A group of students from Bath University have partnered with Bath Entrepreneurs to bring you Acceler8. Acceler8 helps students bring their idea to reality by providing them with access to resources, mentorship, equity-free funding and their network of investors.
Storm are partnering with Acceler8 as the Bath entrepreneurial scene is something we are very passionate about. Giving students the opportunity to explore ideas and learn what it takes to run a company offers invaluable experience. We know that Bath is a hub for young entrepreneurs and Storm are delighted support their journey to success.
We sat down with the Acceler8 team to find out more about them and their ideas for the program.
Who are you?
We are an ambitious group of students from Bath University with a lean structure that allows for collaboration and multi-tasking throughout. Our programme director, Alex Saunders is joined by Co-founders Jack Bartlett and Peter Wong who have collectively started their own ideas, collaborated with student startups, and been involved with the Bath Entrepreneurs Society in the past. We are then joined by our marketing and programme team members as well as several associates from Bath University.
How did the idea for Acceler8 come about?
The idea for Acceler8 really came from the barriers we faced during our first year of University. We noticed a huge amount of resources available on campus but no concentrated programme that provides direct support for students to actually go out and apply their ideas in a real life environment. This was evident as Alex was running his own Consumer business and had just gotten wholesale interest, which could have been helped massively through a directed and concentrated programme such as the one Acceler8 is providing. It was through this frustration that Acceler8 was founded, providing the next step in the entrepreneurial funnel of Bath entrepreneurs, alongside helping to solidify the overall enterprise funnel for Bath Undergraduates.
What can students who attend acceler8 expect from the program?
The students can expect to benefit from 4 key pillars that will look to provide participants with all the essentials they need to accelerate the development and expansion of their early stage business. This involves strategic tutoring, mentoring, resources, and £1500 equity-free funding that will culminate in a Demo Day event. 93% of early-stage businesses admit that mentorship is instrumental to success. With this in mind, we have coupled mentorship with weekly sessions across our 8-week programme to allow participant ideas to get the ground running.
Not only do we hope to improve the chances of business success for our participants but from long-term alumni support and student upskilling we aim to improve the commercial awareness and entrepreneurial capabilities of those who join us!
Tell us about the two different streams of the acceler8 program that you are offering?
Our two streams are fairly simple. It comes down to those with a pre-existing idea and those without an idea but are looking to be a part of a group with an idea.
In the individual stream, we intend to instil in students the ability to ideate, through a workshop held by an established and experienced speaker. This is in addition to facilitating the cross-matching process with other teammates and so that they can provide a fully-fledged application process to our programme, idea and team included.
In the group stream, we hope to utilise masterclass sessions and networking events to engage those with ideas. Importantly, we will consider the founding team and idea potential for those who apply in this stream.
Tell us how people can apply to be part of acceler8
All founding teams that have at least one Bath University founder can apply to be a part of the programme. They can do so by visiting our online application portal http://www.acceler8.bathentrepreneurs.org/apply. Our deadlines for both application streams are as follows; 13th of November for the Individual Stream and 4th of December for the Idea stream.
Thank you so much to the Acceler8 team for answering our questions. If you’d like to ask them anything else then please get in touch with them via email: acceler8@bathentrepreneurs.org
