Ignite100 – £100k worth of investment funding and mentorship

Are you a startup with a great idea? Want £100k of investment funding and the chance to work with some awesome mentors? Then Ignite100 is for you. It’s Europe’s first £1 million accelerator programme and it's an incredible chance for startups from all over the world, not just the UK to really get their business off the ground. Best of all it's based here in the North East. Ignite100 follows on from The Difference Engine that was held earlier in the year where we saw awesome companies like LoveYourLarder.com grow from a concept to a revenue generating business. So how does it work? Taken from the FAQ

It’s a straightforward deal. Each team will receive £5,000 per founder (to a maximum of £15,000) for which we will accept 8% of founder shares per start-up (not per founder). We do not have any strange terms and conditions and we align ourselves entirely with the other founders of the business – effectively becoming a co-founder of the business. In addition, we provide you with office space and other services from various partners including hosting, legal and professional services etc. Subject to the teams achieving pre-agreed milestones, the balance of the £100,000 will be released in the form of a convertible loan with a discount of 20% against the next funding round. Teams are not obliged to accept the loan note at the end of the programme.

Once again I've been asked to be a mentor, to which I immediately said yes as there's nothing more fun and exciting than working with startups and entrepreneurs in this sort of environment. I really enjoyed my experience at the Difference Engine and Ignite100 looks to be even bigger and better so bring it on! Want to apply? And why wouldn't you? Simply click here and away you go. Closing date is 17th July 2011. What I'm listening to right now: Kieron's R&B Mixtape Vol.6