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;

• Complete the Leanstack online programme and submit 3 deliverables for review (traction roadmap, lean canvas and elevator pitch).
• Have a 1-2-1 session with a member of the Nova team to review your business and advise your startups ‘venture readiness’ and next steps
• Attend webinars, group sessions and 1-2-1 mentoring from our team of startup experts
• Once assessed as venture ready, you’ll be invited to pitch for £300,000 investment.
• Receive detailed feedback on the reason for or against investment. It’s possible that you’ll be asked to complete more evidence / validation gathering tasks, once completed, founders can come back and re-pitch.

Post Investment;

• After a yes from our investment committee over the next couple of weeks our team will work with you on the completion of legals, investment paperwork and due diligence.
• You are matched with a Nova product manager who will assemble your Nova startup team who will work with you to establish goals and the best use of the investment on Nova resource and cash spend.
• You’ll work closely with the Nova team for an initial 3 x 3 month chunks of work. With check ins with the investment team at 3 monthly intervals to review progress against agreed milestones.
• Pending a successful first 9 months of progress with milestones being achieved, we’ll provide follow on investment and continued team support as we continue to build and grow your startup.

We ask that you are;

• Located within any region of the UK
• At an early stage of developing your startup (i.e. you haven’t already raised investment)
• Working on a project that will utilise tech at its core
• Working on a project that we believe has the ability to scale quickly in terms of revenue and impact
• Willing to commit to and follow our programme of guidance and support.

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.