You’ve got your idea, your ambition, your drive and your determination – now for your next step.

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The next step for your start-up business

You’re the ambitious founder of an exciting start-up business. You’ve recognised an opportunity, a gap in the market, a problem you can help solve. You’re committed to making your start-up an unqualified success. You want to smash it out there.

So, what now? What’s your next step?

Seek funding? Build a world-class deck to present to investors? Call up your best friends’ friend who builds websites? Get a logo created by someone on ‘Fiverr’? Launch your social media channels?

You will want to do all of those things, of course you will.

But wait, take a breath, pause for just one moment.

Do you know how to access those investors? Do you know how to build an effective investor deck that will get their attention? Have you got access to strategic market intelligence? Do you have access to specialist resources?

These things are fundamental for taking your next step.

Have you defined your brand purpose, vision, values? Do you know your target audience well enough? Do you know the right kind of user experience for your brand, the most engaging messaging? Have you crafted your unique brand story?

This is how you will shape your brand, reach your audience, set yourself apart.

If the answer to any of those questions is no, you should certainly consider joining a really good incubator programme, one that offers you support, advice, experience, know-how, an active business network, and the opportunity to work with specialists in their fields.

Running the Incubator Programme here at Use.Space, we recognised that many promising start-up businesses can stall, or even fail, because founders don’t always know what making that ‘next step’ really requires. And why should they? They’re often new to this.

That’s why a good incubator programme, one designed to help equip start-up founders with what they need to move their business forward, can really be a game changer.

As we now enter our second incubator programme, it’s interesting to reflect on how members of our first cohort have benefitted so far.

From an ideas-stage start-up in the mental health sector –

https://youtu.be/lfQTuEZS_g8
Charlotte Scott, Practicing Psychotherapist and Business Founder

To an independent provider of un-biased software solutions.

https://youtu.be/krJEjymtrG0
Josh Probert, MD and Founder, Hyphen Business Solutions

And an ambitious SME breaking new ground in gamification.

https://youtu.be/G5LH0uikZGw
Tiago Perdigao, CEO and Founder, ALFRED Gamification Platform

But wait, should you join an incubator programme that is sector specific? Digital? Creative? Fintech? Software? Fashion? Health? Or one that is open to multiple sectors?

Well, the evidence of our experience clearly demonstrates that the sharing of ideas, knowledge and experience from multiple sectors, and being part of a multi-sector environment, opens up even more fresh channels of thinking and opportunities for collaboration.

The moral of this start-up story? Don’t try and do everything yourself, and don’t assume you should have all the answers. Take that breath, pause for that moment, then reach out to people who are only too ready, able and equipped to help you take your next step.

The Use.Space Incubator Programme 2 is currently open for applications until Monday, May 17th, and we welcome applications from Start-ups and SME’s in all sectors.

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