Hub Launchpad (later called “Solve”) is a Cabinet Office funded enterprise and accelerator programme focused on moving ideas to the investment ready stage, and inspired by organisations such as Village Capital, Creative Commons, Acumen Fund and Y Combinator in the US as well as Bethnal Green Ventures, UnLtd, Big Issue Invest and Impact Hub Westminster in the UK. The first ‘Launchpad’ focused on the theme of public services and was delivered in partnership with FutureGov. Ogunte was invited to focus particularly on mentoring, improve peer-to-peer support, and help the participants maximise the learning opportunities available on the programme.
We used ‘Supporting the idea, supporting people’, our proven approach to open innovation and collaboration using coaching, design thinking, and networking. We followed principles throughout the process: open, inclusive, action-learning, creative, germinating high performance behaviours. We used a co-coaching approach to help participants reflect on their particular behavior and their teams and understand where and how they learn best. We used a design thinking process to support participants in highlighting the bugs in their behaviour and co-designing processes to get the best out of their teams and their mentoring opportunities.
Over a four month period, we supported the Hub Launchpad participants (15 teams of 2-4 people) to maximize the successful design and presentation of their venture.
We provided 2 group mentoring sessions and a series of individual coaching sessions per founder that improved their competences, connections, confidence and social capital.
Participants understood and built new and more powerful approaches to working together, and spot personal development needs.
Throughout collected synthesized learning, insights and reflection, we provided recommendations to HUB Launchpad operational team and generate learning for future sessions.
Where the programme most impacted:
"Many thanks for your active support to our teams during the past 10 weeks. The founders very much enjoyed your coaching sessions and it helped us understand better the support they needed. " Marc Barto - SOLVE | HubLaunchpad & FutureGov London 2014
"The mentoring programme supported me in helping me define and keep to the problem I was trying to solve, using it as a way to engage with potential customers and ask the right questions, using the outcomes of consultations to design and shape my business. I also received advice and guidance on business planning, company set-up, bidding for funding. Finally I received mentoring over difficult patches and how to overcome problems and barriers". Laura Willoughby, Founder Club Soda | Hub Launchpad / Solve Programme Participant