Welcome

You’ve landed on the stage 1 application form for Breakthrough Founders. (Discover more about breakthrough founders here.)

This short set of questions helps us place you in the right pathway and stage. There are no right or wrong answers — honest, current inputs mean fewer irrelevant questions and a faster route to useful support.

How to answer

Use exact, up-to-date figures (it’s fine to pause and check a dashboard). If you’re shortlisted, we may ask for a pointer (e.g. the name of a report, pilot site, or invoice). No uploads now.

Accessibility support

If you need help reading or navigating this form, please click the red accessibility icon in the top right corner to use the Recite Me toolbar (translation, text-to-speech, and other support tools).

A quick note

We may request supporting evidence for revenue or traction claims. Please make sure your answers reflect your actual numbers.

This form takes about 10–15 minutes. It doesn’t save as you go, so please complete it in one sitting.

Why We Ask For This Personal Information

Because this programme is funded by Innovate UK and supports founders from underrepresented backgrounds (broadly defined), we need to collect some personal information to run the programme effectively, report our impact, and ensure we’re reaching the right people.

By submitting your application, you consent to your data being collected, processed, and shared with our delivery partners - The200BnClub, Catalyst, Focused For Business, Mint Ventures - and Luna Leadership and Innovate UK for the purpose of assessing your application, providing feedback, and delivering support.

Your data will only be accessed by those involved in delivering Breakthrough Founders.

How It Will Be Used

Our motto is Leave No Founder Behind - and to live up to that, we also use AI-augmented tools with a Human in the Loop to help our team process answers more consistently and shape the personalised feedback you receive. We use our own model, built using the OpenAI API, which means your data is never used to train OpenAI’s systems and is protected by strict privacy terms.

We may also combine your data with other datasets to better understand the startup ecosystem. This can include quoting or referencing your application (including identifiable information) in internal reports, investor introductions, programme case studies, or future support.

Your data will not be published or shared publicly in a way that directly identifies you or your business without your consent.

This includes some special category data (e.g. information about your ethnicity or health). We process this with your explicit consent and in line with UK GDPR Article 9(2)(a) and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

For any questions about how your data is stored or used, and to withdraw your consent you can contact us at assi@the200bn.club. For full details, see our Privacy Policy.