THE #ETHICALHOUR ACCELERATOR

BUILDING THE FUTURE OF IMPACT BUSINESS

A high impact 12+ month support programme for brands ready to scale

Designed and led by business experts who’ve been there too.

Built on proven academic methodology, backed by real-world business experience, with an unrivalled 84% 3+ year startup survivability rate: the #EthicalHour Accelerator is designed to give you the expert, strategic, bespoke support you need to supercharge your growth.

Successful applicants receive a tailored 1:1 programme of support from experts with extensive industry, investment and entrepreneurship experience, and access to little black books that have been decades in the making, to help you unlock significant value from our network of investors, partners and industry contacts.

Join the waiting list:

THE PROGRAMME

APPLICATION: DISCOVERY PITCH
STAGE 1:
TARGETING
STAGE 2: BRAND & BUSINESS AUDIT
STAGE 3: MONTHLY MENTORING
STAGE 4: FINANCIALS & PROJECTIONS
STAGE 5: PITCH PREPARATION
STAGE 6:
DEMO DAY
ONGOING SUPPORT FOR GROWTH

YOUR INVESTMENT

The total cost of the programme is £3,000, broken down into 12 monthly payments of just £450. Alternatively, you can pay upfront for a 10% discount.

This gives you access to an initial 12 months of expert advice, support, mentoring and resources worth over £12,000, plus facilitated introductions to a priceless network of industry leaders and investors. Scholarships are available – please enquire for more information.

LEAD ADVISORS

SIAN CONWAY-WOOD

Sian has over a decade of experience supporting startups through the incubation and acceleration process in both Higher Education and private sector settings. Sian was formerly Head of Marketing at a fast-growth tech company and has extensive experience guiding companies through the investment journey and providing investor relations communications strategies and support. 

As founder of the award-winning #EthicalHour business community, she has trained and mentored thousands of eco-focused challenger brands, been a UK Government Green Ambassador, UK’s Sustainability Influencer of the Year, one of the top 100 Women in Social Enterprise and one of 40 Women To Watch In Tech.

She is a guest lecturer on impact entrepreneurship and social enterprise at Warwick Business School and an expert mentor for Amazon’s Sustainability Accelerator, Loughborough University’s startup studio, The University of Leicester and the Leicester Startups network. Sian has delivered communications training for sustainability startups for numerous accelerator programmes, including the Birmingham Enterprise Community and eBay’s impact business support programme, eBay for Change.

In 2023, Sian and her team at 181st Street were commissioned to research and develop a model for “Best In Class” startup accelerator provision in higher education settings, by The University of Leicester.

DR ANDREW LUMSDEN-GROOM

Andrew is an expert in business and financial strategy, demographics, behaviour and risk management, with a diverse and distinguished career in public affairs and economics in both the public and private sectors, within the UK and internationally. 

 

Andrew trained as a Crisis Specialist, and has extensive experience of advising HM Government and corporate companies in this capacity. 

With a Masters Degree in socio-political economics and a DSocSi in socioeconomics & rhetoric, Andrew is an expert in demographic targeting and behavioural science. Having helped to explore the fundamentals of the now mainstream ‘seven-tier class system’ in the early years of behavioural economic theory, Andrew has worked on some of the world’s most innovative behavioural microtargeting campaigns. He is a trusted advisor helping brands to raise funding, break into new markets and become more profitable. 

Andrew is an expert mentor for Amazon’s Sustainability Accelerator and Loughborough University’s startup studio.

In 2023, Andrew and his team at 181st Street were commissioned to research and develop a model for “Best In Class” startup accelerator provision in higher education settings, by The University of Leicester.

FAQs

You will be a startup in your early months or years of business development. The programme is not cohort based, so we don’t need to match you with other startups at similar stages, which means we can be flexible about who makes it onto the accelerator. You’ll still receive peer support through our partner networks, but we will assess the commercial viability and impact of your business and your ability to execute individually, and if you tick all the boxes you’ll be accepted, whether you’re pre-start or have already raised pre-seed.

No. Investor relations is one of our specialities, and our team is highly qualified to prepare you and your brand for your first or next raise. However, investment is not right for everyone. If you haven’t raised yet, we can work with you to determine the best financial strategies for your business. If you don’t want to give away equity or you’re not investment ready, we can help you explore and prepare for alternative options.

When it comes to developing your startup, there are lots of options out there. We’re confident that ours is the best. For starters, we have an 84% 3+ year survivability rate for startups that go through our programme. The average of other programmes nationwide is just 4%.

In 2023, our team (who have over a decade of startup acceleration experience) were commissioned by The University of Leicester to research and design a ‘Best In Class’ model of startup support. This accelerator is built on that research.

Our expert advisors have all started and scaled their own businesses – some raising millions in investment, some bootstrapping and keeping it lean. Not only do they have real, on-the-ground experience, but they deeply understand that one size doesn’t fit all. They are qualified coaches who will work with you to find the right solutions to your problems. And we are the advisors that other leading accelerators use!

No. Our programme can run entirely online. Our experts have knowledge of international markets to support your growth, and we have a worldwide network of investors. You can be located anywhere in the world as long as you’re happy to attend virtual meetings during UK working hours. For those that are in the UK and happy to travel to Lond0n, there are in-person meetups and mentoring sessions available.

We are industry agnostic. The programme focuses on one-to-one support, deep diving into your business and brand, so we don’t need to worry about matching you with a cohort of other startups in your industry.

Our expert team have decades of experience supporting startups, and have worked on almost everything in that time – from disruptive climate tech to luxury fashion, FMCG, fintech, cybersecurity, healthcare, news & media and even at-home insect farming, we’ve seen it all!

We also have a very extensive little black book of experts and investors, so if you need something particularly niche, we can probably connect you to the right person faster than anywhere else!

We don’t take equity as part of your initial application or the core accelerator programme outlined above. However, the #EthicalHour Accelerator is run in partnership with our full-service communications agency 181st Street. If you require in-depth operational or strategic support beyond the scope of the accelerator (for example, running your social media accounts, providing media and presentation training etc), there may be the opportunity to form an equity-based partnership to make that happen if your budget is limited.

We’re looking for founders with ideas that solve real problems or create meaningful innovations. 

We assess the commercial viability and potential impact of all applicants, and we make every decision on a case-by-case basis. In particular, some of the things we are looking for include:

  • Commercially viable ideas with potential to scale
  • Ideas with potential for positive social and environmental impact
  • Founder(s) who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and do the work!
  • Realistic expectations about timelines, growth and work involved
  • Founder(s) with access to the teams, resources and/or budget to execute

JOIN THE WAITING LIST

OUR PARTNERS