Every founder needs a buddy who knows the Innovation Ecosystem. Programmes, funding, and everything in between.
100+ programmes · 145+ funding partners · 45+ guides · Every UK region & nation
All programmes and funding sources verified April 2026
Our mission
60% of UK businesses fail within 5 years.
We're here to halve that by 2035.
By making the UK's startup ecosystem visible to every founder.
"I talk to early-stage UK founders every day who are drowning in options. PartnershipsBuddy.com is the first thing I've seen that's actually curated and matched, not just a list. I send founders here before I send them anywhere else."
Boardy
AI Superconnector
"PartnershipsBuddy.com is a really useful tool for founders and scalers. It is intuitive and helpful in navigating you to really interesting content, partners and funding options. A great resource."
Graham Marley
CEO, Let's Do Business Group
"The UK has incredible support for founders. The problem has always been finding it. PartnershipsBuddy.com fixes that."
Roei Samuel
CEO, Connectd
Know a founder who'd benefit from this?
How it works
Simple as it gets
Programmes
Accelerators, incubators and programmes
1
5 quick questions
Stage, location, sector, priority
2
5 programmes
Filtered by your criteria
3
Apply and go
Connect directly with the programme
Find programmes →
Funding partners
Grants, loans, angels and investors
1
5 quick questions
Stage, amount, sector, type, location
2
5 funding results
Grants, loans and equity based on your answers
3
Apply and go
Connect directly with the funder
Find funding partners →
Programmes
How do you want to find programmes?
We have 100+ UK accelerators, incubators, and support programmes. You can let us filter for you, or browse them all.
🎯
Take the 60-second quiz
Answer 5 quick questions and we'll filter to your top 5 programmes based on stage, location, and what matters to you.
Start the quiz →
📋
Browse all programmes
See every programme in our database. Filter by region, stage, and sector. Sort A-Z or by region.
Browse all →
The Finder
5 questions. 5 programmes.
We filter based on what matters to you, not just what's popular or well-funded.
This helps us filter out programmes that don't fit.
Question 2 of 5
Where are you based?
We'll prioritise local programmes and UK-wide options.
Question 3 of 5
What sector are you in?
Question 4 of 5, shapes your shortlist
What's your #1 priority right now?
This shapes your entire shortlist.
Question 5 of 5
How do you want to engage?
Helps us weight in-person vs virtual options.
📍In-person
💻Virtual
✨Either works
Your profile
One more thing
Are you from an underrepresented founder group?
E.g. from an ethnic minority background, a woman, disabled, or from a low-income background. We'll boost programmes specifically designed for you.
Your programmes
Your programmes
Most programmes get 10x more applications than they can accept. The founders who get in aren't always the best, they're the most prepared. Worth checking where you stand before you apply.
Before you apply
What most programmes expect at your stage. Not a checklist, just a heads-up on what comes up in applications and interviews.
This section covers what programmes commonly expect. It's general information compiled from publicly available sources. Every programme has different criteria, always check directly with the programme before applying.
No paid placements. No ads. We score every programme against your answers and show the best fit.
Want this plan in your inbox?
We'll email your results, your 3 actions and check in next month.
Found your programmes?
🏢 Now find somewhere to build from
Working from home? Joining a coworking space is one of the best moves early-stage founders make, for focus, serendipity, and getting out of your own head.
We'll email these four guides plus one nudge a week to help you take the first concrete step.
← Back to Playbook
Stage 01
Starting
Idea to first customers. The goal is simple: prove it works before you run out of money.
Admin
📋 Register your business name
Companies House registration takes 24 hours and costs £100. Do it before you start trading, it protects your name, gives you a legal entity for contracts, and is required for SEIS/EIS fundraising.
Keep your business and personal finances completely separate from day one. You'll need a business account before taking any revenue or investment, most can be set up online in under an hour.
You don't need an agency. A landing page that clearly explains what you do and captures email addresses is enough to start. Framer, Webflow or even Notion work fine at this stage.
Get HMRC approval before you raise a penny. It makes your raise dramatically easier, investors get 50% income tax relief and it costs nothing to apply.
The loneliest mistake is building alone. YC's co-founder matching tool connects you with thousands of vetted technical and commercial founders globally.
Building before talking is the most expensive startup mistake. 15 to 20 structured conversations will tell you more than six months of building in the dark.
Not a 40-page homework assignment. A one-page plan forces clarity and you'll need it for bank accounts, grant applications, and early investor conversations.
You don't need to hire a CFO, CMO, or CTO full-time. Fractional operators give you senior expertise at a fraction of the cost, ideal when you're scaling but not yet at Series A.
Investors will ask for a P&L, runway projection, and unit economics before anything else. Maslows, Kruze, Accountancy Cloud, Ember, and Startup CFO all know the startup world.
The best growth teams run 10 experiments a week. GrowthMentor and Reforge both give you access to operators who've done it before at companies like Airbnb, Uber, and Monzo.
When you're ready to raise, preparation beats charm every time. Notion Capital, Seedcamp, and Techstars all have open applications, but an intro always beats a cold email.
Free. One email. Every guide for founders at your stage.
← Back to Playbook
Stage 03
Scaling
You've found what works. The hard part now is doing everything faster without losing what made you good.
Hiring
🏗 Build the leadership team around you
At scale, your job is to hire people better than you. Spencer Stuart and Notion's talent network are both used by Series A+ founders specifically for exec hires.
The US is the obvious next market but it's littered with expensive mistakes. London & Partners and the Department for Business and Trade both offer free market entry support.
At scale, brand does the selling. Balderton's content playbook and tech-specialist PR agencies like Hotwire and Hard Numbers help you punch above your weight.
Hypergrowth breaks processes. Notion, Linear, and Rippling are the ops stack most Series A+ teams swear by, get them embedded before you hit 50 people.
The problems at scale are lonely ones. Helm (formerly The Supper Club) runs structured peer groups specifically for UK founders doing serious revenue, no consultants, no investors, just founders.
Series B is a different game, institutional investors, detailed due diligence, and 6–9 month processes. Index Ventures, Balderton, and Atomico are examples of tier-one European funds.
We'll boost local funding options alongside UK-wide ones.
One more thing
Are you from an underrepresented founder group?
E.g. from an ethnic minority background, a woman, disabled, or from a low-income background. We'll boost funding sources specifically designed for you.
Your funding results
Here are your results
You get one shot at a first impression with an investor. Most won't take a second meeting if the first one isn't sharp. Worth checking where you stand before reaching out.
Before you reach out
What funders at your stage typically expect to see. Not a checklist you have to complete, just a heads-up on what's likely to come up.
This section covers what funders commonly expect. It's general information compiled from publicly available sources, not a requirement or recommendation. Every funder has different criteria. Always do your own research and seek independent advice before making financial decisions.
No paid placements. No ads. We score every programme against your answers and show the best fit.
Want these results in your inbox?
We'll send your top funding options straight to your email.
Accelerators, incubators, and support programmes filtered to your stage and region. Many include mentoring, workspace and connections alongside funding.
This tool provides general information to help you explore your options. It is not financial advice. Funding details may change. Always check directly with the provider before applying. If you're looking for a business loan or overdraft, speak to your bank directly. PartnershipsBuddy.com is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.