Resources
Kickstart: Entrepreneurial
Education Programme
4 step formula empowering innovative B2B companies to accelerate commercialisation, launch, generate sales traction, scale and attract investment
Kickstart your entrepreneurial journey:
- Confidently navigate commercialisation.
- Build customer-centric go-to-market strategies.
- Secure a strong customer base and sales pipeline.
- Gain the tools to grow, scale, and attract investors.
About the Programme
Kickstart empowers B2B innovation businesses with the skills, strategy and support they need to create the right sales and marketing methodology, build sales traction, accelerate business growth, achieve international breakthrough and attract investors.
We do this through our proven methodology that has delivered impressive results for 100s entrepreneurs and high-growth innovation businesses just like yours.
will enable you to:
Commercialise
Enhance commercial skills and confidence
Launch
Actionable strategy for market entry and to secure initial customers
Get Sales Traction
Foundations to generate sustainable sales pipeline for rapid customer acquisition
Grow & Scale
International break-through and accelerated business growth
Get Funding & Investment
Investor readiness to attract and secure funding to fuel spinout journey
You will learn:
- Target Audience Identification: Master techniques to identify and engage your ideal buyers.
- Go-to-Market Strategy Development: Create effective strategies to support fundraising, product development, and launch.
- Achieving Product-Market Fit: Ensure your product aligns with market needs for business success.
- Generating Sales Traction: Use advanced digital tools and techniques to boost sales.
- Building a Robust Startup: Develop the foundations of a commercially strong and investor-ready business.
- Accessing Expert Insights: Obtain affordable, high-level sales and marketing expertise.
- Proven Growth Strategies: Implement laser-focused strategies to expand your customer base.
- Prospecting Techniques: Master approaches for finding and securing numerous prospects.
- Content Strategy: Create tailored content to generate sales-ready leads.
- Marketing Automation: Leverage automation for efficient lead generation.
- Lead Generation Campaigns: Develop skills for successful ongoing campaigns.
- Cost-Effective Marketing: Achieve significant marketing impact on a small budget.
Enables teams to build their own robust sales and marketing functions by providing the necessary skills, strategies, and infrastructure for long-term success.
One-off tactical scattergun activities fall short of building sustainable growth. For this reason, the Kickstart programme is strategic, and empowers businesses to become self-sufficient, thrive independently, and consistently drive innovations to market, ensuring sustainable commercial growth.
Our methodology
Identify
- Identify campaign & SMART goals
- Understand the importance and value of knowing your customer
- Identify your ideal customer
- Build your champion persona
- Develop your value proposition
Reach
- Introduction to lead generation - Understand the buyer journey.
- Learn how to classify leads as they move through the sales funnel.
- Set your prospecting target.
- Understand the prospecting process.
- Dive into 3 powerful prospecting strategies: inbound marketing, network & referrals and the supercharged approach.
Engage
- Understand the importance of content in lead generation.
- Recognise the importance of persona-led content.
- Understand the relationship between the buyer journey and the content strategy.
- Build a winning content strategy.
- Master content asset development (lead magnets, case studies, sales collateral and more).
Supercharge
- Get started with marketing automation.
- Understand how to build your campaign assets on your chosen platform and website.
- Explore marketing channels to reach and engage volumes of prospects (email marketing, social media).
- Discover how to build automated email journeys.
- Delve into best practices for preparing lists and CRM management.
Key Features
Teams acquire the skills, strategy, confidence and infrastructure to launch, generate sales and accelerate business growth internationally.
- Accelerated commercialisation training specifically designed for tech founders
- Developed and led by seasoned entrepreneurial educators
- Proven methodology for go to market strategy, build brand awareness, generate sales traction and attract investment
- Digital-first, innovative delivery model offering:
- Fully online, scalable platform for national delivery
- Community, connection and mentorship
- Accessibility and inclusion
- 40 videos, 30+ resource packs, 12 hours live group coaching, community support
- A sustainable investment in skills and strategy empowering teams for long term success
- An action-based programme that provides a clear commercial framework for growth
- Small group training, enabling participants to share, connect and collaborate with like-minded peers
Who is it for
The Kickstart programme is specifically designed for technical founders, entrepreneurs and innovation businesses that have ambitions to grow their customer base rapidly and are seeking support to develop an effective go-to-market strategy for launch.
Entrepreneurs
Spinout Businesses
Startup Businesses
Scaling Companies
We also work with strategic innovation partners to deliver the Kickstart programme – if you are interested in partnering check out our partner page.
