Scaleup programmes
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Entrepreneurs’ Forum: Scale-up Leaders’ Academy
Leadership Capacity
Key sectors
Scale-up Leaders’ Academy (SULA) is the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s dedicated programme for North East-based scaling entrepreneurs. The Academy, which was set up after attending SUI’s Driving Local Economic Growth through Scaleup Ecosystems course, brings together ambitious business owners from across the North East in six month cohorts to inspire, challenge, support and connect with each other. Since inception, 59 scaling businesses have been supported through the programme with 41% being female led.
The programme comprises a mix of peer group coached learning sessions using Verne Harnish’s Scale Up methodology alongside a wider programme of learning for the leaders within the peer group and their senior leadership teams. Themes covered include developing a high growth mindset, people, strategy and execution. Leaders are supported to develop a one-page strategic plan.
In addition, participants are paired with an experienced entrepreneur through the Entrepreneurs’ Forum peer to peer mentoring programme and are invited to attend the annual entrepreneurial conference, Fortune Favours the Brave. Participants become members of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s Scale-up Leaders’ Academy, which gives them access to around 60 inspirational events per annum alongside support and mentoring from the Forum’s network of over 330 north east based entrepreneurs.
The programme now also offers four workshops open to scaleup leaders participating and their senior leadership teams. These sessions cover teamwork effectiveness, core values, sales, and strategic planning. Workshop take up by the senior teams has been strong with an average of three senior executive members attending alongside the scaleup leader.
