2022
Stratford
17 early-stage enterprises · 25 hours of support per founder
Bring us a project YEA! 5.0 · North & North West London · Applications open
Build the business.
Find your people.
YEA! is a founder programme and a London-wide Alliance. After four cohorts and more than 50 founders, the next chapter is based in Brent and open across North and North West London—with practical business support, a one-to-one mentor, peer accountability and progress-based micro-investment.
Supported by
YEA!5.0 · North + NW
Founders, mentors and partners · London
Places8–12 founders
WhoAges 18–30
DeliveryBrent + online
Apply by29 November 2026
Support1:1 mentor + £4,000 shared fund
More than a business course
You should not have to build alone.
Business information is everywhere. Trusted people, honest challenge, practical opportunity and a community that stays are much harder to find.
YEA! develops the founder, the venture and the relationships around them. Across four London cohorts since 2022, founders have learned, traded, collaborated and returned to open doors for the people coming next.
Evidence, not theatre
Progress you can point to.
50+founders across four London cohortsProgramme records · 2022–25
7/8enterprises won clients or commissionsLambeth cohort · 2023
4.4/5participant recommendation scoreThamesmead cohort · 2025
100%of surveyed founders reported less isolationStratford cohort · 2022
Access in practice · Thamesmead 202567% women78% Black heritage33% reported disability
Each figure is labelled to show whether it reflects the full programme or a specific cohort. We do not present cohort findings as programme-wide results.
Four cohorts. One Alliance.
Built across London. Growing across North & North West London.
Each cohort is rooted in place, but the relationships travel: founders become collaborators, alumni become mentors and partners help opportunity circulate.
2023
Brixton
7 of 8 enterprises gained clients or commissions
2024
Haringey
The Alliance grew beyond 40 founders
2025
Thamesmead
9 completers · 10 masterclasses · £5,000 in awards
Built through co-creation
Designed with people, not dropped onto place.
YEA! began as a collaboration between community practitioners, enterprise specialists and delivery partners. The model has kept evolving with every founder and every place.
Local Champions · Echo / Economy of Hours · Lendlease · New Ground Creations · 7PK
The first model combined local insight, co-designed learning, enterprise support and lived founder experience.
Long-term place and funding partner
Peabody Community Foundation
A continuing partnership across Lambeth, Haringey and Thamesmead—now backing a Brent-based cohort for North and North West London.
Clockwise · Women of the Wick · UPCHANGE · local mentors and specialists
Expertise, space, networks and opportunity have been contributed by people and organisations around each cohort.
Real businesses. Real decisions.Who should apply
Ready to move—not just attend.
YEA! 5.0 is for founders who:
- Are aged 18–30 and based in Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster or Kensington & Chelsea, with Brent applicants prioritised.
- Are already trading, or can show clear customer demand for what they are building.
- Can participate fully from the December sprint through the February showcase.
- Want honest accountability, practical action and a generous peer community.
- Are building responsibly and want their growth to create value beyond themselves.
We welcome founders across
Food & hospitalityFashion & creativeSport & physical activityHealth & wellbeingCommunity enterpriseConsumer products & services
YEA! 5.0 · Applications
Is this cohort built for where you are now?
Check the essentials before you apply. This cohort is for founders based in Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster or Kensington & Chelsea. Brent applicants are prioritised. We care about readiness and commitment—not polished language, perfect branding or knowing every business term.
Applications close29 November 2026Limited to 8–12 founders
What founders build
Stronger ventures. More connected founders.
YEA! combines the signals customers, funders and investors look for with the human conditions founders need to keep going.
01Listen · test · learn
Customer evidence
Test demand, sharpen the offer and turn real customer signals into better decisions.
02Price · plan · sustain
Financial grip
Build confidence in pricing, cash flow, costs and the numbers behind a sustainable business.
03One-to-one support
A mentor in your corner
Work with someone who listens well, challenges honestly and stays close to the action.
04Decide · act · review
Execution discipline
Set useful milestones, build operating habits and move from intention to visible progress.
05Shared fund · £4,000
Progress-based investment
Access micro-investment through engagement, milestones and clear business need.
06Peers · alumni · partners
A network that stays
Build relationships that share knowledge, introductions and opportunity beyond the programme.
How progress is judged
A better pitch is useful. A better business is the point.
We look for practical movement across the venture, the founder and the network around them—not performance for performance’s sake.
Demand
Customers, validation and a clear problem worth solving
Economics
Pricing, margins, cash awareness and sustainable choices
Execution
Useful milestones, reliable systems and founder follow-through
Capacity
Confidence, wellbeing, resilience and decision quality
Social capital
Mentors, peers, introductions, collaborations and routes to market
Responsible growth
Value created for customers, community and place
YEA! 5.0 · North & North West London
From application to next move.
Programme journey: 19 Oct 2026–26 Feb 2027, at the Unity Centre, 103 Church Road, NW10 9EG, and online.
Applications
A considered application and conversation about your business, commitment and fit.
Selection & onboarding
A cohort of 8–12 founders is selected and prepared to begin together.
Founder Sprint
Two focused days to build trust, set the ambition and turn goals into a working roadmap.
Programme
Masterclasses, one-to-one mentoring, peer accountability, wellbeing support and live business action.
Partnership Day · Ealing
Meet people who can contribute expertise, markets, introductions and practical opportunity.
Final Showcase · Peabody WBR
Make progress visible, share the businesses and open the room to useful next relationships.
Evaluation & next routes
Capture learning, agree next moves and stay connected through the Alliance.
The Alliance effect
Founders come back to open doors.
James Kaguima joined the first cohort with Skate Cabal, returned as a judge and then mentored Icy in Thamesmead. Icy went on to receive £4,000 to move her business forward.
That is the YEA! flywheel in practice: support becomes confidence, confidence becomes contribution and opportunity keeps moving through the network.
“YEA! helped us set up strong business foundations, turning Skate Cabal from a community idea into a sustainably growing enterprise.”James Kaguima · Founder, Skate Cabal · YEA! 2022 runner-up
For mentors
Be the person you needed earlier.
Every YEA! 5.0 founder will have a one-to-one mentor. We are building a pool of 15 people who bring lived business experience, curiosity, generosity and honest challenge.
You do not need every answer. You do need to listen well, show up consistently and help a founder make stronger decisions for themselves.
Register mentor interestYEA! 5.0 · Applications open
Show us what you are building.
This application is designed around evidence, readiness and the support that could unlock your next move—not polished language or a perfect pitch.
Before you begin
- Allow around 10 minutes
- Use plain language or bullet points
- Your draft saves on this device
- No pitch deck or business plan needed
Applications close at 11:59pm on 29 November. Shortlisted founders may be invited to a brief, informal conversation before decisions are shared.
Commissioners & partners
Help founders grow—and keep opportunity circulating locally.
Build a place-based founder pipeline with meaningful ways for your people, networks and investment to contribute—and clear evidence of what changes.
- Inclusive enterprise pipeline
- Employee mentoring
- Local commissions & procurement
- Clear outcomes reporting