Application Guide

A great application for the Net Zero programme will make an articulate and compelling case for how the company helps the UK achieve its Net Zero targets, by demonstrating succinctly, clearly and with evidence: 

• The potential impact of your technology. We want to understand what your company does, the impact you believe your company will have on your specific sector, and, ultimately, how your technology is contributing to the decarbonisation of the UK. If possible, clearly underline your Emissions Reduction Potential (ERP). 

• The uniqueness of your company. It is important to differentiate your company from those of other applicants by evidencing your USP, for example. Show how you stand out from the rest, and why your solution is innovative. 

• Your potential to scale. We are looking for ambitious companies looking to scale; clearly evidence your product market fit, market size, traction to date, plans for international expansion, etc.

• The quality of your team. We want to know about the technical and/or commercial expertise of your team, the importance of the mission in your work, and why you believe your team is best placed to solve the problem you are trying to fix. 

• Why you would be a good fit for the programme. In addition to selecting the UK’s most promising climate tech companies, we want founders and leadership teams to be actively engaged in the programme and have a desire to both bring and take the most from it. 

• Gain an outside perspective. This is your company and you know it by heart. Our judges, on the other hand, will not necessarily be experts on the specifics of your technology. To make sure your application is clearly understandable, try to get feedback on it from someone who has a more limited understanding of your company than you do.

• Highlight your successes. Use demonstrable evidence to underline your track record, achievements, potential, the quality of your team, etc. (i.e. metrics, partnerships, clients), to clearly indicate that you can become a sector leader.  

• Be honest. We don’t expect you to be perfect, and we want to know about the challenges you have or are currently facing! 

• Tell us what you hope to gain from the programme. We want to help climate tech companies grow in every way we can, and we tailor the programme to your needs and desires. We want you to be engaged from start to finish, so let us know why you want to join.

• Quality over quantity. Remember that judges review multiple companies, and a clearly articulated case tends to win out. Focus on the most important elements and really think about the key things you would want a judge to remember about your company after reviewing your application. 

• Avoid technical jargon. Your application may be reviewed by a judge who isn’t an expert in the science behind your technology, so make it as clear as possible for them to understand.

Although we expect to receive many applications from various sub-sectors of the FinTech universe, the very best applications will have a number of common elements. Generally they will be:

• Concise: Articulating everything about your company in a concise manner will be critical. The judges will be assessing

• Clear: There shouldn’t be any ambiguity around the problem you are trying and why you believe your company is best placed to solve it.  

• Unique: Inevitably, many applications will be looking at solving similar problems, therefore communicating the uniqueness of your solution – and who’s building it – will be a key differentiating factor.

• Honest: Of course this is the time to highlight why your company is special, but it’s most important that this is an honest reflection.    

• Gain an outside perspective: This is your company and occasionally it can become difficult to ‘see the wood for the trees’. Try to get feedback on various elements of your application with someone who has a limited understanding of your company, because that’s the position the judges will be in.

• Highlight your traction: What you’ve achieved to date is one of the best ways we can assess you on your ability to achieve your vision. Clearly show any metrics, partnerships, clients etc. that indicate you can become a category leader. 

• Think about your language: These applications will be judged by experts in a variety of FinTech subsectors, but they won’t be experts in all of them. Therefore it’s important to make sure the language used in your application is not too technical, without oversimplifying your solution.

• Shout about your people: We all know that most top fintechs are created by teams that  have a balance of industry and technical expertise, which is why it’s imperative that it comes through in your application.

• We love to see strong metrics: Unsurprisingly, as people working within FS, we love numbers. If you can show strong data demonstrating traction and growth, you’ll really stand out.

• Product-market fit: I know you will hear this again and again, but it’s super important. We want to see that your company is solving a problem and that customers are willing to pay for your solution. 

• Clear path to scale: A key element your company will be judged on is scalability. Therefore, highlighting your ability and plan to scale your business will be key.

• Avoid name dropping for the sake of it: We are very interested partners/clients you have, but these relationships need to be meaningful. The best way to demonstrate this is by clearly articulating what your relationship actually is e.g. paying client, pilot client, distribution partner etc. 

• Focus on what is important: It’s tempting to put as much as possible into the application, but quality is far more important than quantity. Really think about the key things you’d want a judge to remember about your company after reviewing your application. 

• Tell your story: Avoid trying to say what you think the judges want to hear. You all have a unique story and that’s the one we’d really like to hear. 

• Don’t leave it to the last minute: We know that this application will take a reasonable amount of time, so it’s best to start it early and maybe even come back to it with fresh eyes a few days later. 

