A new training scheme is looking for aspiring creative entrepreneurs

Future Startup Now Founders aims to address the lack of diversity in the tech and digital sector, by offering virtual training and a number of grants to people who are currently underrepresented

Future Startup Now Founders

A new five-week virtual mentoring programme, Future Startup Now Founders, is open for applications now, with openings for 25 London-based aspiring entrepreneurs between the ages of 18-24.

The scheme forms part of the Mayor of London’s wider Digital Talent Programme, and comes as a collaboration between careers community Hustle Crew and Create Jobs, a London-focused employability programme helping young people find a route into the creative and digital industries.

Future Startup Now Founders seeks to address the inequality among business founders, and in the tech and digital sector more generally, by making the programme available to people who are underrepresented in these domains.

The programme is therefore open to people from Black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds, women, people who are deaf or have disabilities, people within the LGBTQ+ community, neurodiverse people, as well as those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. The scheme is also open to applicants who do not have any formal educational qualifications.

The training is aimed at people who have already begun to develop a business idea, and encompasses various elements of taking it to the next stage, including practical skills like product development, community engagement, user research and minimum viable product (MVP) testing. It also covers some of the more granular aspects of founding a business, including startup methodology, forecasting, finance law and compliance.

The training sessions will be run by industry experts from across the digital, tech and creative landscape, including people from Snapchat, tech innovation agency Digital Catapult, Women Who Code, video-based magazine GUAP, youth talent network Supa and more.

After completely the training, the 25 participants will have the opportunity to pitch their business ideas, with ten receiving £5,000 grants for tech and hardware to help get their businesses up and running.

Applications for Future Startup Now Founders close on 17 June 2020. Click here to find more information and apply