Applications now open for place on this world class Business Accelerator Programme
Entrepreneurs from across the globe are being invited to claim their place on the second business accelerator programme being at our Aberdeen £1million Centre for Entrepreneurship.
Following the success of our pilot Accelerator Programme, which was launched in March 2015, we are set to start the new programme on Monday 19 October.
Taking place at Elevator’s state of the art headquarters, situated in Aberdeen’s Energy Park at the Bridge of Don, the unique Accelerator Programme is open to energy and technology start-ups and business teams seeking investment and who have ambition to propel their services to a global market place.
Together the participants (‘Founders’ as we call them) will undertake an intense 20-week entrepreneurial experience to drive their businesses onto a high growth curve to become investor ready or positioned to enter new markets.
Elevator staff along with industry mentors will work closely with the new intake of founders to support, inspire and challenge them throughout the process. The founders will spend time working on their business models, participating in workshops led by industry experts and attending keynote presentations from recognised entrepreneurs to broaden their skills and knowledge base.
To assist the learning process, the Centre for Entrepreneurship, which is the first of its kind in Scotland, boasts advanced technology, connecting it to 55 global accelerator programmes, allowing entrepreneurs to participate in events and access help and advice on a worldwide scale.
The centre is also home for employability programmes, community driven projects, and a space where school, college and university students can learn about enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Primarily focussed on oil and gas, the first group of 10 high potential start-up businesses who completed the Accelerator Programme at Elevator also included entrepreneurs from energy, technology, online retail, and health care.
Jim Cargill, Chief Executive Officer of PlanSea Ltd who formed part of the first cohort, said: “
“PlanSea was delighted to be selected as part of the first intake of Founders on the Accelerator programme at Elevator. We have derived great value from our participation, providing an inspiring, challenging and educational platform upon which to develop our business. The Elevator facility is state of the art and one notable additional benefit we have enjoyed is the camaraderie and encouragement arising from working alongside other start-up companies who are all facing similar challenges and opportunities. If you are in the process of starting your own business or looking to scale your existing business, the Accelerator programme is a great way of doing this.”
Our Chief Executive of Elevator, Professor Gary McEwan, said: “Elevator has a clear objective of assisting entrepreneurs in reaching their goals, and part of its vision is to build a robust entrepreneurial culture in the city, maximising individual and collective economic and social success on a local, national, and global scale. In light of this, the Elevator Accelerator was established to offer entrepreneurs with the hunger to succeed unrivalled assistance in reaching their goals.
“The programme offers a ‘ivy league’ level education in entrepreneurship where we challenge entrepreneurs, their goals, their plans and their business ideas. Following the massive success of the first intake, we look forward to receiving applications from people with the drive and determination to form the second group of founders on the Accelerator Programme.”
Entrepreneurs have until Friday 21 August to submit applications for a place on the Accelerator Programme. Successful candidates will then be invited to pitch in person to a team of judges at Elevator between Monday 7 and Friday 18 September.
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