EVOLVE - What is a “Business Person”?
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Mike Stephens
3M ago
When you’re starting a business for the first time you realise very quickly how much you don’t know. If this is your second time starting a business, then you have probably already learned this tough lesson! Entrepreneurs have to cover a huge range of bases in the early days of their business, and there is not a career on earth that can prepare you for all of them. That’s why mindset is so important – developing an adaptable, proactive, learning mindset is key to surviving the first few phases of your business.  I had a great conversation with an Inception-stage entrepreneur this week ..read more
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EVOLVE - The Dark Side Of Delegation 
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Mike Stephens
6M ago
We’ve all fallen victim to thinking we are superheroes and that our never-ending to-do list is no match for our superhero skills, never-ending time on the clock and unmatched optimism for getting every job under the sun completed.   Unfortunately, that is often very much not the case, and if we adopt that mentality for too long, we will be overwhelmed, overworked, and burned out at which point we are compromising our mental and physical health and the health of our businesses.  Remember, even our favourite superheroes need a little help. Just like how Batman needs Robin or how ..read more
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EVOLVE - 3 Essential Practices for Entrepreneurs to Lead a Successful Startup Team 
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Mike Stephens
7M ago
During the development of Evolve, our latest accelerator, we have been identifying the challenges that hold entrepreneurs back as they grow through the phases of building a team. This includes mindset and leadership growth, creating a sustainable growth engine, influencing the people around you, financing your growth, and creating infrastructure.   In my experience, a key moment comes when an entrepreneur has hired their first few team members (what we call the Extension Stage). They have navigated the minefield of recruitment an onboarding and got the people that they want, but a ..read more
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EVOLVE - Cultivating Authentic Team Engagement
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Mike Stephens
7M ago
Have you seen the signs in your team? Withdrawal, poor communication, missing goals and deadlines or do you get the sense they just don’t care? There are always going to be times when we hire someone that is not necessarily the right fit for the business but for those that are the right fit, why would they disengage? How can we reach a point where we have the full cognitive, emotional and behavioural energies alongside their passion and commitment? Will a bowl of communal fruit do the trick?    In 2022 platform Perkbox estimated that employee disconnect was costing the UK econo ..read more
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EVOLVE - Navigating the Path: Fast-Growing Companies vs. Lifestyle Businesses
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Mike Stephens
8M ago
The choice of what type of business you want to build is a pivotal one, and one that is too often forgotten by startup entrepreneurs setting out on their journey. When I say “type” I don’t mean “what your business does”, but the shape, size and direction of travel. Considering why you want to start a business and where you want to end up is a process that would help many founders avoid early-stage decisions that slow their progress further down the line.  The most common distinction is between building a growth company and building a lifestyle business. Both of these paths are equally v ..read more
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EVOLVE - 3 Signs That Your Brain is Telling You to Start a Business 
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Mike Stephens
8M ago
Most people who start a business begin with an idea. They see something that could be done better, muster the courage to have a go, and finally take those first bold steps into the unknown. However, as any early-stage entrepreneur will tell you, having a good idea is the least of your worries! More crucial to your initial success is how mentally prepared you are for the challenges you will face in getting your business off the ground.   In the Ideation stage, before you even have an idea for a business, there are some positive signs that you can look for that you are ready for the ..read more
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June 2023 - The Entrepreneurial Digest
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Mike Stephens
9M ago
Things change fast in the startup world… Six months ago we were a team of 2.5 people, stretched thin; on the cusp of something as we have been so many times! Since then, we have grown our team by 6 people, launched four more accelerator cohorts across various programmes, and built an MVP to test a new business model! It feels busy and stressful when you’re in the thick of it, but when you stop and look back at how far you’ve come it makes all the effort seem worthwhile.   Across those four cohorts we have supported another 55 entrepreneurs, in everything from EV charging to stem cell ..read more
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Transform SY’s Cohort 3 Boot Camp - workshops, pitches, mentors and beyond
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Denislav Ivanov
1y ago
Cohort 3 + Transform SY team members + Pitch competition judging panel Two weeks ago we completed Transform SY's Cohort 3 Boot Camp - a 2-day event we start every accelerator we deliver with, and it was a resounding success. We started recruitment back in October, and while the number of startups joining us is lower than for Cohort 1 and Cohort 2, this new group is coming in with high expectations, tackling problems in the finTech, edTech, energy and more spaces. 10 hungry entrepreneurs from South Yorkshire are joining us for the last (for now) iteration of our programme, and as it has become ..read more
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The UK Space Agency Accelerator is live!
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Mike Stephens
1y ago
This week, we, along with Exotopic, announced the exciting news that applications for the UK Space Agency Accelerator programme were officially open. The world-class programme offers three levels of intensive business growth support to choose from, each designed to boost the success of entrepreneurs within, or looking to grow into, the UK’s thriving and vibrant space sector, which currently employs 47,000 people. Managed and delivered by Entrepreneurial Spark and Exotopic following a competitive tendering process, the UK Space Agency is investing just under £1.5 million in its two-year rollin ..read more
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Transform SY BizJam - can 2-day workshops deliver outstanding impact to founders?
Entrepreneurial Spark | Business acclerator and startup progam
by Denislav Ivanov
1y ago
All BizJam pitch competition participants, judges and Transform SY team Entrepreneurial Spark’s accelerator programmes are 4 to 6 months long for a reason - change, both personal and in business context, happens slowly and is a result of continuous work that spans beyond weeks. Plus, being a mindset-led accelerator, some founders find it difficult to buy into our method of acceleration at first, and cracking through takes some time. That is why we’ve stayed away from 2-day boot camps and workshops - nothing against the format, but we don’t find it relevant for our type of support. However, at ..read more
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