Start-up accelerator Ignite says businesses that have passed through its programme have collectively surpassed £100m in exits since its inception.
The Newcastle-based organisation, which has run programmes across the country, says the milestone highlights its role in supporting early stage 海角视频 start-ups. It has pointed to a number of successful exits in recent years such as the acquisition of North East gaming business GridFinder by US motorsports group RAFA racing; AI academic writing service Writefull's acquisition by Digital Science, and Octopus Group's purchase of a majority stake in bereavement support firm Guardian Angel.
Since its launch in 2011, Ignite says it has supported more than 500 founders via mentoring, workshops and introductions to other entrepreneurs and investors. The accelerator's alumni have gone on to raise over £200m in early stage funding and create jobs.
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Jo York, CEO of Ignite, said: "Reaching over £100m in exits is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the start-ups we’ve supported. Our mission has always been to empower founders to realise their visions and see their start-ups as global from day one. This milestone is a proud moment for our team past and present."
Tristan Watson, chair of Ignite and one of the programme's original co-founders, added: "The success stories of GridFinder, Writefull, Guardian Angel, and Overwatch Research are just a few examples of the potential within the 海角视频 start-up ecosystem. We remain committed to fostering the next wave of innovative start-ups wherever in the 海角视频 they are based."
In the time since Ignite's Newcastle launch, it has delivered programmes in Sheffield, Manchester, Cambridge, London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin - with a return to the North East in 2021. Its most recent programmes were supported by the North East Combined Authority and Barclays Eagle Labs.
Tom Bunten, CEO of Gridfinder, who took part in the 2022 pre-accelerator and accelerator programmes, said: "Ignite taught us to think globally. Gridfinder is a regional business, but it has access to an international market. This realisation transformed our business strategy and empowered us to access a whole host of incredible opportunities, ultimately growing Gridfinder to a successful exit."
Stephen Mitchell, co-founder and CEO of factory management systems business SQCDP, who took part in the 2023 accelerator programme, said: "We’ve seen that we can solve problems for manufacturers close to home here in the North East and are now in a position to start to scale. We learned loads through the Ignite programme and in raising our pre-seed round. The investment will help us start onboarding new customers remotely and grow the team."
Rojin Yarahmadi, CEO of Polybox, who took part in the 2023 accelerator programme, said: "The support from Ignite was instrumental in our success. The mentoring and resources provided by the programme gave us the foundation we needed to secure significant funding and scale our business."