Designing Programmes That Actually Work, with Dr Lisa Portz
What does an accelerator actually do for founders, and how do we design programmes that deliver it?
In this session, Dr Lisa Portz shares the programme design framework she uses with programme teams across Europe, refined over many cohorts.
Lisa has sat in every seat in the accelerator world: she went through one as a founder, worked on dozens as an EiR, coach, and facilitator, and completed her PhD at Imperial College on accelerator design. Through her consulting practice ZebraFarm, she now designs and advises on programmes that put those findings into practice.
We'll cover:
The real role of an accelerator, and where founder-to-programme fit tends to break down.
A simple framework for designing programmes, applying the customer-first thinking we teach founders to our own work.
Iterative programme design: testing tracks the way we tell entrepreneurs to test products.
We'll also poll the room on what future support and sessions you'd like the network to offer, from recruitment to evaluation to support structures, so the answers shape what we run next.
You'll walk away with a programme design framework you can apply to your own work, and a concrete example to anchor it.
Open to current network members and anyone considering joining.