“AccelerateHER gave me honest business advice, real feedback and a community of women who understood the founder journey. I spent a lot of time receiving help from people ahead of me, and I’m grateful to now do the same for those coming up behind.”

“Through AccelerateHER and the team, we’ve had the opportunity to meet fantastic founders. It is a very generous ecosystem. The founders are encouraging and willing to share knowledge, resources and introductions. Building a start-up is challenging; being part of THE AccelerateHER team has been hugely beneficial to us .”

“AccelerateHER provided valuable visibility, mentorship, and access to an incredible network of founders, investors and experts. The programme helped strengthen Cytochroma’s investor readiness, increased confidence in our growth strategy, and opened doors to new partnerships and opportunities within the life sciences ecosystem.”

“The AccelerateHER team and community are amazing. I have vivid memories of our lockdown catch-ups online and how that helped me through a really difficult time. With their support, I now have far more clarity on our value proposition and confidence in my abilities to run a business.”

“AccelerateHER was the first competition I entered as the founder of Criton, and being a finalist really built my confidence. The trade mission to Boston and New York significantly expanded my hospitality network and my founder tribe. Since selling Criton, it has been a privilege to mentor new AccelerateHER cohorts and share what I learned about go-to-market and commercial strategy.”

“AccelerateHER helps create a community of female founders and female team members to discuss the unique challenges women continue to face in growing and scaling companies. It helps founders come together to innovate through complexity, find humour and community, and build businesses that deliver positive societal impact.”

“AccelerateHER has been an incredibly supportive community throughout my founder journey. The W2W programme gave me access to mentors, connections and honest conversations that helped me build confidence, think bigger about Unbaggaged, and work through the challenges of growing a business. Being surrounded by other ambitious female founders has been especially valuable.”

"AccelerateHER has paved the way for women in business as no other organisation has ever done, thanks to Elizabeth Pirrie [and team] understanding what is needed to build and grow a successful business, with strategic guidance, training, and conversations at key stages to ensure the greatest chance of success. Long, long may this continue."

"“Being part of the AccelerateHER community has been incredibly valuable to the development of my business. I have been paired with fantastic mentors who have helped me build my team, learn about the investment world and become investor-ready. Attending networking events, sharing experiences and lessons learned with other female founders has been key to helping me navigate the start-up world and establish my business.”

“AccelerateHER was a key part of our early-stage startup journey, supporting networks, investment advice and mentoring, while helping deliver opportunities including a Silicon Valley and USA trip. That experience gave us valuable insight into scaling and the US model.”

“AccelerateHER helped me hone my pitch and improve my confidence. I got in touch with AccelerateHER and applied for the Awards right at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey. I received fantastic support honing my pitch and improving my confidence. With time, I got to know the AccelerateHER community of founders and investors in Scotland, who have been a great source of support ever since.”

“AccelerateHER engaged with Bettii from the outset. Supportive, questioning, engaging and practical, their advice, access to information and networks were invaluable as we validated our market, raised finance and developed Bettii into a product our market now calls a ‘no-brainer’. They remain a trusted source of support as we continue our commercialisation journey.”

“What struck me most about AccelerateHER was the community. Genuinely supportive, non-judgmental, and full of people who simply want to see each other succeed. Winning the CleanTech & Climate Award in 2023 was a huge moment for me. At such an early stage of my business, that recognition gave me credibility I couldn’t yet give myself, and the confidence to keep going with real conviction.”

“Money is great, but network moves the dial, and that is exactly what AccelerateHER has given us. It has connected us to women across the ecosystem we would otherwise never have met. Lisbeth was instrumental in helping build our financial model for the raise; Lucy has been a brilliant sounding board on positioning, investment and retail strategy; and Michelle has been a regular touch point as we firm up our channel, GTM and marketing plans. The W2W programme itself was a real confidence boost, and connected us with founders in completely different industries we would never otherwise have crossed paths with. Knowing there are friendly faces on the call ahead of a pitch makes all the difference.”