Winchester, United Kingdom – The Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and its affiliate GEN UK are excited to announce the opening of a new Startup Huddle in Winchester, UK to support the growth of the local startup community while crowdsourcing advice and support for its entrepreneurs. Winchester joins a global network of more than 60 Startup Huddle chapters world-wide and will host its first event on January 19, 2022.
In addition to providing direct support to entrepreneurs, the programme addresses a critical element of success for all entrepreneur ecosystems – connectivity. According to GEN research, startup communities with higher levels of local connectedness translate to an increased number of startups – and that founders with high levels of connectivity grow their revenue twice as fast as those with lower levels.
Startup Huddle Winchester will be facilitated by the University of Winchester virtually for two months and will later move to in-person events at the award-winning West Downs Centre.
“The Winchester entrepreneurship ecosystem is growing bigger and bigger and it’s time to bring everyone together,” said Josh Armstrong, local organizer of Startup Huddle Winchester . “The University of Winchester is in a perfect place, located only one hour from London, to bring together entrepreneurs from all different sectors to create a supportive and exciting ecosystem for entrepreneurs - no matter what stage of their journey they are at.”
Armstrong is also an Enterprise Officer at the University of Winchester and an education advisor for GEN UK.
At each Startup Huddle event, local founders will give six-minute presentations outlining challenges facing their companies. Each presentation is followed by a 20-minute conversation with an audience of peers, mentors, educators and advisers who provide constructive criticism focused on finding solutions and increasing founder know-how. With new founders cycling through each gathering, and previous presenters joining the audience to give back, the community continues to expand while connections deepen.
Startup Huddle Winchester participants will also benefit from online support through the GEN UK HUB.
“Startup Huddle Winchester is hoping to make Winchester a hub for entrepreneurship and to put the city and the university on the map in the UK,” added Armstrong.
GEN, in partnership with GEN UK, plans to scale Startup Huddle across the UK in 2022. To learn more about Startup Huddle Winchester or to join a local event, visit www.startuphuddle.co.
Media Contact: Kathryn Forrest (kathryn@genglobal.org)
About Startup Huddle
Run by the Global Entrepreneurship Network in partnership with local organisers, Startup Huddle is a program designed to help one entrepreneur at a time while strengthening the local ecosystem. Entrepreneurs discover challenges to the solutions they face through purposeful engagement with a broad array of voices from their local community. Currently, there are local Startup Huddle chapters in more than 50 cities around the world. For more information, visit www.startuphuddle.co.
About the Global Entrepreneurship Network
The Global Entrepreneurship Network operates projects and programs in 200 countries to make it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a business. By fostering deeper cross border collaboration and initiatives between entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurial support organizations, GEN works to fuel healthier start and scale ecosystems that create more jobs, educate individuals, accelerate innovation and strengthen economic growth. For more information, visit www.genglobal.org.
About GEN UK
GEN UK represents the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) in the UK. We work with entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers, public bodies and support organisations. Through the GEN UK HUB members can discover, meet and collaborate with fellow members from across the ecosystem. The HUB is an online community space where entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers and support organisations can connect and share ideas and activities, either publicly across the community, or in private groups. GEN UK hosts events and activities throughout the year including Global Entrepreneurship Week UK and the Commonwealth Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit. For more information, visit www.genuk.org.