Starting Strong

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Starting Strong is a program – run through the Going for Growth initiative – designed to assist ambitious female entrepreneurs at an early-stage of business development with through training, mentoring and peer coaching.
What are the main aims and objectives?

The main aims and objectives of the Going for Growth initiative are to help women-led businesses become more resilient and to scale nationally and internationally. The program is designed to support female entrepreneurs with significant growth ambitions, focusing on their growth challenges. It encourages participants to identify what success looks like for them and translate this into a series of SMART goals and milestones. The initiative also promotes a culture of collaboration and confidentiality, fostering greater ambition among female entrepreneurs and helping them realize their full potential. 

How does the program work?

Through a structured approach in six-month cycles, Starting Strong leverages volunteer contributions from successful entrepreneurs who lead peer support round tables. These volunteer "Lead Entrepreneurs" share knowledge with their group, nurture a culture of trust and collaboration, and facilitate the sharing of experiences and challenges. The approach provides support and “good” peer pressure, inspiring women entrepreneurs to achieve their goals. 

In particular the program supports female entrepreneurs by facilitating interactive roundtable sessions led by successful women entrepreneurs who volunteer their time and expertise to help others grow their businesses. These sessions encourage participants to learn from each other's experiences, fostering a culture of collaboration and confidentiality. Throughout the program, women entrepreneurs receive guidance, support, and advice from their peers and experienced mentors, boosting their confidence, motivation, and ambition. This supportive environment enables participants to develop a strong network of like-minded individuals, ultimately helping them realize their full potential and scale their businesses both nationally and internationally. 

To qualify for Starting Strong, candidates are required to be highly innovative, have a longer development cycle than the norm, and have very significant growth ambitions from the outset. Participating businesses typically have moved well beyond the concept stage, but remain in the early revenue stage. Having tested the initiative over two cycles, a further criterion was added: candidates must have generated some initial sales. 

What is the overall cost?
There is no specific information available on the exact cost of running the Going for Growth initiative. However, it is funded by Enterprise Ireland and KPMG, which provide the necessary financial support for the program. It also receives in-kind support from corporate sponsors.  
How was it implemented?
Starting Strong was developed in 2014 by the Going for Growth initiative, which in 2015 won a European Enterprise Promotion Award in the Investing In Entrepreneurial Skills category, in response to demand by entrepreneurs with very strong growth potential, but without two years of revenue. 
What impact has been measured?

The 2019 cohort had 17 participants. The total combined turnover for participating businesses was EUR 2.4 million, which represented an increase of almost EUR 500,000 over the cycle (21%). At the end of the cycle, nine of the participants had export experience and 75 people were employed by the participating businesses. 

What lessons can be learned?

The barriers that Starting Strong participants identified most frequently related to funding, access to finance and cash flow. In response, Starting Strong leaders developed a set of tailored agendas and workshops to meet participants' specific stage of development needs and concerns.

Starting Strong uses peer-learning, which helps participants build resource networks with similarly ambitious entrepreneurs. This environment also creates positive peer pressure, motiving entrepreneurs to progress toward meeting their goals. As they achieve their initial growth objectives and begin to grow significantly, participants can apply to participate in the Going for Growth initiative. An important structural element of the initiative is the reliance on “Lead Entrepreneurs,” many of whom participated in the related Going for Growth initiative. This giving-back element reduces the need to recruit new entrepreneurs to support the initiative.

CURATED BY

Cristina Fernandez

Director for Knowledge + Programming
Global Entrepreneurship Network
United States