I can't help but notice that there are a lot of accelerators being created in the UK at the minute. I am worried there will soon be more accelerator places than there are serious startups and I say this as a http://oxygenaccelerator.com/ graduate.
Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
11–20 of 47 posts
Re: Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
#12This just looks like a typical UK 'jobs for the boys' venture - draw a salary for three years, wrap it up, move onto the next one. Little surprise to see NESTA throwing money at it: Bethnal Green Ventures is co-ordinated by Paul Miller. Paul has spent the last seven years learning how to start new organisations that use technology to solve social and environmental problems, primarily through School of Everything and…
Thanks for your support. I've actually worked to get this off the ground - unpaid - for the last two years but it's a ten year play for us.
Many more Team Advisors to come... just ran out of time in updating the site I'm afraid.
Re: Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
#13It is frustrating that their Alumni page lists some groups they worked with, but does not have links to those people. A google search for one returns some information, but it's 404 on the bethnalgreenventures website. Perhaps some cultural notes about Bethnal Green - an area in the east end of London - would be useful? I was born there, but left something like 40 years ago.
Links added to the alumni page now - sorry, just slipped my mind to update. Three of the projects are still running.
Bethnal Green is an interesting place. It's got a pretty strong heritage as a place where social reformers have created new things - the Open University for example. It also has some very good pubs.
Re: Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
#14This just looks like a typical UK 'jobs for the boys' venture - draw a salary for three years, wrap it up, move onto the next one. Little surprise to see NESTA throwing money at it: Bethnal Green Ventures is co-ordinated by Paul Miller. Paul has spent the last seven years learning how to start new organisations that use technology to solve social and environmental problems, primarily through School of Everything and…
Thanks for your support. I've actually worked to get this off the ground - unpaid - for the last two years but it's a ten year play for us. Many more Team Advisors to come... just ran out of time in updating the site I'm afraid.
I wish you the best of luck if it's a real programme and not just grant & subsidy milking. That sounds really offensive, but it's not meant to be.
Do any of the alumni have a web-presence? Perhaps you could either link to their websites; or you could host small "about" pages for them?
You're going to get people thinking that this is just another quango product - something created to use a budget from some government organisation - so how could you address those concerns? How can you show that you're different?
Re: Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
#15I heard great feedback from some of the people who took part in the first run of this program. It was spun out of "Social Innovation Camp", a series of hack weekends that I attended and found highly rewarding.
Re: Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
#16This just looks like a typical UK 'jobs for the boys' venture - draw a salary for three years, wrap it up, move onto the next one. Little surprise to see NESTA throwing money at it: Bethnal Green Ventures is co-ordinated by Paul Miller. Paul has spent the last seven years learning how to start new organisations that use technology to solve social and environmental problems, primarily through School of Everything and…
I don't know Paul beyond following him on Twitter, but SICamp is a respected hackday and School of Everything is an angel funded startup (with funding from Esther Dyson and JP Rangaswami among others).
Re: Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes my thoughts exactly. They are not selling themselves at all. Anyone here been through the programme?
This is actually the first time we've run the programme properly. We did a test run about 12 months ago but at that stage didn't have the money to invest. Even so the teams got a lot out of it I hope. Good Gym (www.goodgym.org) has probably progressed the most but it was a different set up then - they're a not-for-profit. The value for teams will definitely come from our network which we're still adding to the site t…
So this:
Can I apply as an individual?
You can try but it’s very unlikely that we’ll fund you. We’ve found that a startup is much more likely to succeed when it’s started by a small team rather than just by one individual.
Is a big load of bollocks then?
You're passing yourself off as experienced when you're anything but.
Re: Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
#18I can't help but notice that there are a lot of accelerators being created in the UK at the minute. I am worried there will soon be more accelerator places than there are serious startups and I say this as a http://oxygenaccelerator.com/ graduate.
Re: Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for your support. I've actually worked to get this off the ground - unpaid - for the last two years but it's a ten year play for us. Many more Team Advisors to come... just ran out of time in updating the site I'm afraid.
I wish you the best of luck if it's a real programme and not just grant & subsidy milking. That sounds really offensive, but it's not meant to be. Do any of the alumni have a web-presence? Perhaps you could either link to their websites; or you could host small "about" pages for them? You're going to get people thinking that this is just another quango product - something created to use a budget from some government…
I've popped links into our alumni page but with the caveat that the first test run was very different.
I guess I understand the concern that I'm just a quango/think tank guy but most of the useful stuff I've learned was as co-founder and CEO of School of Everything (www.schoolofeverything.com). We built a product, were finalists in the first round of Seedcamp, raised seed investment from angels including Esther Dyson and have a whole load of happy customers. We never became Google but the site does ok. I'm the first to admit I made lots of mistakes along the way which I hope I can help our teams avoid making again.
Would definitely welcome advice on how to show we're different.
Re: Bethnal Green Ventures: a UK accelerator programme for stuff that matters
#20This just looks like a typical UK 'jobs for the boys' venture - draw a salary for three years, wrap it up, move onto the next one. Little surprise to see NESTA throwing money at it: Bethnal Green Ventures is co-ordinated by Paul Miller. Paul has spent the last seven years learning how to start new organisations that use technology to solve social and environmental problems, primarily through School of Everything and…
Wow, such a negative comment. Some great organisations have been spun out of this, and it's predecessor, Social Innovation Camp (look up the Good Gym, Enabled by Design, My Police etc). Many of the people working on these social ventures do so for no money, in their spare time, trying to use their skills to change the world. This is absolutely the opposite of 'jobs for the boys', and the small amount of money that NESTA put in is insignificant compared to the time that these highly skilled people are giving up. Just to be clear, I have nothing to do with the programme, but I do know some of the people who have been involved, and they are some of the nicest, and kindest people you will meet.