Meet the Team
With over 45 years of combined experience, our team has worked with hundreds of tech entrepreneurs across the UK and Ireland, providing the skills, strategies, and support needed to launch, grow, and achieve international success.
We've led marketing efforts for innovative tech startups from early stages to scaling, growth, and exit, as well as for global brands. Ro and Leanne have distilled their extensive knowledge into proven, actionable programmes like Kickstart, guiding entrepreneurs through each stage of their business journey.
Leanne Jennings
Grand Scale Co-founder and chartered marketer with 20 years of experience in international B2B tech sales and marketing including 10 years with Kainos, from SME to Unicorn. Currently, empowering over 100 spinout, startup and scaleup companies to commercialise, launch and accelerate growth.
Roisin Garland
Grand Scale Co-founder with 25 years of proven success in spearheading marketing for many tech companies, from early stage to growth, scaling and multi-million-pound acquisitions (Wombat and Neueda). Currently, empowering over 100 spinout, startup and scaleup companies to commercialise, launch and accelerate growth.
What our clients say
Join Kickstart if you are a tech company serious about initial growth and brand visibility. Marketing and sales can be daunting, especially for a tech startup or tech entrepreneur. We have tried various strategies but struggled to generate sales traction and brand awareness. We also attended short courses but most are very generic and top-level.
Ro and Leanne have a track record from their past roles and shared their expertise into an implementable framework and actionable plan for a resource-constrained startup. It's evident that they are incredibly experienced in this area and genuinely passionate about this programme to make it accessible to startups.
The key difference in the programme is a clear roadmap to supercharge our sales pipeline, sustainable sales and marketing funnel for continuous sales flow. We loved it because it helped us to build data-driven sales and marketing funnels to help our decision making.
Ro and Leanne have a track record from their past roles and shared their expertise into an implementable framework and actionable plan for a resource-constrained startup. It's evident that they are incredibly experienced in this area and genuinely passionate about this programme to make it accessible to startups.
The key difference in the programme is a clear roadmap to supercharge our sales pipeline, sustainable sales and marketing funnel for continuous sales flow. We loved it because it helped us to build data-driven sales and marketing funnels to help our decision making.
Aqeel Shamsul
CEO, Frontier Space Technologies
This programme is a must for every founder when transitioning from academia into business. It gives you the necessary tools to understand the marketing mechanics, and how to succeed in commercializing your technology. I gained so much confidence after this programme that I attribute the successful engagement with new clients (and closing of deals) thanks to the learning gained during the programme.
Juan Pablo Echenique
CEO & Co-founder, Reoptimize Systems (closed £125K new sales during programme)
Kickstart has substantially improved Nami Surgical's approach to market engagement. Their expertise has enabled us to streamline our marketing efforts, focusing on strategic demographics with enhanced precision. The guidance provided by Kickstart has not only elevated our presence in the industry but also resulted in a noticeable uplift in lead generation. Their professional support have been vital to our mission of innovating surgical solutions globally.
Rebecca Cleary
Founder & CTO, Nami Surgical
Kickstart was specific, evidenced, methodical, and bound the participants in actions that delivered results. The application of the learnings made us investible, and the marketing strategy it has helped us construct is already delivering results.
Sterghios Moschos
CEO, PulmoBioMed (raised £1.4m investment round Feb 2024)
Grand Scale has played a pivotal role in the growth of ReproGo. Their strategic marketing leadership has provided valuable insights and guidance, helping us navigate the challenges of scaling our startup effectively. With their expertise, we've been able to implement targeted strategies that have contributed to our success. We're grateful for their support and partnership in our journey.
Sophia Kelaini
Co-founder & CEO, ReproGo
Grand Scale Kickstart has given me the skills to build a strategic sales and marketing plan that can be implemented immediately as well as having longevity as Evolutor starts to expand rapidly. It has enabled me to acquire our first trial customers and partners, and to hit the ground running with expansion of an automated lead generation and sales pipeline process.
Joe Price
Founder & CEO, Evolutor
KickStart training has been a game-changer for our start-up. We gained a deep understanding of our target customers, learnt how to built a robust sales pipeline, and implement effective marketing automation. Highly recommended for start-ups looking to excel in sales and marketing.
Magdalena Karlikowska
CEO, Cytecom
The programme is essential learning for those start-up companies without established commercialisation departments.
