Our Hackney Accelerator Programme helps entrepreneurs take their business for good to the next level, through workshops, dedicated co-working space, one-to-one business advice, and access to networking events and peer support sessions.
Programme Information
When: 1st May 2025 – 31st July 2025
Where: Bootstrap Charity offices in Dalston, Hackney
Cost: Free
Entrepreneurs will participate in weekly two-hour, in-person workshops, running every Thursday from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. These sessions will include:
- Strengthening your Business Model: understand and refine your business model using the Business Model Canvas (BMC) to make your business more resilient
- Business Registration: key considerations when registering a business with a social impact, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, and the legal implications of each structure
- Funding Growth: exploring different ways to secure financial resources to fuel business growth and ensure long-term sustainability
- Business Finances: gain insight into managing and optimizing financial resources, including budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow management
- Product-Market Fit: Positioning and refining your product or service based on customer feedback, and learning to expand into new markets to maximize growth potential
- Sales & Customer Acquisition: master the art of improving sales strategies to attract new customers and increase revenue
- Scaling without losing your social mission: how to grow your business while staying true to your social impact mission
- Branding, PR & Social Media: leveraging social media to build brand presence, engage audiences and drive business growth
- Pitching: learning to present your business idea to potential investors or partners to secure support or funding
- AI for Start-ups: how leveraging technology and artificial intelligence can help scale your start-up and foster innovation
Our workshops are run by experts in their field, who offer unique and highly informative sessions as well as one-to-one mentoring. Meet the facilitators for this year’s Start-Up Programme below:
- Elsa Caleb
Elsa is a Social Enterprise of the Year Awards winner, and is currently a board director for the West London Chamber of Commerce as well as a Business Advisor at Seeds Hub. Drawing on years of diverse experience in strategic business development, Elsa runs workshops for Seeds Hub’s start-up programmes, on topics such as business planning, pitching, networking and partnership building. - Wendy Foster
Wendy is a SBREC Manager (The Small Business Research + Enterprise Centre) at City of London Corporation, and has supported SMEs for over 20 years as a qualified business adviser. - Hans Gobin
Hans is a Chartered Accountant and MBA-holder with over 25 years of experience. He trained and qualified with KPMG, spending 8 years with the company before moving to commerce and industry. For the last 10 years, Hans has been running his own firm working as an Interim Finance Director across many different companies, ranging from start-ups and SMEs through to large PLCs. - Alasdair Inglis
Alasdair develops and delivers marketing workshops for universities and businesses, including University College London (UCL) and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme. - Scott Leonard
Scott is the founder of The Champion Agency, the UK’s first social impact-accredited creative agency, and is also a Trainer and Mentor at the School of Social Entrepreneurs. He co-created the ‘Make Tea Not War’ campaign, which is now part of the collections at the V&A and Imperial War Museum. - Gus Nyberg
Currently consulting for law firms around the world, Gus honed his skills through roles at Amazon and Gartner, where he mastered the art of partnerships and account management. Alongside this, Gus has been a dedicated well-being personal trainer and public speaker for over a decade, blending his passion for fitness and mentoring with a knack for sales. Gus is deeply committed to delivering top-tier customer service, knowing it’s the cornerstone of success in any field. - Prash Patel
Currently Managing Director at OneClick Media, Prash has 15 years of experience in digital marketing, and helps founders to enhance their business profile and rank higher in search results. - Michelle Thompson
Michelle is a Seeds Hub alumna and the founder of Balanced Accounts, a London-based accountancy firm delivering accounting solutions that simplify the lives of business owners while empowering them to achieve their financial goals. Michelle’s wealth of knowledge draws on 10 years’ experience as a practising accountant, School Business Manager and SBM consultant.
To ensure collaboration and personalised support, each Accelerator Programme takes a cohort of 25 entrepreneurs. The deadline for applications to our Hackney Accelerator is 5pm on 24th April 2025.