30 May 2025
As part of its Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda, Funding Circle continues its commitment to empower small businesses across the UK alongside its charity partner, Hatch Enterprise.
The Get Ready to Start programme, sponsored by Funding Circle and others, is a new initiative from accessible entrepreneurship charity Hatch Enterprise, which aims to level the playing field for those too often excluded from the sector.
In May 2025, the first cohort of aspiring business founders graduated from the flagship new programme to tackle barriers in access to entrepreneurship. Get Ready to Start is designed for entrepreneurs at the beginning of their journey who want to explore and refine their business idea. It provides the essential foundations and clarity before taking their next step as an entrepreneur.
Over three months, the programme targeted support at underrepresented groups and addressed the common challenges early-stage entrepreneurs face, including overcoming self-doubt, breaking through overwhelm, and building confidence in business fundamentals.
Participants benefited from expert sessions, peer-to-peer learning, and mentoring. The initiative culminated in an in-person celebration hosted by Funding Circle in London, in May. Participants were invited to pitch their business ideas and network with others in the sector.
Lorna Hibberd, a 26 year old interdisciplinary researcher and founder of mEDifun, had this to say about the programme, “Hatch has launched a valuable, creative and supportive programme for early-days entrepreneurs that has taught me a lot and allowed me to meet some fantastic and ambitious individuals. I am looking forward to applying all I have learned to develop my business concept further.”
Gillian Lipton, a corporate sustainability professional with over 20 years of experience and founder of Eco Stitch CIC, said, “Starting a new company is exciting and daunting, and the Get Ready to Start programme has helped by providing fantastic first-hand experience, knowledge, and a safe space to ask lots of questions.”
Rebekah Capon, Hatch Enterprise Managing Director, said: “We’re so grateful to the co-sponsors of this new initiative, Funding Circle and Simply Business, for not only sharing in our vision of a more equitable start-up system but also trusting our team to design and deliver the right support to achieve this. We saw that there was a clear appetite for very early-stage entrepreneurial support. People are seeking different ways of making a secure income alongside building lifestyles that work for them. Our responsibility is to ensure everyone has access to the tools and opportunity to explore this.”
Lucy Vernall, Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary at Funding Circle said: “We are delighted to continue working with our partners at Hatch Enterprise. At Funding Circle, we provide the fuel to power small businesses in the UK and we know how important they are to the UK economy and communities alike. Our customers sit at the heart of a wide range of communities, creating jobs and sustaining livelihoods and we know that diverse entrepreneurs experience unique challenges when it comes to starting or growing their business, and accessing finance. We’re excited to support this initiative, providing a more diverse and inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem”.
Ends
Notes to editor:
Funding Circle
Funding Circle know that diverse entrepreneurs experience unique challenges when it comes to starting or growing their business, and accessing finance. Through partners like Hatch Enterprise, we want to support a more diverse, more inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem - one that mirrors the richness of UK society.
Hatch Enterprise
Hatch is a national charity that supports underrepresented entrepreneurs from across the UK to imagine, launch, and grow businesses that are sustainable, successful, and have a positive and lasting impact on their communities.
It is committed to building a fairer society by helping develop entrepreneurs’ skills, knowledge, and confidence through its unique programmes designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, and its sustainable, compassionate financial support offering.
Hatch is a charity with a strong business mindset. Since 2014, it has supported more than 9,000 UK entrepreneurs to flourish, building a vibrant network of partners, funders, and investors who share its vision in the process.
