Founder Commons is reshaping what it means to build a startup in the North East of England, with a new peer support network for early stage founders. As part of the UKTCG’s Regional Tech Booster programme, which is funded by the UK Government, this initiative has created a new supportive network for founders in order to give a boost to the region’s tech economy.
In 2024, North East England attracted just 1.7% of UK early-stage startup investment, which equalled just 33 investment deals. The underlying causes are structural, but also cultural. Newcastle has a population density roughly half that of Bristol or Manchester, a quarter of London’s and a tenth of San Francisco’s, while the wider North East region is even more thinly spread compared to the world’s major tech hubs.
Startup communities in other city regions would usually form organically through existing networking opportunities and repeat founders who stay in the ecosystem to pass down wisdom and experience.
Due to this lower population in the North East, there are fewer people with first‑hand experience of building and scaling startups, exiting tech businesses or raising from Venture Capital funds. On top of this, few local startups are actively seeking funding from London or European investors.
The Founder Commons initiative was specifically designed to fill that gap in the North East tech ecosystem. The vision was to create a space where founders learn from people who truly understand the realities of building in the North East, while also plugging into investors and operators beyond it.
The programme was launched in October and supports early-stage founders and leaders from pre-Series A technology companies founders across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham.
The support model is rooted in shared experience and knowledge, with founders helping founders, peer accountability and exposure to people who have already navigated fundraising, scaling a business and exits. Rather than one‑off talks or generic advice, the programme focuses on deep, repeated interactions that build capability and confidence over time.
On top of this, by creating a supportive peer network that enables founders to gain access to VC funding without having to relocate to London or other tech hubs, this helps to grow the knowledge and experience and then keep it within the North East region.
Paul Smith, who runs founder consultancy Prepare to Land and is running the Founders Commons initiative, said: “Too many founders in the North East have been trying to build ambitious companies in isolation, without the same support networks you might find in the larger tech ecosystems.
“With the funding from the Regional Tech Programme, we wanted to change that in order to give early stage founders access to shared knowledge and lived experience, direct access to experienced investors and the underlying support to continue growing a successful tech business.”
The Founder Commons initiative involves:
- A half-day workshop for 100 early-stage founders with sessions from European VCs, operational specialists and experienced founders. Topics include product discovery, securing first customers, and raising investment outside the region.
- Founder Circles programme supporting up to 40 founders; peer groups of up to eight participants that meet weekly for six weeks. These guided sessions use social learning to develop practical skills while building professional relationships and shared accountability.
- Expert Office Hours: participants access 1:1 sessions with London/EU-based VCs, operational specialists and experienced founders.
So far, activity for the Founder Commons pilot across workshops, events and programmes has directly engaged over 100 founders in the North East. On top of this, 50% of participants in Q4’s Founder Circles programme are women, who are under-represented within the region’s tech ecosystem.
This initiative has delivered the region’s first dedicated workshop to educate founders about investment economics. Feedback was so strong that plans are already in motion to run the session again later this year.
Founder Commons is not just about running events – it is about changing trajectories. One of its key success metrics is that at least a third of programme participants will go on to engage with investors outside the region within 12 months. This is a clear signal that founders are becoming more confident and more investment‑ready.
This pilot programme has brought together multiple opportunities for practical advice and sharing knowledge on topics not covered by any existing events in the North East region. The Founder Commons funded initiative is proving that with the right support, the North East can grow a stronger, more connected and more ambitious tech ecosystem.
“I attended The Founder Commons on behalf of my company Robohive, without expectation but hoping to learn something. However, the connections that I made there have resulted in mentoring support from Paul himself and warm intros to VCs. I met other founders in the room, which has opened up collaboration opportunities and follow-on intros at least two of which I expect will be long-term relationships. All of that was in addition to the value gained from the sessions themselves. It’s rare to spend an afternoon at an event and get a fraction of this value.”
Dr Rachael Coates, co-founder of Tees Valley-based Robohive, an AR platform to scale robotic training for surgeons
“This programme deposited me at a few hard truths, opened up some great conversations and left me at the bottom of a mountain to climb. Prior to the programme my plan for ascent was “keep it together, forwards. Stop at top.” Engaging with this programme has helped me alter those instructions to “travel in groups (community), aim for the basecamps (validation, revenue), help each other (you’re not alone) and talk to people (you never know where a conversation leads). Best of all the program helped de-jargon a bunch of stuff required for reading the mountain paths (investment) and got me in the mindset to get up the mountain.”
Jamie Curle, founding CTO of SoPost (one of Newcastle’s most successful technology startups)
