Assembly Cohorts is designed for early-stage founders who have already launched their business and are preparing to raise capital. We typically work with companies at Pre-Seed to Seed+ stage — those that have achieved product-market fit and early traction, such as revenue, pilots, user growth, or strong commercial validation.Founders should be planning to raise investment within the next 6–12 months, and their businesses should be SEIS/EIS eligible with a credible growth plan and a scalable business model.

The application process is designed to be straightforward and transparent.
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‍Apply Online – Complete the short application form, telling us about your business, traction, and fundraising plans.
‍Shortlisting – Our team reviews all applications and shortlists founders who best fit our sector, stage, and readiness criteria.
‍Interview – Shortlisted founders are invited to a 20–30 minute interview to discuss their business, goals, and how the programme can best support them.
‍Selection & Offer – Selected founders receive a formal offer to join the next cohort, along with onboarding details and key dates.

We typically confirm final selections within two weeks of application deadlines.

That’s absolutely fine — many of our cohort founders are already in the process of raising when they join.

Assembly Cohorts is designed to help you refine your materials, sharpen your investor narrative, and accelerate your momentum — whether you’ve just started conversations or are midway through a round.
We’ll help you strengthen your deck, data room, and investor strategy, and connect you with relevant angels and early-stage funds within our network to support your raise.

The programme fee is £1,500 + VAT, payable upon acceptance into the cohort.In addition, we charge a 5% success fee on funds raised directly through introductions or investor connections made via the programme. This ensures our incentives are fully aligned with your fundraising success.

Assembly Cohorts runs over five weeks, with around three live sessions per week (typically 60–90 minutes each). In addition, founders should allow some extra time for mentoring, pitch practice, and refining their materials between sessions.Overall, you can expect to spend 5–6 hours per week on the programme — enough to make meaningful progress without disrupting your day-to-day operations.

If you’ve only just missed the deadline, don’t worry — we often keep a few flexible spaces open for exceptional founders who are a strong fit for the programme. You can still submit your application, and if there’s space available, our team will review it right away.

If the current cohort is already full, we’ll fast-track your application for the next one and make sure you’re first to hear when new dates open.

Yes — we actively encourage founders to join as a team. Having your co-founder involved helps ensure you can apply the learnings, refine your pitch, and align your fundraising strategy together.Each company’s place in the programme covers up to two co-founders. If you have a larger founding team, just let us know when you apply so we can confirm participation details.

The programme is delivered entirely online, making it accessible to founders across the UK and Europe. All sessions are live and interactive, combining workshops, mentoring, and peer discussions — so you’ll get the same level of engagement and network access as an in-person experience, without the travel.

We typically accept 6-8 businesses per cohort to keep the programme focused and hands-on.This smaller group size ensures every founder gets individual feedback, tailored mentoring, and direct investor exposure, while still benefiting from peer learning and collaboration within the cohort.

That’s completely fine — not every founder who joins Assembly Cohorts decides to raise immediately.
The programme is designed to help you build the right foundation and investor readiness, whether you choose to fundraise now or later.You’ll still gain valuable outcomes, including a refined business narrative, investor materials, performance metrics, and network connections that will serve you whenever you’re ready to raise.

There’s no penalty for deciding to delay your fundraise — your learnings and materials remain yours to use when the timing is right.

Not every fundraise closes immediately — and that’s okay. Assembly Cohorts is designed to help you build strong investor foundations, not just chase short-term results.If your round doesn’t close during or right after the programme, you’ll still leave with:
- A refined pitch deck and data room ready for future investors.
- A clear understanding of your fundraising strategy and investor positioning.
- Continued access to our founder and investor network for follow-on introductions and feedback.

We also offer light-touch post-programme support, so you can stay connected and get guidance as you continue raising.The success fee only applies when funds are actually raised through the programme’s network — there’s no charge if your round doesn’t close.

Yes — while Assembly Cohorts primarily supports UK-based founders and SEIS/EIS-eligible companies, we also welcome international businesses that are either:
- Planning to expand into the UK or European market, or
- Have a UK-registered entity or are in the process of setting one up.

All sessions are delivered virtually, so participation from outside the UK is fully possible. We’ve worked with founders across Europe, the Middle East, and North America who are building for the UK or wider European consumer markets.