You've Led. Now Build.
The Accelerator That Takes You From Idea to Investor Ready in 12 Weeks.
For ex-forces founders who are ready to build. Expert mentorship, technical delivery, and your MVP built for you. All in one focused programme.
£
2b+
Investment Raised
+
Startups Supported
Programme Partners
Our Partners
We work with technology and growth partners selected to give LegalTech founders a practical advantage as they build and scale.
Who We Are
Built Around the Forces. Not Bolted On From Outside.
Forces Launchpad was built around the ex-forces community. Our mentors and our network are grounded in what leaving service actually looks like. How resettlement really works, what a transition timeline does to your decision-making, and what it takes to build something of your own when your CV doesn't look like anyone else's in the room.
We know that someone leaving the forces with a great idea does not need a generic startup workshop. They need guidance from people who have made the same move, combined with the technical capability to turn that idea into a real, working product.
You already have the things most first-time founders spend years trying to learn. Discipline under pressure, leading people who didn't choose you, planning with incomplete information, and getting a task done when the conditions are wrong. What you don't have is a product, a market, or a network. That is the part we cover.
That is exactly what this programme delivers. In 12 weeks we take your idea and build a validated, investor-ready business around it. You bring the discipline. We provide everything else.
Our Mentors
Guidance From People Who Know This Industry
Our mentors cover two worlds. People who understand the transition out of the forces and what it takes to build from a standing start. And startup specialists covering marketing, sales, fundraising, and growth who know exactly what a first-time founder needs to navigate. You get both.
Is This For You?
This Programme Is For People Leaving the Forces With an Idea. Not for Everyone.
Forces Launchpad is built for people who have served. Regulars, reserves, and those already out. Officers and other ranks, across any trade or corps, who have identified something worth building and are ready to act on it. You do not need a technical background. You do not need startup experience. You need an idea you believe in and the commitment to see it through twelve weeks.
This programme is not for people looking for another qualification to sit on a CV. It is not for anyone who wants a business to run itself while they hold down a full-time job. And it is not a jobs board or a CV workshop. There are good organisations doing that already, and we will point you to them. You should have a problem or an idea in mind before applying. If that is not where you are yet, this is not the right programme for you right now.
What We Offer
The Exact Support an Ex-Forces Founder Needs. Built Around How the Transition Actually Works.
Forces Launchpad combines mentorship from people who have made this move, technical build capability, and structured startup support into one focused 12 week programme.
Mentorship That Gets the Move
Guidance from mentors who understand where you're coming from and what you're walking into. Transition, first hire, first customer, mistakes worth skipping. Nobody will ask you to translate your last ten years into civilian language.
Technical Build Done For You
Our development team builds your MVP, website, and pitch deck. You do not need a technical background. You bring the idea and the discipline. We build the product around it, to the standard your first customers will expect.
Structure and Funding Access
A structured 12 week programme covering validation, business model, go to market strategy, fundraising, and pitching. Plus a Level 3 qualification and introductions to investors actively backing early-stage founders.
Programme Structure
A structured route from idea to market ready product. Each phase builds directly on the last, combining workshops, hands on technical delivery, and expert mentorship.
Week 1 - 2 (Problem Discovery)
You arrive with an idea. These two weeks are about sharpening it into something buildable and investable. We help you articulate the specific problem your product solves, work out who actually pays for the solution, and pressure test the assumption before you spend a penny building it. You leave with a problem statement that holds up in front of customers and investors alike.
Idea & Validation
Week 3 - 4 (MVP Design)
We scope and design your MVP alongside you, built around how your customers actually behave rather than how you assume they will. That means deciding what the product does, who it serves first, and what gets cut. You will build interactive prototypes, put them in front of real users, and refine on what they tell you. You leave with a defined, validated product scope ready to build.
Development & Prototyping
Week 5 - 6 (Building the Product)
Our development team builds your MVP. You are involved throughout. This is your product and every decision runs through you. Alongside the build, we work with you on your business model. How your customers buy, what pricing structures work in your market, and how to structure an offering people say yes to rather than think about.
Building the MVP
Week 7 - 8 (Selling It)
Selling is the part most first-time founders avoid, and the part that decides whether the business survives. These two weeks are dedicated to getting good at it. Who your real decision maker is, how they buy, what a pipeline looks like in practice, and how to write outreach that gets a reply. You work through your approach with mentor guidance and book your first real conversations.
Sales & Launch
Week 9 - 10 (Taking Your Product to Market)
Weeks 7 and 8 were about selling one at a time. These two weeks are about doing it at scale. We work with you on your channels. Where your customers already spend their attention, which ones are worth paying for and which are not, what a funnel that converts actually looks like, and the handful of numbers worth tracking. You leave with a go to market plan built on how your buyers behave, not a template borrowed from a different market.
Go-to-Market Strategy
Week 11 - 12 (Pitch Day)
Your pitch gets refined for people who see hundreds of them. We work with you on the questions investors will ask that you have not thought about yet. Cap tables, term sheets, due diligence, valuation, and what happens to your ownership after a raise. Mentor reviews, mock investor panels, and hands on feedback until the pitch holds up under pressure. If ready, you pitch to real investors at Pitch Day.
Pitching & Demo Day
FAQs