Jason Liu
Chief Technology Officer, Acuity Robotics
The Kickstart programme has greatly benefited our preclinical research company. It helped us refine our business model, connect with new market players, and also made us more aware in how we understand our customer needs. The strategic sales and marketing skills we acquired have allowed us to position our services effectively and build stronger relationships with potential clients. Overall, the programme has accelerated our growth and improved our ability to compete in the market.
Kevin Harkin
Senior Study Director, MediNect Ophtho
What makes Grand Scale unique
Trusted Delivery Partner
Experience delivering national scale programmes for partners such as Innovate UK and the Scottish Government
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UK-wide companies empowered by our entrepreneurial programmes
Proven Methodology
Empowering ambitious ventures to validate, commercialise, launch, grow and scale their innovation
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Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) reflecting strong customer approval, with an average rating of 9/10 for our programmes
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Companies commercialised and launched or were on track to launch within 12 months of our programmes
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female representation—exceeding the 29% in the STEM workforce highlighting our commitment to promoting gender equity and inclusivity in entrepreneurship
Industry & Sector Agnostic Programmes
Accelerating commercialisation in net zero, medtech, fintech, agritech, manufacturing, pharma, and more
Digital-first
Online delivery model offering flexibility and accessibility in terms of location, timing and digital content
Highly experienced delivery team
With a proven track record in delivering impactful entrepreneurial education programmes
How we engage
Are you an entrepreneur, team or business?
We deliver Kickstart, as an online programme to a small group of businesses twice a year.
Please contact us to learn more or to register your interest in joining the next cohort.
Interested in finding out more?
Are you a business accelerator, incubator, government agency or investor seeking to partner?
We work with strategic innovation partners to empower high-growth tech spinouts, startups and scaleups to commercialise, launch and accelerate growth internationally. We deliver Kickstart as an online entrepeneruial training programme, that delivers impact, scales nationally and upskills and empowers 100s of participants.
Interested in finding out more?
We are a strategic partner to the UK’s national innovation agency, Innovate UK
Innovate UK chose to partner with Grand Scale to support early-stage ventures, with the aim of improving their ability to launch, grow and scale. Following a pilot programme and evaluation, wherein Grand Scale designed a specific curriculum, Innovate UK established a three-year partnership with Grand Scale to deliver Kickstart for ICURe spinouts. The expert led programme enhanced the capability of commercially focused teams and aids Innovate UK in delivering through-life support of innovative companies.
Leanne and Ro are key members of the operational and steering groups for the ICURe and Scaling the Edge programmes at Innovate UK. They bring first-hand knowledge and experience of the challenges associated with being female founders in a devolved nation. This has shaped Innovate UK’s commercialisation portfolio, ensuring it is accessible to all.
I would not hesitate to recommend Ro and Leanne for the delivery of programmes associated with public funding and regional and national efforts.
Leanne and Ro are key members of the operational and steering groups for the ICURe and Scaling the Edge programmes at Innovate UK. They bring first-hand knowledge and experience of the challenges associated with being female founders in a devolved nation. This has shaped Innovate UK’s commercialisation portfolio, ensuring it is accessible to all.
I would not hesitate to recommend Ro and Leanne for the delivery of programmes associated with public funding and regional and national efforts.
Dr Emma Burke
Innovation Lead - Commercialisation
Download our FREE Go-to-Market Guide
FAQ's
Kickstart is industry-agnostic and designed to support technical founders, entrepreneurs and innovation businesses from any B2B innovation sector. This includes ventures in net zero, medtech, fintech, agritech, bioscience, manufacturing, pharma, engineering and other industries.
Kickstart takes place in BST time, so it’s a great fit for anyone based in Europe.
Participants in the Kickstart programme may include a diverse group of technical founders, entrepreneurs and innovation businesses. It’s a small group environment providing ample opportunities for networking through our private LinkedIn group and interactive coaching calls, allowing you to connect with peers, share experiences, and build valuable professional relationships.
Roisin Garland and Leanne Jennings. Roisin (Ro to her friends) is a global marketing and communications specialist. She’s passionate about building and protecting brands and particularly likes working with small, ambitious, tech companies. Leanne is a strategic marketer, branding specialist and launch expert with in-depth experience of product marketing and business transformation.
Participants have 12 months of continued access to all modules, resources, and materials to review and reinforce their learning.
Kickstart offers ongoing support throughout the 6-week programme via our private LinkedIn group. This platform enables direct interaction with our experts, providing opportunities to ask questions, receive guidance, and enhance your learning experience.
