Creative Enterprise is excited to introduce the Female Founders programme, an exclusive and highly-coveted initiative tailored to ambitious female founders operating screen-based enterprises.
Despite the recent rise in female-led companies, women in business continue to face certain disparities compared to their male counterparts. In response, this programme has been meticulously crafted to empower female entrepreneurs by imparting essential skills and bolstering their confidence, thereby facilitating business expansion.
By nurturing a dynamic and diverse cohort of female business leaders across regions, this exceptional initiative serves as a distinctive opportunity for screen-based businesses led by women who aspire to achieve remarkable growth.
Applications for Female Founders Are Now Closed.
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Who is it for?
The programme is for companies led by women or those who identify as women, working in moving image for storytelling, spanning film and television, games and technology*. Companies should be registered and trading in the England, have some proven success and be ready to take their business to the next level.
*We can support applicants working in branded content, if the company retain the IP rights of the content they produce, or are actively looking to move away from commercial work and form a creative arm of the business.
We are aiming for a balanced regional representation across England with at least 80% of businesses coming from the regions outside of London.
What is involved?
Female Founders Scale Up will deliver a series of intense workshops and holistic business coaching sessions with proven industry leaders over six months where companies taking part in the programme will:
- Create and complete a comprehensive plan to grow and scale their businesses
- Get expert advice on business planning, funding and finance, taking their businesses to market, decision making and how to structure teams and hire the right talent
- Gain a greater understanding of revenue models, profitability and IP monetisation
- Learn directly from and build their network with proven industry leaders
- Receive one to one business coaching throughout the programme
- Be part of the annual Female Founders annual conference bringing together the past 4 years of cohorts.
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The Female Founders Experience
Discover the captivating journeys that celebrates the brilliance and determination of entrepreneurial women in the UK screen industry landscape. Join us as we delve into the stories of trailblazing female founders, illuminating their inspiring experience to success and the invaluable insights they share along the way.
Female Founders Magazine
Out of the strong network created by Female Founders have come the idea to publish a quarterly magazine – entirely edited and put together by the Founders themselves.
Current Issues Available:
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Any questions? Email our Creative Enterprise team.
***Applications Are Now Closed***
Deadline for Applications was Monday 25th September 2023.
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Eligibility & Fees
The Female Founders programme is only available to female led screen businesses based in England working in or with narrative storytelling.
You will need to show that your business has the potential and ambition to scale up. To be considered for the programme, companies must:
- Be a female founder (or co-founder) of a screen based narrative business working in storytelling for the moving image (this can include film/TV, games, immersive, createch)
- Be registered and trading in England
- Have successfully created a revenue generating product, reached a market/audience of scale or launched a new platform/ tech service that has enabled storytelling through moving image.
- You must have employed a minimum of 2 people (including yourself) at some point in the last 5 years (Covid years excluded)
- Have generated consistent sales revenue in the last 3 years in addition to any funding secured via grants, investment etc.
- Be committed to the long term development of your company
Deadline for Applications is Monday 25th September 2023.
Fees
The fee for participation in the programme is £250 per company.
Creative Enterprise is a BFI Lottery funded programme – overall, the support including group learning sessions, coaching and personalised mentoring you receive during the Female Founders programme is valued at over £5,000 per person. There is also a bursary (contribution towards travel and accommodation) available for in-person sessions if needed.
If you feel like this fee is a significant barrier to your participation in the programme, please speak to Creative Enterprise team to discuss options.
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Programme delivery schedule
(workshop dates are fixed and you must be able to attend, 121 coaching sessions are to be made at a time suitable for both you and your mentor) –
In person session (Location TBC) – 14th November 2023
Online session – 12th + 13th December
Online session 16th + 17th January
Online session 6th + 7th February
Online session – 12th + 13th March
In person session (Location TBC) – 16th April (all day)
Online session – 30th April + 1st May
In person sessions will be decided once we know where the cohort is based and will be a central location. Subsistence contributions are available to help those who need it for travel to access in person sessions. These funds are limited and are at the discretion of Creative Enterprise.
Participants will take part in:
- 7 x day long workshops
- 5 x one-to-one coaching sessions
- 1 x Female Founders annual conference
The workshops are intended to give you an overview of the subject matter in question. You will hear from industry experts as well as other company founders in the cohort, learning from their experiences.
The 1-2-1 coaching supports you to apply the right thinking and models for your business growth
Broad topics will include:
Planning for growth
- Understanding your journey
- Market assessment
- Defining your vision statement
- Reviewing your business model and assessing additional options
- Identifying the barriers to growth
- What does success look like?
- Building your growth plan
Finance & investment
- How to structure your finances for growth
- Funding options
- Private & public investors
- What do investors look for?
Confidence & Self promotion
- Self-promotion tool-kit
- Challenging the stigma of self promotion
Pitching
- Identifying the USP
- The sell (yourself, your company, your product)
- Effective communication
- Pitching to different audiences
- Practical factors
Market Reach
- Knowing your audience/consumer
- Product & IP
- Identifying and optimising market opportunities
- Marketing skills
- Testing the market
- Growing your customer base Talent & Infrastructure
- Balancing personal and business needs
- Leadership & decision making
- Allocating roles and addressing the talent gaps
- Creating the right culture
- Structure & flexibility
At the end of the Female Founders programme you will –
- Have received 121 business and personal growth coaching, improving your mindset, confidence and ability to apply new skills learnt to your business
- Understand your business better, its potential revenue models, profitability and IP monetisation
- Have identified your current barriers to growth that can be unique to female business owners, and the knowledge, confidence, and skills to overcome them
- Be more confident in yourself, your business and your product, and have the skills to sell and pitch them
- Be able to master difficult conversations when negotiating and pitching
- Hone your leadership skills and have the confidence to apply them to your business
- Have created a comprehensive plan to grow and scale your business
- Know how hire the right team and talent for your future growth
- Have an extensive network of empowering female leaders in the industry for support, advice and encouragement.
***Applications Are Now Closed***
If you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements prior to applying for the programme, please contact creativeenterprise@creativeengland.co.uk
The Female Founders programme is part of Creative Enterprise, which has been developed with National Lottery funding from the BFI, to increase the sustainability of the moving image sector by optimising business opportunities through connections, training, expert advice and strategy support.
