Catalyst Link offers a new pathway for volunteers within our network to use their knowledge, skills and experience to help those on their entrepreneurial journey. Through curated matching of volunteers to those seeking support, it will support founders and aspiring founders to solve problems and progress.
We are excited about this new opportunity for our friends and supporters to volunteer their expertise, and to be more directly involved with the aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators that Catalyst supports.
Catalyst Link connects volunteers to founders and aspiring founders, supporting them through their entrepreneurial journey. Through informed matching, Catalyst Link will help you use your knowledge and experience to provide effective and timely support to those in need.
Here are some examples* of potential support you could give to aspiring or early-stage entrepreneurs, with potential time commitments:
*And anything else you might be interested in getting involved in!
Here are some examples of the types of people you might support:
In short: anyone. No two requests are ever the same; there is a wide range of knowledge, skills and experience needed to support entrepreneurs.
We are building a group of experienced volunteers who have been on this journey and want to pay it forward for those who are on their own entrepreneurial journey.
Catalyst Link volunteers should have characteristics that align with our values:
By becoming a Catalyst Link volunteer, you will:
Here’s what to do next:
1. Fill out our volunteer form. This will let us know your details and preferences and help us match you up with relevant people
2. Attend a brief online induction session online (dates TBC)
3. Get involved!
4. We will be able to start matching you with requests for support
5. We will seek quarterly feedback from you on your experience as a volunteer and use these learns to change and improve
We are led by Catalyst Link volunteers on how much time they want to commit. We ask for a minimum of 5-10 hours as a baseline for volunteering.
In your volunteer registration form, you’ll tell us about your skills, knowledge and experience, as well as some background information and your support preferences.
When a request comes in, we will use this information to identify the most appropriate volunteer for the requestee to be put in touch with.
We’ll then contact the volunteer and check if they are interested and available, and if yes, we will connect them with the requestee.
In the volunteer registration form, you can select the type of support that you’re interested in giving. We will use this information to only send you requests that match what you’ve said you’re interested in.
In the volunteer registration form, you can select the groups of people that you’re interested in helping. We will use this information to only send you requests that match what you’ve said you’re interested in.
We really appreciate that volunteers want to give their time to support aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs. However, we understand that this will in many cases be additional to other work commitments. There is no obligation to say yes to a request if it doesn’t suit you.
We really appreciate a prompt ‘no’ so that we can ask someone else!
We completely understand that your situation or priorities might change. If at any point you can contact adam.bradley@wearecatalyst.org to:
• Revise your time commitment
• Change your preferences e.g. types of support
• Freeze your volunteering for a set amount of time (just let us know)
• Opt out of Catalyst Link
Requests for support are bespoke to that requestee and the exact stage in their startup they are at. Some of the topics that have we expect to receive requests for include, but are not limited to:
• Brand Storytelling
• Corporate Governance
• Customer Service Agreements
• Digital Marketing Savvy
• FDA & Regulatory Compliance
• Financial Governance
• Financial Modeling and Analysis
• Founding Experience
• Funding Systems & Support
• Fundraising
• Industry Regulations and Compliance
• International Expansion & Beachhead Market Consideration
• Intellectual Property
• Leadership and Team Building
• Licensing; Market Research Expertise
• Product Market Fit
• Prototyping & Manufacturing
• Risk Management
• Sales and Customer Relationship Management
• Shareholder Agreements
• Strategic Partnerships
• Supply Chain Management
• Technology Integration
• Unit Economics
• Value Propositions
Catalyst Link is an opportunity for anyone to volunteer and support aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs. It’s likely there’ll be opportunities for volunteers at the beginning of their careers right through to those who have retired. You will receive an induction training ahead of volunteering, which will help prepare you for getting involved.
If you’re still not sure, you can organise a chat with Adam by emailing adam.bradley@wearecatalyst.org with subject line ‘Catalyst Link’.
Programme Manager, Role Models
Adam Bradley is the Programme Manager for Role Models and is responsible for growing and managing a pool of pro-bono volunteers to support opportunity for all across Catalyst’s programmes and initiatives.
Prior to joining Catalyst, Adam worked with Arts & Business NI, where he was responsible for managing their programme of events, training & support for arts organisations. He took a particular interest in the design and delivery of professional development programmes, and in developing best practice around diversity and inclusion.
Adam is experienced in programme management and delivery, training & development, fundraising & philanthropy, and partnerships.
He is passionate about social impact, sustainability, EDI, and creativity.
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