A great application for Applied AI succinctly, clearly and with evidence articulates what the company does, why it is unique, and why it would be a good fit for the programme. Areas that judges will consider favourably might be:

• A stellar team, either through their technical or commercial expertise, or both;

• Potential for scale, both in terms of ambition and market size;

• A clear articulation of differentiation (why is this unique?) and defensibility (why can’t this be copied?);

• A genuine application of artificial intelligence as core to the product;

• Compelling evidence of traction and velocity (either commercially, product development, or both); and 

• Authenticity: Be yourself; don’t second guess the judges.

• Be succinct. Write clearly. You do not need to communicate everything ad infinitum, rather include what matters, exclude anything superfluous, and describe your company with clarity. Writing an essay for each question will dilute your impact.

• Don’t hold back. Modesty is not a virtue here. This is your opportunity to shout loudly about all of your achievements, uniqueness, and potential. But do be honest. Humility goes a long way. 

• Don’t forget to sell your team. This is often the most important part of the application. Judges will want to know the story behind the company and thus what drives you.

• We want to know what experience you have and why your team is best-placed to solve the problem you set out to fix. What makes you, ‘you?’ 

• Do be specific about your use case of artificial intelligence. We want to see genuine use cases with defensibility.   

• Use data: Clear facts and evidence help judges immensely. 

• Every startup will have gaps and we don’t expect perfection. Rather, think through what sets your company apart from every other out there and make sure you articulate that clearly. In this case, if novel technology is the main source of defensibility, then the judges will want to understand (at a high-level) your approach and the team behind it. Likewise, that might be true for commercial expertise or partnerships.

• Focus on your team as much as you do your product. 

• Judges will want to understand scalability. What’s your ambition for the company? And how big could this be?

• Don’t neglect the final questions on what you want to take out of the programme. Firstly, it helps tailor the programme to be most useful. Secondly, we want to see founders who are genuinely eager to learn from each other, are open to what they want to develop, and have thought about what they want to both give to and take from the programme. 

• An MMC report stated that “40% of AI companies do not really use AI.” The judging panel will therefore be on alert, so do be specific. 

• Don’t rush your application – it’s a highly competitive process – but don’t spend hours and hours on this either; that’s usually a sign you may be writing too much. You’re a busy founder and you have a business to build after all! Be comprehensive in your answers, but don’t be verbose. 

A great application for the Net Zero X programme will make an articulate and compelling case for how the company helps the UK achieve its Net Zero targets, by demonstrating succinctly, clearly and with evidence:

• The impact of your technology. We want to understand what your company does, the impact your company is having on your specific sector, and, ultimately, how your technology is contributing to the decarbonisation of the UK. If possible, clearly underline your Emissions Reduction Potential (ERP). 

• Your sector leadership. Clearly demonstrate the leadership position you hold in your sector and underline the uniqueness of your proposition. 

• Your growth. We want to see a track record showing your growth through traction, revenues, headcount, and other key metrics, as well as your ambition to scale further.

• The quality of your team. We want to know about the technical and/or commercial expertise of your team, the importance of the mission in your work, and why you believe your team is best placed to solve the problem you are trying to fix. 

• Why you would be a good fit for the programme. In addition to selecting the UK’s most promising climate tech companies, we want founders and leadership teams to be actively engaged in the programme and have a desire to both bring and take the most from it.

• Gain an outside perspective. This is your company and you know it by heart. Our judges, on the other hand, will not necessarily be experts on the specifics of your technology. To make sure your application is clearly understandable, try to get feedback on it from someone who has a more limited understanding of your company than you do.

• Highlight your successes. Use demonstrable evidence to underline your track record, achievements, potential, the quality of your team, etc. (i.e. metrics, partnerships, clients), to clearly indicate that you can become a sector leader.  

• Be honest. We don’t expect you to be perfect, and we want to know about the challenges you have or are currently facing! 

• Tell us what you hope to gain from the programme. We want to help climate tech companies grow in every way we can, and we tailor the programme to your needs and desires. We want you to be engaged from start to finish, so let us know why you want to join.

• Quality over quantity. Remember that judges review multiple companies, and a clearly articulated case tends to win out. Focus on the most important elements and really think about the key things you would want a judge to remember about your company after reviewing your application. 

• Avoid technical jargon. Your application may be reviewed by a judge who isn’t an expert in the science behind your technology, so make it as clear as possible for them to understand.

• Potential for impact: The change that your company can make in the world. What are the points of leverage you will exploit to achieve this impact?

• Your superstar team: Highlight their expertise (technical or commercial)

• Product market fit: Are you solving a problem that customers are willing to pay for?

• Potential for scale: Do you have the ambition to scale and the total addressable market to do so?

• Traction: Make a clear case for your growth (commercially, product development or both)

• Be clear about your traction: If possible, make a metrics driven case for yourself. If not, talk about your clients specifically. I.e paying client, pilot client, distribution partner etc.  

• Be honest: Share your true blockers and challenges. Start-ups are never perfect and no-one expects them to be. 

• Tell us what you hope to gain from the programme: We tailor the programme to you and want a group of founders who are truly engaged with the peer network 

• Be yourself and authentically share your vision for your business, your current metrics and blockers.

• Keep it concise: Remember that judges view multiple companies and a clearly articulated case tends to win out

• Avoid jargon: Your application may be viewed by a judge who isn’t an expert in your field- so make it clear for them to understand.

• Demonstrate your ambition: Scaling up a business takes grit and perseverance. Make the case for why you and your team will be able to make this journey. Don’t undersell yourself!

Upscale looks to tackle some of the trickiest challenges faced by scaling companies. Programme content is designed to mirror your scaling journey. We explore foundations, scaling your growth and taking growth to the next level. Previous Upscale progrmammes have covered:

• Scaling as a leader
• Hiring talent
• Employer brand
• Progression frameworks & performance management
• International expansion & finance options as a scaling company
  

We also delivered functional sessions for the leads of marketing, operations, tech, product, finance and HR/talent.

We’re on the hunt for a company that offers an innovative solution to a problem, addressing a large target market, achieving product/market fit highly defensible, hitting either Series A or revenue metric – often both. To get the most out of the programme, you will likely be:

• Rapidly increasing your headcount
• Looking to increase market share
• Planning significant nationwide or international growth. 

The selection takes four key areas of criterion into account:

• Value Proposition (problem/solution, TAM, competition)
• Traction to date (revenue or customer acquisition, key metrics, clients)
• Potential to scale (international or national expansion)
• Programme fit (desire from the team to learn & contribute)

As guidance, Upscale typically works with companies experiencing rapid growth approx 10% month-on-month. With COVID, we understand that some companies may have experienced variances over the last 6 months. With that in mind, typical Upscale companies are:

• Looking to significantly increase team size
• Thinking about expanding its customer base or market share
• Aspirations for substantial national or international growth

Hearing from those who’ve been through the scaling journey before, and from peers, Upscale will help determine if you’re on-track, going too fast/slow or whether you need to pivot certain business areas. In the last five years of Upscale, many businesses have had in-session ‘Ah-ha!’ moments, or taken a change in direction. This is all thanks to conversations they’ve had or witnessed. These ‘lightbulb’ moments can be transformational to a company as you approach such an inflection point in your growth.

Yes! Upscale is a sector agnostic programme. This means we support digital companies from every and any sector. In the past sectors have included:

• Fintech
• E-commerce
• Proptech
• Spacetech
• Agtech
• Edtech
• Health & biotech
• Saas & more

We support B2B, B2C and B2B2C companies. 

A great application for Future Fifty provides clear evidence and articulates what the company does, why it is unique, and why it would be a good fit for the programme. Areas that judges will consider favourably might be:

• Tech leadership: clear demonstration of leadership in your tech sector. What are you doing that gives you a unique proposition and positioning as a tech leader?

• Evidence of growth: a track record showing your growth through revenues, raises, headcount and key metrics.

• Growth potential: In terms of market size, international expansion and acquisition or IPO.

• Leadership team: a C-suite of experienced individuals both commercially and in the tech space, either having growth with the company or with prior specialist or industry experience.

• Be clear in your track record and growth potential. Our judges are entrepreneurs and leaders in the technology & investment space evaluating the best of UK tech, so showcase your achievements. 

• Articulate your value proposition and market positioning in layman’s terms. We’re sector agnostic and the applications will be judged by experts in a variety of technology subsectors, they won’t be experts in all of them. 

• Showcase your team. At this stage growth potential is often down to your core team and leadership, you’ve no doubt gone to great pains to assemble your C-suite, so highlight them and their track records.

• Rely on evidence and data: At this stage your company has a track record and product market fit, use this clarify why you’re a UK tech leader.

• Detail your growth plans: Detailing your growth plans in your current markets and internationally, raising further funding rounds, acquisitions, IPO, head count increases and revenue projections. 

• Focus on your team and leadership as much as your product: You’ve achieved product market fit, further growth and product iteration will be delivered off the back of a stellar team. Tell us about yours.

• Be honest about the challenges you see on the horizon: As you continue to grow you’ll tackle challenge after challenge. Be forthcoming about these. Future Fifty is founded on peer-to-peer learning and we leverage a powerful network of over 150 companies to solve problems. So tell us how we can help you.

• Missing information or vague answers: Make it easy for judges to evaluate your application against other companies. Be concise, answer in layman’s terms backed up by clear data.

• Let your ambition and purpose come through: At this stage you’re usually a large team, ensure the original purpose and drive to be a leader in your space comes across.