How it works

Once all five co-founders are confirmed, the sprint begins. From that point, the founding team works together—remotely, asynchronously, with regular structured check-ins—to deliver three things in six months:

• The Phase 1 automated graduate intake and assessment platform
• The full EmergIT programme framework, grant disbursement process, and legal infrastructure
• A successful application for the founding £250,000 institutional grant

Each co-founder owns their workstream. The Lead Coordinator holds the whole thing together. Ian Rea—EmergIT’s founding director—is actively involved throughout, not as a manager but as the sixth member of the founding team.

At the end of six months, there is a binary outcome.

If the grant is secured: the sprint ends. All five co-founders transition immediately into full-time, salaried Executive Director roles. The programme launches. Autumn 2026 applications open.

If the grant is not secured: the sprint ends. Every co-founder walks away with documented evidence of what they built, the relationships they made, and the experience of helping create a real organisation from nothing. No financial loss—they kept their job, their Universal Credit, or their studies throughout. No wasted time—this is the kind of experience that opens doors.

We are not going to pretend that the second outcome would feel good. It would not. But we are also not going to pretend it is not possible. It is. And we think it is important that anyone applying for a founding role understands both scenarios clearly before they commit.

We review every application. We are not looking for a polished business plan or a fully formed pitch. We are looking for three things: a real problem worth solving, evidence that the applicant has the drive to work through difficulty, and a sense that the EmergIT co-founder relationship is what they actually need.

Shortlisted applicants are invited to a 30-minute conversation. This is not a formal interview. It is a chance for both sides to work out whether the fit is right.

Accepted graduates are introduced to their EmergIT co-founder, given access to the platform and tools, and brought into the cohort community. The programme begins with a structured onboarding period—typically two weeks—that covers the basics: how the grant works, what the milestone framework looks like, how to use the AI tools, and what to expect from the co-founder relationship.

This is the heart of the programme. The graduate builds their venture. The EmergIT co-founder builds alongside them.

Support during this phase includes:

• Regular co-founder sessions—structured, practical, focused on the specific challenges the graduate is facing right now
• Milestone reviews—the framework that tracks progress and triggers the two grant tranches
• AI tools and platform access—available around the clock, not just when a human is available
• Peer cohort connections—other graduates in the same cohort, building different ventures, facing similar challenges
• Mentor introductions—experienced founders and professionals connected to the graduate when the timing is right, not before

The first grant tranche (£2,000) is released when the first milestone is reached. The milestone trigger depends on the type of business: for a service business, it is first paying client; for a product business, it is working prototype with documented user testing; for a digital platform, it is live MVP with first active users.

The second grant tranche (£3,000) is released when the second milestone is reached: first meaningful revenue for service and product businesses, first 100 active users or first paying customer for digital platforms.

All grant spending is tracked through a three-tier approval process: small purchases are self-certified by the graduate, medium purchases require co-founder sign-off, larger or unusual purchases require EmergIT director approval.

A venture is considered launched when it is trading—generating real revenue from real customers. That is the measure that matters. Not a pitch competition win. Not a press mention. Not a beautiful website.

At the point of launch, the formal co-founder support phase ends and the revenue share arrangement begins. EmergIT CIC takes a small percentage of the venture’s revenue for a defined period. This is agreed transparently at the start of the programme and is separate from the grant.

Graduates remain part of the EmergIT community after launch. They become the mentors, the case studies, and eventually the co-founders who support the next cohort.