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Growth↗ RisingTraction you can evidence
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Cost→ Levelling offBurn you can defend
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Risk↘ FallingExposure you can see early
Saizen Startup Accelerator
From first idea to investable company.
Four stages to validate the market, build the product, prove traction and prepare the raise, run with senior practitioners from The Council.
00 Clarity before action
See what matters before you build.
Every stage is judged on three signals, read together before money is spent.
London · first light
- ShapeProblem validated
- BuildProduct in use
- ProveTraction defended
- ScaleRaise-ready
31
senior practitioners, matched to the stage you are in
+26
11workstreams
10deliverables you keep
Three questions, one recommendation.
Find your starting stage01 The problem
Early-stage companies rarely fail for lack of ideas.
Focus
They stall when effort is spread too thin.
What we do
We help founders decide what to build first, what to prove next and what investors will need to see. Then we do the work alongside them.
How it runs
Strategy, product, data, legal, finance and sales run as one programme, led by senior practitioners from The Council.
02 The programme
Four stages. Each ends in evidence.
Shape the idea.
Research across target segments and competitors, a business model with its assumptions written down, and an honest read on where AI genuinely helps.
- Market Research
- Business Model Design
- AI Readiness
Exit evidenceA validated problem, a priced hypothesis and a plan for what to build first.
Build what customers will use.
A product and digital presence built for your customer, with automation and AI agents where they remove real work, and positioning that makes the offer clear.
- Web Dev & Automations
- Agentic AI Integration
- Brand Positioning
Exit evidenceA working product in real users’ hands.
Prove it, protect it.
Analytics across every touchpoint so traction is measured rather than asserted, plus the compliance and risk work investors and customers will ask about.
- Data Strategy & Analytics
- Legal & Risk Advisory
Exit evidenceUsage and revenue data you can defend, and a clean risk register.
Raise, then scale.
A financial model and investor materials built for diligence, a sales process that turns leads into revenue, and the hires to carry the next stage.
- Financial Planning
- Sales Engine Strategy
- Talent & Recruitment
Exit evidenceA data room, a repeatable sales motion and a hiring plan.
- Stage
- 01/ 04
- Workstreams
- 3
- Gate
- Problem validated
03 Operators
Who you work with.
Senior practitioners from The Council, matched to the stage you are in. Flip a card for experience.
No. 01 · Profile
Wael Elrifai
- CTO
- AI & IoT author
- Associate Fellow, University of Oxford
- Fellow of the British Computer Society
- Oxford MBA
Most relevant atBuild · Prove
No. 02 · Profile
Lisa Novak
- Founder, LMNHR
- SPHR-certified HR executive
- Twenty years, ten-plus startups
- Executive advisor & coach
- Speaker & panelist
Most relevant atBuild · Scale
No. 03 · Profile
Yohan Jayasooriya
- Founder & Managing Director, Saizen Acuity
- New business development
- Sales leadership
- Go-to-market strategy
- Financial services, data & AI
Most relevant atShape · Scale
0
senior practitioners in The Council, the network behind the programme.
04 Services · 11 workstreams
Eleven workstreams, one programme.
Each workstream is scoped to your stage and led by a senior practitioner: market research and business model design first, then product, data, legal, finance, sales and hiring as the company needs them.
05 Deliverables
What you leave with.
Every stage ends in working documents you keep: artefacts a team, a board or an investor can open and inspect.
01 · ShapeReport
Market map & ICP
- Segment sizing and priorities
- Competitor weaknesses
- Ideal customer profile
For founders · team
02 · ShapeModel
Business model & pricing
- Value proposition
- Pricing and unit-economics assumptions
- Riskiest assumptions to test
For founders · board
03 · ShapeAssessment
AI readiness assessment
- Where AI helps, and where it doesn’t
- Data and process gaps
- First automation candidates
For founders · team
04 · BuildLive product
Working product & automations
- Production site or product front end
- Automations wired into operations
- Handover documentation
For customers · team
05 · BuildGuide
Brand & messaging
- Positioning statement
- Identity and voice
- Messaging by audience
For customers · investors
06 · ProveDashboard
Analytics & KPIs
- Tracking plan
- Activation, retention and revenue metrics
- Weekly reporting view
For founders · board · investors
07 · ProveRegister
Risk & compliance register
- Regulatory obligations
- Data-protection controls
- Owners and review dates
For board · investors
08 · ScaleModel + deck
Financial model & investor deck
- Three-statement model
- Use of funds
- Investor narrative and deck
For investors
09 · ScalePlaybook
Sales playbook
- Profile-to-close process
- Pipeline stages and targets
- Scripts and objection handling
For the sales team
10 · ScalePlan
Hiring plan
- Roles for the next stage
- Scorecards
- Sequencing against runway
For founders · board
06 Start here
Tell us where you are.
Three questions, one recommendation. Start with clarity.