We are delighted to announce the launch of our first OutSet Start-Up service in London, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
YTKO has been delivering publicly funded start-up, sustainability and scale-up support since 2003, at local, regional and national levels. Since 2009, our support for early stage businesses (pre-start and up to two years post start) has been delivered under the OutSet branded service – we are with our clients from the very outset of their journey. Outset services have been delivered in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Bristol, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire and we are proud to now add Waltham Forest to the list!
YTKO CEO, Bev Hurley says “I’m so pleased to be bringing our OutSet service to Waltham Forest, giving individuals the confidence, knowledge and skills to create thriving and successful businesses. Our multi award-winning Outset support has engaged over 33,000 individuals across the UK, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and living in our most deprived areas, resulting in the creation of over 6,000 businesses. In 2019, Outset was independently evaluated and it was concluded that for every £1 invested, we are delivering at least £4.17 of social, economic and financial value”.
OutSet was originally created to address a major market gap and need for start-up support for people with disadvantaged backgrounds and living in deprived areas, those who were badged by others to be “hard to reach”. Of course they aren’t at all hard to reach – you just need to get out where people go, and they’re there! Outset’s whole ethos is client-centric and flexible, tailoring our support to match our clients’ needs and challenges, and helping them every step of the way.
In Waltham Forest, we are delivering our full start-up programme, combining business workshops, rich online learning resources and 1:1 support. We start the process with discovering where each individual is at, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, exploring their business ideas, and helping them determine their learning priorities.
For those who are less mobile, have caring responsibilities or who simply prefer to learn online, our highly interactive, modular and user-friendly e-learning platform, OutSet Online enables all clients to benefit from the same fantastic content. There no barriers to learning! Waltham Forest clients will have access to this excellent platform which is full of great resources and exercises, comprising over 40 hours of content, which they they can work through in their own time.
Clients looking for financial support to start their business can also benefit from Outset’s sister service, OutSet Finance, an official delivery partner of UK Start-Up loans. They provide advice on financial and business plans and on different types of funding, work with businesses on a 1-2-1 basis to help them gain a start-up loan, and provide follow on mentoring support too.
For more information contact Alba Maraver Cadenas at walthamforest@outset.org
