Not-for-profit, Virgin StartUp, has announced the 10 UK business founders set to join its purpose-driven, investment readiness programme, Collective Impact.
All the founders selected want to scale a business that will have positive impact on people, places or the planet and are looking to raise investment for the first time.
The businesses include; Innovate Recycle, the first company in the UK to deconstruct and recycle end-of-life carpet; Serious Tissues, the UK’s first carbon neutral toilet roll; Bear Health, a company aiming to solve the UK’s dental crisis by making it easier for people to find and pay for a dentist in their area and Library of Things, an award-winning social enterprise on a mission to encourage people to borrow rather than buy new.
Over the next seven weeks, the 10 founders will receive one-to-one mentoring with industry experts alongside weekly in-person workshops to help founders understand their funding options and refine their impact strategy so that their impact continues to grow as their business does. The founders will also get the chance to practice their pitch with impact investors. At the end of the programme, each founder will be allocated a dedicated mentor for the next six months, as well as being invited to monthly peer mastermind sessions.
Last year, 24 founders completed Virgin StartUp’s Collective Impact programme and raised £4 million within six months of completing the programme.
Successful alumni include London-based OxWash, an environmentally friendly laundry service which raised £475,000 as a direct result of the programme and has gone on to secure £10 million in investment, as well as achieving B Corp certification.
Andy Fishburn, Managing Director at Virgin StartUp, explains: “It’s important that purpose-driven founders who want to change business for the better and solve global problems are empowered to not only start-up and survive, but thrive. That’s what Collective Impact is all about. It’s a privilege to work with these passionate founders and give them the tools they need to scale their business and have a real impact.”
