Dotforge is an initiative created to attract and nurture top startups from around the world by providing them with pre-seed capital, mentorship and the environment they need to build and grow their business.
Accelerator
Funding & Setup
Startups receive up to £15,000 (£5k per founder) in pre-seed capital in return for 8% equity. You also receive free legal advice on how to setup your company.
The Environment
Teams get 6 months worth of free office space. That’s 3 months during the accelerator and 3 months after it; giving you peace of mind.
Mentoring & Advice
Towards the end of the programme we help startups acquire early adopters and prepare them for raising capital from investors.
How The Programme Works
Feeling creative? Let’s hear those ideas! Questions? That’s what our mentors are for. They’ll help you with everything, from user experience right down to marketing and monetization.
Research is KEY. We want you to be on top of everything, so we’ll help you look at the market, identify trends and ask those difficult questions no one wants to hear.
You name it we’ve got a workshop for it. During your stay, you’ll be attending 10 different workshops and learning everything from marketing and sales to finance and raising money.
Don’t worry, even with all workshops and mentoring visits, you’ll still have ample time to do what you love… BUILD. Before you go rushing off, don’t miss out on our Rackspace/Amazon AWS or Project Management talks! They’re awesome. Seriously.
Are you building what you want, or what your customers want? Let’s find out! It’s time to test your product and pivot until you find that elusive first paying customer.
Data is king. Let’s now see how we can use those metrics to convert those clicks and page views into something more!
The Delivery Team
Lee Strafford - EIR
Lee is the visionary and entrepreneurial leader who architected the success of PlusNet as its co-founder and CEO from 1997 to 2007, leading it from startup, through IPO and finally to exit by sale for £67m to BT in 2007. As Entrepreneur-in-Residence Lee will be working with the Dotforge startups on a weekly basis advising them on business strategy, product development and customer acquisition.
Emma Cheshire
Emma founded Germinate Consultancy in 2011 to offer strategic and business development for creative and digital agencies, arts organisations and charities. Clients include the BFI, Creative England and Places £3 million cultural change programme. In 2013 she established and ran the the Dotforge accelerator. As Programme Director, Emma overseas the programme.
River Tamoor Baig
River co-founded Hive, a distraction free collaboration tool designed for startups. He previously worked with the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs advising educational institutions on how to create startup communities on their campus. As Programme Manager, River structures the dotforge curriculum whilst keeping it responsive to the needs of the cohort.
