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What have been your highlights from the past ten years of the NatWest Accelerator?

There are so many, so I guess my highlight can’t be one particular thing, but our entire journey with the Accelerators over the last 10 years. Since getting started, we’ve seen the development of so many individual businesses, of so many business leaders, of so many local ecosystems in communities across the country. Working with leaders of ambitious businesses who are all so passionate about what they do is a privilege. Thinking about it makes me grin from ear to ear.

I’m incredibly proud of what our colleagues in the Accelerators have achieved. Their energy has been the driving force behind the support that we’ve been able to offer to so many businesses. It’s our local teams that help businesses through good times and bad times. It’s our local teams that come into the office every day and give it their all. We’re lucky to have a team of so many enthusiastic colleagues across all of our Accelerators. They are superstars!

I should also say that we shouldn’t think of our Accelerators as merely ‘business accelerators’.  They are much more important than that, helping people, families and communities. You could say it’s a ‘personal growth accelerator’ that focuses on business. 

Most recently, we’ve doubled the in-take of the programme, offering support to even more entrepreneurs. But there’s still so much more we can do and I’m hugely excited about how we will scale the impact of the Accelerators even further.  

These networks and communities that we’ve carefully created and nurtured are massively powerful.

Are there any companies that really stand out for you – and why?

Tough question! There are so many great businesses and people that have come through. That said, the one that really sticks out for me is an entrepreneur called Helen Hardy and her company, Foudys.

Foudys is an online sportswear business, that Helen set up in 2020. Helen wanted to fill a gap in the market for women’s football merchandise. Before Foudys, it wasn’t possible to easily purchase football team shirts specific to the women’s game. So, Helen decided to establish the first and only official retail platform in the world dedicated to women’s football. 

Initially running the business from her bedroom in Manchester, Helen joined her local Accelerator in 2021. Within a year of joining, Foudys had secured its first round of investment and won a contract with Nike. Boom! Since then, Helen has secured more investment and has grown the company’s staff, with its sights now set on becoming the go-to brand for women’s football. And with the Women’s Euros Championships happening in 2025, we expect to hear much more about Foudys this year.

It’s a great feeling knowing we have helped Helen on her journey. Not just with a bank account, but with building confidence, and with crucial skills such as learning how to pitch and developing a business plan. We’re also a lender to Foudys and that has helped Helen invest and the company grow even more. It’s a brilliant success story and one that really sums up the impact the Accelerators can have.

James at the 10 year Accelerator anniversary event

Why is a regional approach so important for the Accelerators?

We currently have 12 Accelerator hubs across the UK. Each hub impacts local businesses in a distinctive way. Yes, there is a national approach to our support and there are commonalities in approach across the Accelerators, such as how to develop a business model or how to pitch. But each Accelerator needs to play an individual role that is tailored to how local ecosystems and stakeholders behave – be that in Birmingham, Bristol, Belfast, or any of the other Accelerators.

Local business environments are different in every major city, so we need to be able to help businesses with specific, local knowledge. Whether it’s how to reach out to angel investors in the region, how to access local government support, who to contact in the local Chamber of Commerce, guiding on which business-to-business relationships that need to be made, or introducing the people who would be useful mentors, this knowledge is all rooted in deep local connections.

 

How do the Accelerators foster these kinds of connections?

It starts with the in-person experience and relationships. And this isn’t just between entrepreneurs and the NatWest teams, it’s also between the different businesses in the hubs. 

In the Accelerators, business owners sit down with each other, share stories, inspire each other, challenge each other, knowledge-share with each other, and much more. These networks and communities that we’ve carefully created and nurtured are massively powerful.

It means that business owners get a mix of support – from the NatWest team, from other Accelerator businesses, and from other local supporters. This is very much something we wanted to foster from the start – creating the right environment for that exchange of ideas and encouragement for business success to happen.

As an example, we run dedicated group coaching sessions where businesses sit round with each-other and say, ‘here’s my problem this week, how can you guys help’. The entrepreneurs then have the space and the right forum to give each other feedback. This also creates accountability for each business owner. It’s an incredibly effective thing to do. We find that the Accelerator businesses really value the sense of honest, peer advice that comes from being in a like-minded community. 

Entrepreneurs are often willing to just give things a go, and what we then see in the Accelerator is that those ideas cross-pollinate.

How are the ways of working for start-up businesses changing?

Business needs are changing all the time, but it does feel like the pace of change has become increasingly rapid. Obviously, digitisation has been a huge trend over the last few decades, but the impact of COVID has also been massive for businesses. The way people work, the way people engage, and the way people sell has changed massively since before the pandemic and we’re seeing this continue to evolve.

Looking forward, the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) feels like the next major step-change for businesses of all sizes. Indeed, we are already well into its impact. Compared with large businesses, one of the things that I love about small businesses when it comes to AI, is that there seems to be less of a fear factor.

So, you’ll meet small business who’ll say, ‘I want to write a business plan, or I need to do some marketing, let’s use AI as the starting point’. And from there, they can refine those ideas, and get human advice from places like the Accelerators. AI is a great way to get started on so many things.

Entrepreneurs are often willing to just give things a go, and what we then see in the Accelerators is that those ideas cross-pollinate. Someone will say ‘here’s a way of using AI to do this task’, and suddenly everyone in the local Accelerator will be doing the same thing. It’s great to see those ways of working being shared.

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice, interact with others who are on the same journey, learn from their experiences and be open about sharing your own. 

What are the ambitions for the NatWest Accelerator?

We want to have the best Accelerator in the UK, bar none. And we want to make it bigger. Over the last ten years we’ve supported around 10,000 business. So, our ambition is that we support another 10,000 more business this year. Let’s go!

We’ll be moving the Accelerator from a strictly cohort model to a more ‘always-on’ approach. This will work well for businesses leaders as they’ll be able to access support when they need it and not feel confined to a specific period with us. This will make the local Accelerator communities bigger, more enduring, and more impactful.

We’re also working to effectively digitise the physical, in-person model of the Accelerators. We’ve launched a new Accelerator App, that combines a great digital experience with a community feel, enabling entrepreneurs to sign up to local groups. We will also continue to take the content that we’ve developed over the years and make it available digitally to as many businesses as possible. 

Just like the businesses we support, we need to be relentless in lifting the bar, in going further. We should be immensely proud of the journey so far, and then couple that with impatience to go further and higher.

What advice would you give to start-ups embarking on their journey?

Be brave. Just do it. Make a difference. Starting a business is a fantastic thing to do.

But it’s not going to be easy, there’s going to be ups and downs, so get as much help as you can – and join a NatWest Accelerator!

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice, interact with others who are on the same journey, learn from their experiences and be open about sharing your own.

This is the essence of the Accelerators. Being part of a community of like-minded businesses who are competing with each other, not against each other. Growing together, winning together!

NatWest Accelerator Pitch

To celebrate 10 years of the Accelerator programme, we’re launching NatWest Accelerator Pitch with a total prize pot of £1m to be given out over a series of competitions throughout 2025 and beyond.

 

Learn more and apply

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