As with anything the more time you can put into the programme the better progress you will make. On average it takes founders around a week to complete the online Leanstack modules, with actual time spent being around 7-10 hours. At this point you will be invited to meet with the Nova team to discuss the outputs and agree next steps as you prepare to pitch for investment.
No, the programme is completely free to join and participate in. At the end of the programme you will have the opportunity to pitch to our investment panel, if successful the investment received would be in exchange for equity. However this is completely optional, there is no contractual agreement to accept this and it is not a prerequisite to join.
Yes the programme has been designed specifically for working entrepreneurs to fit around your existing commitments. The online learning via Leanstack can be completed at your convenience. Any webinars or group work sessions try to be scheduled outside of typical office hours, and sessions are always recorded and shared afterward if you can’t make it. 1-2-1 calls and feedback may need to happen within working hours, however our team is incredibly flexible and will do best to accommodate your needs.
Post investment, if successful we like founders to stay in their work (particularly if it’s related to your startups market) for the first 9 month period whilst we continue to validate your startup. At the end of this period we typically look to raise further investment at which point the business should be established enough to bring you full time into the business.
Pre Investment you will;
Post Investment;
We ask that you are;
Yes, approximately 90% of our founders are non-technical. If you don’t come from a technical background but have strong beliefs formed from working in industry we’d welcome an application from you. Our most successful companies have been built by co-founders with a strong domain expertise who have utilised our technical expertise and combined built a great business.
"I'm really glad I partnered with Nova to create Umii, I truly couldn't have achieved what we have without their support. As a solo founder, and someone quite new to the startup world, their support has been invaluable. Not only with product development, but the marketing, finance and business development functions have all played a huge part in getting Umii to where it is today."
"The team at Nova have really challenged my thinking and the direction I wanted to take the business. Without their support I’d have gone to market with the wrong product! They’ve really been hands-on, not only with the product development, but in ensuring that the whole business has been tested and is right; and we’re really benefiting from that now."
"I’m not from the startup world, I’m a medic at heart. I came to NOVA with the problem of hand-hygiene compliance in hospitals. They’ve helped me to find a solution, provided me with the technical team to build it and now are helping me to scale it into a successful, profitable business."