FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (faqs)



It's our mission to prepare you and help you to breeze through the realities and practicalities of starting and building your tech driven business. We'll make sure you understand what to expect, what to do, how to do it, and very importantly what to AVOID doing, step-by-step.

Get ready to make PROGRESS!
Remind me what you can help me with...
In a nutshell, we're here to simplify the process of getting started with a new business venture.

Purposeful Group provides entrepreneurial education, and professional business coaching and mentoring services to startups, entrepreneurs, and business owners.

We also work with freelancers, who are starting and running their own businesses, and we educate people seeking to upgrade their tech and digital skills to change careers, improve their employment prospects, or to help them prepare to become self-employed.

We run 1 hour, to full-day workshops, and 90-day intensive fast track programmes to help entrepreneurs start and build their businesses both quickly, and efficiently.

​We'll help you get from A to Z more quickly, more efficiently, and with minimum risk.

We've helped companies of all sizes from corporates to startups to create professional, high-quality software products starting from just a basic idea.

Learning through trial-and-error can be expensive and time consuming.
Making the wrong decisions can increase your chances of failure, and knock your confidence, so trying to cobble information together by yourself is a false economy.
As an inexperienced entrepreneur, or "non-technical" founder, you may find that you burn through the budget you set aside to build your software far more quickly than anticipated, or go "round in circles", stuck or in a state of worry or indecision about what you should do.
This wastes time, and increases the length of your project.
There are other considerations too; hiring technical staff, the management of a technical team, and making sure that your software app is built professionally.
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Cut out the head scratching and get professional input to help you navigate the challenges, and pitfalls of software development, so you can get your software built quickly and efficiently.
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You can contact us anytime at courses[@]purposefulgroup.com.
Who is the Tech Startup Academy™ Programme for?
Tech Startup Academy™ is for you if want assistance to get from "idea to launch" with your tech driven business "the smart way" and you:
  • Have an idea that you want to translate into a web, or mobile app to start a side-hustle, or a full-time business
  • You want to transition from a full-time / 9-5 job into life as a business owner / entrepreneur
  • Are an existing business owner / entrepreneur who wants to transition to building software based products

Our Tech Startup Academy™  90-Day Fast Track Programmes will carry you all the way from your basic idea, right through to launching and marketing your business. When you join a TSA programme, you'll have the option to gain an accredited diploma, and exclusive access our online community, Mastermind Q&A support sessions, founder promotion service, and our documents and templates, and more! You'll be guided through 6 core modules of learning  - Dream It, Plan It, Design It, Manage It, Launch It and Market It, and will be shown what you need to know and do to successfully pass through each stage of the process.

What are the benefits of joining the programme?
Prevention is better than cure! We come across a lot of horror stories because people tend to make incorrect assumptions about what will happen, simply hope for the best, or rely on guesswork when starting their businesses - often without prior business experience, or tech know-how.

It's easier to avoid problems, than it is to get yourself out of the sticky situations that new tech founders can find themselves in because they are new to software development and tech, and "don't know what they don't know."
Mistakes are easy to make, but can be hard to fix.
It's wise to avoid pitfalls, get "clued up," and to work smart from day 1, so you can bypass the dramas and misadventures that create stress and frustration. 
Take a look at the many testimonials we've received and judge for yourself! Hundreds of startups have attended our workshops, and we consistently receive excellent feedback.

You'll be learning from qualified professionals, and learning in a small group of like-minded people means you will feel less isolated and a positive "team" environment in which to learn, as you pursue your business goals.

How else will the workshops and programmes help me?
You'll save time, money, and even your sanity to some extent!
The truth is that whenever a person starts a new business, they are in a race against time to make it profitable before they run out of funds. You will also be battling to make the smartest decisions possible at each stage, rather than ones that will send you off track, create delays, or cause your fledgling business to founder.

Therefore, it's sensible to do everything you can as a business owner to make sure you don't get caught out by avoidable, and unnecessary issues - too many mistakes can directly affect your chances of success.
Aim to get your software built quickly, economically, and with minimal fuss. Knowledge and development of your skills as an entrepreneur can help you do this.

