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HOST 50 Impact Report 2021 Accelerating the growth of Greater Manchester digital and tech start-ups through collaboration December 2021

Contents

Foreword

About HOST 50

Programme Outcomes

Diversity and Inclusion

Member Profiles

Feedback and Review

Our Team

The Future of HOST 50

"HOST 50 completely changed the trajectory of my business, thanks to the team I have a clear direction and a community of people backing me!" Hannah Davies Co-Founder of Rouge Psych

Foreword HOST 50 is for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs with a diverse community at the heart of the programme. We are offering entrepreneurs an alternative option for business support, by building a collaborative and inclusive innovation community where they can share opportunities, learnings and network.

Mo Isap CEO IN4.0 Group

HOST 50 is a unique opportunity for new founders to grow and accelerate their business in a safe space, surrounded by a community of like minded entrepreneurs. Bella Copland Director of Programmes for IN4.0 Group and HOST Salford

Michael Livingstone HOST 50 Member and Founder of Dust-ID

Our first cohort have just completed the programme and we're really excited to deliver more in the future, supporting even more of the growing technology community in Greater Manchester to accelerate their business.

HOST isn't just a work space, the management team are building a community of founders, mentors, advisers and expertise.

About HOST 50 HOST 50 is a safe space for founders to test ideas, create powerful enterprises and influence their worlds through collaboration, community and innovation. Over the course of 12-weeks, founders were supported via weekly workshops, mentorship, technical sessions, 1:1s and community events in order to accelerate the growth of their enterprises. This programme is founded on the principle of community, creating an inclusive space for founders to meet, collaborate, and grow, building not only their business but their network and their own skills as an entrepreneur. Programme Offering: Partnerships | Community | Care | Connectivity | Ecosystem

How it worked

Peer to peer Mentoring

Online interactive learning

Brand exposure

Building a Community

Founders took part in weekly workshops to give them the foundation of what is required to grow and launch an innovative businesses. These were highly interactive, and delivered twice a day to make them accessible to all Three programme socials were delivered to enable founders to interact and connect with fellow programme participants, these took place at the start, middle and end of the programme Peer mentorship was provided from an allocated and dedicated mentor throughout the course of the programme, delivered in group sessions Weekly masterclasses and spotlights covering technical topics and bringing in industry leading experts, providing participants with ability to not just get breadth from the programme, but depth of knowledge as well Weekly accountability sessions to keep participants on track to achieve their Participants goals took place in groups, enabling the community to share their goals, applicants 4 challenges, and see how they could help each other

199

Our community came from a range of sectors...

Arts

Healthcare

Education

Digital

...and from across Greater Manchester Manchester 28%

Stockport 4%

Trafford 6%

Salford 54%

Bury 2%

Rochdale 2%

Bolton 4%

Wigan 2%

HOST 50 delivered real impact, meaningful connections and value to participants

Masterclasses / Spotlights delivered

Workshops delivered

>16

8.8/10

Founders developed new IP during the programme

Likelihood to recommend to a friend

Programme Outcomes Over 12 weeks, new topics were introduced weekly through interactive workshops and masterclasses with inspiring and experienced speakers. This was complimented by the virtual community the programme created, alongside mentoring and accountability sessions to reflect on learnings and how each business would take their actions forward. The programme syllabus is summarised below:

Creating a community HOST took extreme care and pride to ensure that our programme was as inclusive and accessible as possible. As a result, we were able to curate a community of founders from across Greater Manchester from all walks of life, with varied experiences, backgrounds and perspectives. Curriculum design took this into account, delivering not just impactful and relevant workshops which provided participants with the right skills they needed to accelerate their growth, but also included aspects such as masterclasses and spotlights, socials, online community tools (such as MyHOST) and mentorship. This was all delivered virtually, and in line with COVID-19 guidelines, whilst using social events to bring the community together where possible.

Peer to peer and expert mentorship We offered a practical and bespoke support programme working with specialist partners and networks with unrivalled track records with access to weekly workshops and peer-topeer mentoring led by some of the UK's best micro-businesses and freelance mentors. The feedback from participants was unanimous that the value they gained from peer-topeer mentoring was what set this programme apart, and unlike anything else they'd experienced elsewhere.

Working on my mentor session with Naomi really helped me understand how I could improve my mindset and set clearer business goals.

Keith Myers Founder of AVimmerse

Everyone is authentic and generous in sharing their knowledge and experiences, and it is this support that underpins the programme and enables people to flourish.

Rachel Morgan-Trimmer Founder of Sparkle Class

Diversity & Inclusion Diversity and inclusion is at the centre of all HOST programmes, with HOST 50 being no exception. The below statistics highlight the diversity of the full HOST 50 cohort, where those selected for the programme opportunities also represented a range of genders, backgrounds, sectors, and geographical locations across Greater Manchester. The HOST team take great care through the recruitment of our programmes, ensuring opportunities reach underrepresented founders.

Ethnic Diversity Black 15.1%

Afro-Caribbean 1.9%

13.4% Have a disability

Mixed 7.5%

White 56.6% Asian 18.9%

Age Groups 40

39% Identify as female

16-25

26-50

51-65

Member Profiles and Stories Nicole Fearon | Founder of Clustr Sector: Digital | Social Connection Mission: Clustr helps build strong and active communities Seeking help with: looking to find a funding model that helps to get Clustr started

"HOST 50 was really helpful, identifying areas of consideration, connections to a wider network of people and generally allowing me to think out loud in a safe environment."

