Welsh ICE, the Caerphilly based innovation centre, is celebrating the successful launch of 10 brand new businesses who are now officially trading after support from the 5 to 9 club.
The 5 to 9 club is a free, after-hours entrepreneurship course designed to support wannabe business owners through the early stages of developing their idea and enterprise, and is now ready to take on its next cohort of potential entrepreneurs.
The scheme has been fully funded by the Fairwood Trust and sessions will run every Thursday evening from 5pm till 9pm over 12 weeks. Specialist mentors, workshops and industry experts will be on hand every session offering support for every stage of the budding businesses. They will include advice on marketing, project development and finance, culminating in a presentation where the course participants will pitch their business idea or share their 5 to 9 journey.
Member of the second 5 to 9 Club, Katherine Parker said: “A few weeks into the 5-9 club, my confidence began to grow with the knowledge that I could actually become a full time artist and that I had not only the support from Welsh ICE but from my group of fellow entrepreneurs. It is an amazing place to work from and oozes positivity.”
Katherine and the other members of the 5 to 9 club completed their 12 week course with a presentation evening in April to share their experiences with the course and their entrepreneurial journey so far.
The aim of the club is to give people the time in their lives that they need to focus on their ideas, and give them a boost to potentially scale up their start-up, freelance, and new business careers. Beyond that they have the opportunity to receive a full-time desk, a tailored mentoring programme and world-class workshops.
Speaking as one of the judges after the presentation evening, Welsh ICE Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mandy Weston, said: “I was blown away by the high standard and diversity of the business ideas presented. It was clear that the groups across both cohorts had built a strong camaraderie and will go on to support each other in future endeavours.”
50% of the participants of the 5 to 9 Club, have gone on to become full time members at Welsh ICE and have already started trading.