YEA! Young Entrepreneurs Alliance in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was a peer-to-peer business support programme for early stage entrepreneurs from East London aged 18-30.
Our first YEA! Young Entrepreneurs Alliance programme brought together 17 youth-led enterprises from East London to share knowledge and skills, build a supportive network and celebrate each other’s successes.
The 6-month programme kicked off in February 2022 with a jam-packed schedule of 12 weekly in-person sessions, workshops and support from business experts, one-to-one coaching, access to workspace, and a chance to win £2,000.
From working closely with more than 300 entrepreneurs, Echo knows that starting a business can be very isolating leading to increased loneliness. According to YouGov research, nearly 88% of Britons aged from 18-24 said they experience loneliness to some degree.
Continuing the important work of the Loneliness Lab to tackle loneliness in cities, we believe our approach of working collaboratively in a peer groups can reduce the effects of loneliness, isolation and burnout experienced by many young business leaders.
The recruited programme participants were 18-30-year-old residents from the local boroughs in Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. The majority of the programme participants (9) were in the forming stage of their business. The second largest group were already trading (6) and the rest had either an idea or they were scaling.
12 weekly in-person sessions, workshops and support from business experts, one-to-one coaching, access to Workable's workspace in Stratford, a Pitch Day event celebration and a chance to win £2,000.
The programme boosted the local economy, provided new paid opportunities for the local entrepreneurs, widened the participants' networks and increased their confidence with expert-led training, including public speaking, pitching and marketing masterclasses.
The selected participants learned new skills to perfect a business plan, attract their first customers, implement sales strategies, file tax forms, maintain a healthy work/life balance, and more!
Echo has been delivering business support programmes since 2015, and to date, we have supported more than 300 entrepreneurs to launch and grow their businesses.
New Ground Creations (NGC) is a social venture, committed to making a difference in the lives of young people since 2012.
YEA! Young Entrepreneurs Alliance is designed and delivered by Echo in partnership with New Ground Creations and made possible by the generous support of Lendlease.
We’ve designed our programmes to adapt to your ambition - get tailored advice and guidance from seasoned professionals.
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"Echo is great! It's given me the opportunity to meet with interesting, talented people across London. It's a rewarding and enjoyable way to grow as an individual and a business."
"The value I got from Echo is trusting your community, understanding that there are so many people out there that can help you, and to ask for help. Meeting other local entrepreneurs on similar journeys made a huge difference for me."
"Echo has provided me with a network of like minded people who have become firm friends. It has accelerated my business in a way I could never have done on my own. I absolutely love it!"
"Echo was instrumental in the early stages of our community project. The network has supported us with the know-how and tools to better serve our community."
"Not only have I found new clients, I've also found a community of folk who have such a diverse skill set; you can find someone here for everything from photography to newsletter design. I've already benefited so much!"
From the Young Entrepreneurs Alliance to Creative Networks, Echo’s programmes present a ready made opportunity to gain insight in and beyond your field.
