time on this business?
Do you know there are customers who want your product or service?
Do you employ staff?
Are you aiming to build your team?
Are you looking to grow or scale your business?
If your business is already growing are you committed to accelerating that growth?

Please note however that there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. These are just the principal things we need to know about. So please bear these things in mind if you apply.

They will also help us determine whether your business is better suited to our Business Builder, Accelerator or Fintech Accelerator.

If it's our Fintech Accelerator you're interested in, your business needs to be rooted in financial technology.

Why isn't there a hub or access to a programme near me?

We have created a world-class entrepreneurship proposition with 12 hubs covering all four nations of the UK.

We realise that this does not cover every city or every part of the UK, but the hubs are also true centres of entrepreneurial activity for the regions they represent.

Applications are welcome from all over the regions where the hubs are based. We don’t require that entrepreneurs live within a certain distance of a hub, but we do expect commitment to the programme, which may be dictated by potential travelling times.

I have a business idea but don't know where to start

If you have an idea for a business and are serious about putting it into action or you are looking to validate a business you have just started, our Business Builder can help you take your next crucial steps.

Business Builder is an intensive, eight-week programme.

It offers entrepreneurs: