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Elevate with NoBa

Build with intention.

Execution is one of the biggest separators of success. Good execution takes more than effort, luck and constant iteration. It needs clarity on where the company is going, what matters most and what needs to be true.

Elevate helps founders look 12–18 months ahead, make deliberate choices across the business and build a plan they can keep testing and improving as they execute.

Panelists discussing the Future of Work with an audience at a partner event.
3 months
Focused post-investment support
6 workshops
Building the foundations of the plan
3 phases
Learn + Prepare → Build + Iterate → Review + Connect
The outcome
A clear 12–18 month growth plan

The Founder Offer

Investment before the programme. Follow-on as you grow.

Up to £100k

The NoBa investment

Companies selected for Elevate receive up to £100k of investment from NoBa, with an initial investment made before the programme and the balance available as part of the company’s round, subject to the agreed investment terms and completion conditions.

Elevate then sits around that investment, helping founders build the plan, capability and investor confidence for the next stage.

Terms are agreed with each company. Follow-on investment depends on eligibility, round size, satisfactory diligence, programme completion, available allocation and final investment terms.

The programme

A focused programme built around the things that matter most at this stage, helping founders strengthen the business, prepare for investment and accelerate what comes next.

The ecosystem

Access to the wider NoBa network of investors, advisors and partners, alongside a cohort of ambitious founders going through the same journey.

Apply to NoBa
Vanesa in conversation with an attendee at a NoBa Connect event.

Why Elevate

Good execution starts with clarity.

Startups need to move quickly, learn fast and adapt. But speed without focus can become activity without progress.

Elevate creates the space to step back from the day-to-day, make deliberate choices and build a plan across the areas that will shape the next 12–18 months.

  • Strategy
  • Product
  • Capability
  • Commercial
  • Go-to-market
  • Capital

The programme

Three phases, one plan.

  1. 01 / Learn + Prepare

    Six intensive workshops to build the foundations of the plan.

    Each session combines focused expert input, practical working time and peer challenge. Founders should leave each workshop having made a decision, built something or materially improved part of the plan.

  2. 02 / Build + Iterate

    Turn the workshop outputs into one coherent 12–18 month growth plan.

    Founders bring the work together, review an initial version with NoBa and identify the biggest gaps, assumptions and areas that need further challenge. Selected Elevate Advisors can then be brought in for focused conversations around the areas where their experience is most useful.

  3. 03 / Review + Connect

    Test the plan, strengthen it and connect around the next stage of the business.

    The programme culminates in a boardroom-style review with experienced operators and board-level talent, followed by a wider Elevate Showcase bringing founders into the NoBa investor, partner and operator network.

Learn + Prepare

Six workshops. Six parts of the plan.

  1. 01

    The Ambition

    Where are we going, and what does success look like?

    Focus
    Founder ambition, leadership and the next 12–18 months.
    Output
    Clear ambition, definition of success and strategic priorities.

  2. 02

    Built to Scale

    Are the foundations strong enough to support the ambition?

    Focus
    Financial planning, legal, governance, cap table, risk and operating foundations.
    Output
    Financial assumptions, governance priorities, key risks and structural gaps.

  3. 03

    Capability, Not Headcount

    What capability does the business need, and what is the smartest way to access it?

    Focus
    Leadership, hires, fractional expertise, advisors, networks and AI-enabled capacity.
    Output
    A 12–18 month capability plan.

  4. 04

    The Product Edge

    What are we really building, for whom, and why will it win?

    Focus
    Customer problem, proposition, product priorities, differentiation, data and defensibility.
    Output
    Product priorities, roadmap and articulation of competitive advantage.

  5. 05

    The Growth Engine

    How does early traction become repeatable growth?

    Focus
    ICP, customer messaging, sales, channels, revenue planning and repeatable GTM.
    Output
    GTM plan, growth assumptions and commercial priorities.

  6. 06

    Thinking Big

    What has to be true for this company to become materially bigger?

    Focus
    Capital strategy, expansion, scaling the organisation, market growth and value creation.
    Output
    12–18 month milestones, capital requirements and scaling roadmap.

Build + Iterate

Turn the thinking into a plan.

Founders use the outputs from the workshops to build a full 12–18 month growth plan.

NoBa reviews the first version with each company, identifies the biggest gaps and assumptions, and helps founders decide where external challenge will be most useful.

Elevate Advisors

A curated group of experienced operators, investors, specialists and board-level talent available for focused conversations around specific parts of the plan.

This is not an open-ended mentoring programme. Advisor access is targeted and matched around where it can have the most impact. Each company will typically have access to up to two focused advisor sessions.

Review + Connect

Boardroom Review

Put the plan under serious challenge.

Each company has a one-hour board-style session with NoBa and experienced external board, NED and operator-level participants. This is not a pitch.

  • What are we trying to achieve?
  • What has to be true?
  • Where are the weaknesses in the plan?
  • What should we prioritise?

Showcase + Celebration

Connect around the next stage.

A wider event bringing together founders, investors, partners and the broader NoBa ecosystem. Founders briefly introduce where they are going and the connections that would be most valuable.

The emphasis is on connection and celebration rather than pitching for capital.

The outcome

A plan you can defend, adapt and execute.

By the end of Elevate, every founder should have a clear 12–18 month plan for how the company grows.

Strategic direction
A clear ambition and the priorities that matter most.
Product
Defined product priorities, roadmap and competitive advantage.
Capability
A clear view of the people, expertise and AI-enabled capacity the business needs.
Commercial + GTM
A practical route from early traction to repeatable growth.
Financial + Capital
Financial assumptions, capital requirements and funding priorities.
External challenge
Expert input and board-level feedback on the plan.

The Elevate ecosystem

The right people around the table.

Elevate brings founders into a wider ecosystem of people who can challenge, advise and help.

That includes programme supporters, experts presenting and contributing across the workshops, and, importantly, the Halo angel investors backing each business.

Many Halo investors bring deep operating, sector and leadership experience of their own, creating another layer of relevant support around the founders they invest in.

Programme supporters
Organisations supporting the delivery of Elevate.
Presenting experts
Operators and specialists contributing knowledge across the workshops.
Halo investors
The angels backing each company, many of whom bring relevant experience, networks and perspective.
Elevate Advisors
Targeted specialist support where a founder needs deeper input on a specific challenge.

Programme supporters

  • KPMG
  • Russell-Cooke
  • InfiniteCFO
  • London & Partners

Portfolio benefits

Useful tools. Better access.

NoBa portfolio companies can access preferred offers, discounts and enhanced support across a growing range of tools and platforms.

  • AWS
  • Airwallex
  • Deel
  • Miro
  • Notion
  • HubSpot
  • Stripe

Offers and availability may vary by provider and company.

Beyond the programme

Three months is the start of the relationship.

The plan is a starting point, not a static document. NoBa continues working with founders as priorities change, assumptions are tested and the business grows.

Ongoing support

NoBa remains around the company as the plan turns into execution.

The ecosystem

Access to investors, operators, specialists and useful relationships.

Future capital

Continued engagement as funding requirements develop, including potential follow-on investment.

Build with NoBa

Building in the Future of Work?

Elevate begins with becoming a NoBa portfolio company.

Apply to NoBa