New Entrepreneurs Foundation Programme - April 2022 start

About the Programme

The journey of any founder is an exciting one full of opportunities and challenges. Yet, it’s no secret that it can be a lonely journey when starting on your own or even with a small team.

NEF+ is an immersive entrepreneurial leadership programme that builds your skills, connections and capabilities. The 6-month programme is centred around a bespoke learning programme, designed and delivered by leading entrepreneurs. The cohort-based experience means that you share ideas, learnings and support.

In addition, NEF+ provides 1:1 executive coaching and business mentoring support, access to curated events and an alumni network of founders and startup expertise. We also partner with Founders Forum to offer participants an incredible range of access to networks, events and competitions.

Programme Structure

Your experience during the 6 months of NEF+ will be intensive, but incredibly rewarding. The programme comprises 6x1-month duration cycles, each delivered by entrepreneurs with expertise in their respective domains. We offer up all the know-how to overcome real-life business obstacles while providing rapid development in a short timeframe.

The programme features:

• 6 Learning Cycles – Each cycle comprises digital topic content, a face-to-face masterclass, a group challenge to test your new skills on real business problems and showcase with expert judges & peer-review to assess outcomes and reflect on opportunities.
• Private Inspiration Evenings – Each cycle, we invite seasoned entrepreneurs to share their specific experience of that topic, through ‘inspiration sessions’ where they talk about their experience and share highs and lows in a private event.
• 1:1 Coaching – You're matched with an executive coach, who will provide support and guidance for your leadership development journey.
• Diverse Mentorship – You have access to our pool of business mentors, who offer a combination of sector-specific expertise, the experience of growing businesses at different life cycle stages and deep technical expertise in key business areas.

Who you are

We're looking for ambitious founders who have launched (or are about to) launch an MVP, aiming to drive the next stage of their business’ growth. You’re looking to simultaneously drive strategy and execution, and develop your leadership skills to maximise your personal impact. 

Our founders come from all different sectors and backgrounds. You might be:

• About to launch an MVP, or have launched one already
• Moving on to the following stages or want guidance getting there
• Working part-time on your business and planning to go full-time (though, you may already be working full-time within it)

If that sounds like you, NEF+ could be the programme that takes your business to the next level, and we’d love to hear from you!

Cost

The cost of the programme is £3000. We want to make NEF+ accessible, so we offer payment plans to spread the cost of the programme out making it more affordable and manageable for you. We also offer a limited number of fee-assisted places for candidates from underrepresented backgrounds.

The programme fee is a significant investment, but the value lasts long after the 6-month programme duration. This fee is a fraction of the total delivery cost of the NEF+ programme. As a registered charity, we leverage support from our donors to help cover programme costs.

The fee covers:

• Participation in the learning programme, including ongoing access to learning material and content,
• Executive coaching and business mentoring support,
• Invitations to exclusive events and networking opportunities,
• Connections to potential investors and supporters including Founder Forum
• Membership to our thriving 370+ alumni network

The Application Process

You will first complete an application form surrounding yourself and your startup. If we determine that you could be a good match for the programme, you will be invited for a chat with Alicia, our founder talent lead. This gives you the opportunity to showcase yourself and your startup in more detail and to ask any questions you may have about the NEF+ experience. The final stage will be an interview with a C-level member(s) of our team and a key leader within our network. If successful at this stage, you have earned yourself a place on the programme!

Alumni and impact

Our alumni network includes over 380 members, spanning across our ten NEF cohorts since launching in 2011. They have gone on to create and scale businesses that are changing lives, driving growth and transforming markets, including Home Tree, Sliide, Thriva & UnMind. Our most recent impact data for NEF+ alumni-founded businesses speaks for itself: - Over 170 live businesses - 2600+ new jobs created - More than £140m raised in early-stage funding - Collectively valued in excess of £500m (those businesses that have committed at least one external fundraising round).