Don't rely on luck - knowing the do's and don'ts and which tools, tech and software exist to make starting and running your business easier will save you huge amounts of energy and constant research - a person "in the know" can tell you things that will save you many months of time if you had to work them out by yourself.

​We get this feedback directly from our clients, who don't always know about the best resources or tools that exist to solve their problems!

What is the Diploma programme?
Our programmes are a cost and time-efficient alternative to an MBA, or Masters in Entrepreneurship. These programmes can cost in excess of £10,000 and take upwards of 12 months to complete.

We offer an online business school for tech startups.
Our programmes are intensive, fast-track programmes that are interactive, delivered "live" and designed to lead to a specific outcome - the rapid evolution and development of your business.
With us you won't just be learning business and entrepreneurship theory, your learning will be hands-on. You will be able to rapidly apply what you learn in order to achieve real, practical outcomes as an entrepreneur, and the resources, support and strategy we provide will put you a direct path to getting your business off the ground. In fact, you may leave us with a prototype, or with the first version of your product ready for use with your first customers. (This is often referred to as an MVP.)
For those that want to formalise their learning, our programmes can be taken with additional assessments, which if passed will earn you a Diploma in Technology & Software Entrepreneurship, with additional letters after your name. Additional fees apply.

Why else should I join a Tech Startup Academy™ workshop or programme? 
Because knowledge is power! Unless you know what to look for, and know what to do (and what not to do) people starting tech based businesses invariably run into problems. We come across a lot of horror stories, and it can be stressful, and heart -breaking for people when things go wrong. It can be even more disappointing when issues were avoidable - the problem is that you "don't know what you don't know" when you're getting started.
These blind spots can be dangerous, and put entrepreneurs in vulnerable positions.
It's also hard to know where to look for quality (and accurate) information. Most information is too high level, too random(!), or too general to be of personal use, especially if you're still finding your way around the topic, and don't know which bits of information to take seriously, and which to ignore.
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Learning through trial and error makes starting a business more of a struggle than it needs to be.
Each one of our workshops will save you months, or even years of having to learn through hard experience - there are many tech entrepreneurs that are trying to build their businesses who have no idea about some of the things we teach the founders that work with us! 
Get on the fast track by learning from people who've worked in the industry, worked with developers and can help you make the best possible start with your tech venture!

How does the programme work?
​The sessions take the form of focused, practical workshops run at weekends.
You will also have regular Q & A and mentoring sessions, and there is always plenty of discussion and interactivity.
Each workshop is focused on a specific part of your journey as a tech startup founder.

The sessions are friendly, so make yourself at home, don't be shy and get the most from your time with Kay, our CEO, founder, and resident tech and software delivery specialist, who leads the programme.

Got questions? Contact us and we'll get right back to you.

Which payment methods do you accept?
You can pay for your place on a Tech Startup Academy™ Programme via Visa, MasterCard, or American Express.

Can I pay in instalments?
Managing payments in instalments requires additional administration, monitoring and maintenance from our side which increases our costs. Keeping the payment process simple allows us to keep the investment cost as low as possible, and gives us more time to focus on the most important part of the programme - YOU!

In exceptional circumstances we will accept payments in 2 or 3 instalments. Prices will vary from the cost of paying upfront in one instalment. If you would like to do this, please email us at courses@purposefulgroup.com.

Because external, professional input will bring new insights and a professional perspective, and also because information on how to build, and manage a tech business is specialist knowledge!

We'll advise you on scenarios you may not yet have considered, and taking advantage of an expert point-of-view will save you time and money.

We regularly see things that entrepreneurs like you might spend weeks working on by yourself that can be cleared up by us in the course of a workshop, or mentoring discussion!

In some cases founders even put their plans on hold because they are stuck, and we are able to get them "unstuck" and moving forward, sometimes when they thought that no solution existed.


I want to sign up! But I have a busy lifestyle. How can I make it work?
Sessions take place at the weekends, and are arranged flexibly, so you'll still have plenty of time to manage the other parts of your life!
The programme is intensive, so when you join the Tech Startup Academy™ you’ll be supported for 90 days as you validate, plan, design, build, launch and market your software.
We recommend allocating 5-10 hours per week to working on your business, so consistent input becomes a habit. This will lead to faster progress, however if you have less time, but would still like to get started, you can still join the programme.