Joaquin Contreras | Founder of Pandemic Tours Sector: Travel Mission: Pandemic Tours is an app for doing self-guided walking tours around cities and attractions for free Seeking help with: Launching a MVP and knowing how to grow the business "This was a very valuable personal growth experience. I was able to connect with others, learn from the best and test my business assumptions while fully working in my start-up. I have moved a long way forward since I started this journey but there is still a lot to do."

Rob Illidge | Founder of Vulse.co Sector: Social Media Marketing SaaS Mission: The world’s first content creation platform dedicated to creating exceptional LinkedIn posts every time Seeking help with: Deciding on the next features to roll out, what is vital and optional in an MVP build, as well as demo product feedback "HOST 50 has been indispensable in the growth of Vulse.co, ensuring that we are fully prepared for future investment rounds. I would recommend the programme to ambitious businesses of all sizes who are are committed to growth."

Learner Profiles and Stories Judy Leung | Co-Founder of Sweqlink Sector: Software | Marketplace Mission: Supporting entrepreneurs and markers to find business partners, startup projects, by trading time and sweat equity "We had a great dynamic in my sessions, I was able to walk a variety of people with different interests and perspectives through my product cycle, and then get truly actionable feedback along with really helpful recommendations."

Micheal Livingstone | Founder of Dust ID Sector: Software | E-commerce Checkout Mission: Simplifying e-commerce for retailers & their customers with the World's 1st Addressless checkout Seeking help with: Fundraising and developing the product "It's not about the space it's about the network and connections that you can make. I've always said that it's not always about money to be a successful entrepreneur it's also their address book / network." Zreen Mansha | Founder of Cloud Web Designer Sector: Wed Design and Social Media Agency Mission: We are a Web solutions company who specialise in Web Design, Web Hosting/Domains & Web Marketing/SEO Seeking help with: Accelerating development "HOST has helped my business with advice and mentorship relating to business growth, implementing actions, KPI's and preparing my business for pre-seed investment. I am ever so grateful for the guidance and insight that I have gained through them on my journey."

Feedback & Review

Host 50 is an excellent programme that provides an opportunity to develop business skills and ideas with support and in an inclusive community of like minded peers. Emma-Louise Fusari Founder of In-House Health

Yes 10%

90% of the cohort said they couldn't have received better business support anywhere else

No 7%

No 90%

93% of HOST 50 members believe our programme positively impacted their businesses

13.6%

Yes 93%

confidence

Programme goals and achievements Our first ever HOST 50 programme supported 50 incredible and diverse founders from within Greater Manchester, directly impacting them as individuals and the acceleration of their company at the start of it's journey. Building on the success of the first programme, we will be running more in future and will continue to support even more of the region's most innovative and disruptive new start ups.

Moving forward... 1) Further Increased Diversity - we want to ensure future cohorts look like the society we live in, reflecting more than just gender and race diversity. 2) Build on Technical Curriculum - we want to include further technical training to ensure our founders have fair access to the tools & resources that will scale their work. 3) Develop further mentorship opportunities - we want to re-engage our cohort to give back and create a closer community vibe on the cohorts.

Our Team BELLA COPLAND Director of Programmes at for IN4.0 and HOST Salford

KIRAN AROKIASAMY Programme Co-ordinator at HOST Entrepreneurship and Start-up Expert

EMILY HOUNSLOW Senior Programme Coordinator for IN4.0 and HOST Salford

CHRIS STEPHENS Senior Programme Coordinator for IN4.0 and HOST Salford

Mentors

VIV PARRY Finance Director at Daletech Electronics and SME & Finance Expert

NAOMI TIMPERLEY Project Director and Growth and Innovation Consultant

TINA BODEN Micro Business Expert and Founder and Curator at Your Business & You

Future HOST Programmes Programmes such as HOST 50 have provided HOST with unrivalled insight into what businesses in Greater Manchester need to grow and to innovate. Since the launch of HOST 50 alone, a further five programmes have been designed and delivered specifically thanks to our fundamental understanding of founders. We have, and will continue to aim to, build tools, networks and accessible ecosystems for founders to engage with and utilise in helping them to solve their unique challenges. Moving forward, HOST will be scaling up the delivery of these programmes, including more cohorts of HOST 50, which will now be called IN40. This is alongside new purpose built programmes to meet the needs of existing, and new founders across As the North West. Through this delivery, HOST will continue to identify opportunities for industry and academic partners to collaborate with a diverse group of founders for the purpose of accelerating innovation locally, and allowing partners to garner insight on what local innovators are doing to tackle the problems of today and tomorrow.

If you are looking to support or get involved...

Looking to sponsor an entreprneur or a cohort?

Looking to get involved in delivery?

Looking for our next 50 fantastic cohort members. Do you know anyone?

Want to know more and meet the team? Feel free to visit our website and social media pages, or get in contact with us at: bella@in4group.co.uk

HOSTSalford

@HOSTSalford

HOST Salford

@HOSTSalford

HOST, Media City UK, M50 2ST 14