The Entrepreneurs’ Forum has launched a new programme to support ambitious founders earlier in their growth journey. As part of its wider mission to strengthen entrepreneurship across the North East, ASCENT is aimed at business owners generating less than £250,000 in annual revenue who are serious about building towards £1m+ and beyond.
Offering an opportunity for founders to learn directly from experienced entrepreneurs who have already grown and scaled successful businesses in the region, unlike traditional accelerator programmes, ASCENT is built around proximity to real entrepreneurial experience.
It gives participants the opportunity to spend time with Entrepreneurs’ Forum members through a programme of curated founder events and one-to-one mentoring. Coupled with joining a peer group, ASCENT is designed to solve real growth challenges, from winning new customers to building their teams and managing cashflow.
By accessing honest reflection, practical insight, and the kind of perspective that typically only comes from having navigated the challenges of growth first-hand, the programme includes quarterly founder events featuring candid conversations with established entrepreneurs, mentoring matches with Forum members, and regular peer-to-peer sessions that help founders translate insight into action.
Participants will also have the opportunity to attend the Entrepreneurs’ Forum Annual Conference and the North East Entrepreneurial Awards, giving them exposure to the wider community of scale-stage founders.
Elaine Stroud, Chief Executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, said: “ASCENT has been created because our members want to support ambitious founders earlier in their journey. They know from experience how valuable it is to hear from someone who has already been through that stage, and they are keen to offer their time and perspective in a meaningful way.
“This is not membership of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, and our membership criteria remain unchanged. But our role is to strengthen entrepreneurship across the North East, and supporting businesses that are serious about growth is a vital part of that. Many of tomorrow’s scale-up leaders will start their journey here.”
ASCENT sits alongside the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s existing programme of events and its Scale Up Leaders Academy, complementing its offer by focusing on earlier-stage businesses that are preparing for their next phase of growth. By creating closer connections between emerging and established founders, the Forum aims to strengthen the region’s pipeline of scale-up businesses while maintaining the standards and peer-to-peer ethos that underpin its membership community.
Places on ASCENT are limited, with applications now open at entrepreneursforum.net/ASCENT