Focusing now, and committing time to get where you want to be over 90 days is far more efficient than letting your idea go to waste, watching someone else get there first, or dragging out the process over many months or years...

Contact us if you'd like to discuss this.

How will this work for my time-zone? 
Mentoring
Our clients are based all over the world – when we mentor, some US clients like to do a morning call before work between 6 and 9 a.m. at their local time. In Australia we talk to clients in the evening at their local time.

Programmes
We work with European entrepreneurs, and North American founders on Central Time (CT) and Eastern Time (EST).

What’s your refund policy?
14 days for our programmes. If you have already started the programme within the 14 days, you will receive a full refund, less the cost of any workshops you have already taken.

Can I join with an entrepreneur friend or co-founder?
When 2 or 3 founders join together, you each get a massive 33% discount off the full price of your investment to join us. This discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. Contact us if you'd like to know more.

To get your cofounder discount please contact us. Send us your name, and the names of your cofounders and if your applications are accepted, you will all receive the resources and benefits given to Academy members.

What happens after my 90 days in the Academy have passed?
You can continue to have access to group mentoring twice a month, receive text based support from us through our community chat service, and retain access to our private community for tech founders on a rolling 3 month "quarterly subscription plan."


When does it start?
Our next intake will be for April, 2022 for our Tech Startup Academy™ 90-day Classic and Diploma Programmes.

How will I learn?
Through live online workshops, and mastermind / Q&A sessions run via video conference. (All workshops are run online at present as at June 2021.)
No parts of the programme are pre-recorded and you will work directly with us throughout your entire experience.
How do I join a general workshop?
In addition to our comprehensive 90-day programmes, we run a range of short free and paid public workshops and masterclasses which run for between 1 - 3 hours.

Please check our Events, Workshops and Webinars page to find out about our latest events.
How long have you been doing this? ​
We've been delivering software since 2004. We've lead and worked in teams delivering multi-million pound digital projects for household name international / corporate companies, and helped business of all sizes to create commercial-grade, professional software products used by hundreds and thousands of users globally from scratch.

We have also assisted our clients with the selection, adaptation, and configuration of a wide range of systems.

We work across all sectors and have assisted clients from the following industries:
B2B, B2C, Media / Agency Services, Travel & Tourism, Aviation, Public sector, Social Media, 
Ecommerce, Logistics, Productivity, Consulting, 
​Marketing (MarTech), Property (PropTech), Fashion (FashionTech), Beauty and Well-being, Health tech / Medical Services, Customer Relationship Management, News & Media, Finance, banking / FinTech, and Ed Tech.

We are recognised by the UK government as a provider of adult learning, and we regularly run our masterclasses and workshops at UK universities, and deliver the Tech Startup Academy™ programme at high profile, and award winning accelerators.

Our CEO and founder, K.N. Kukoyi CSM FITOL has been featured in the Financial Times as one of the #IB100 top 100 BAME leaders in the UK technology sector. 
She is a qualified tech professional, and has been an entrepreneur since 2009. She is a also a qualified coach and digital marketer, and has taught technology and entrepreneurship at degree level at the National College of Digital Skills.
​You can find out more about her here.
How could I benefit from having a mentor?
Having a mentor gives you a place to air your concerns, and find answers to the questions that are on your mind relating to what to do, and how to do it. You may have been asking yourself a lot of questions, and wondering: 
  • How will I get my SaaS, web app, or mobile app built?
  • What process should I follow? What are the steps that I need to take?
  • ​What about CTOs, technical architects and tech co-founders?
  • Should I hire an agency, and project manager, or just a developer?
  • How will I manage the work they do for me?
  • How can I avoid making unnecessary mistakes, and wasting time and money?
  • How will I get the results I want?

You can find out more about our mentoring services here.

It's common for startups to be missing the answers to some of these very important questions, but when you work with us, we can:
  • Save you time and effort by guiding you through the software creation process
  • Answer your questions and help you get focused on the actions that you need to take
  • Speed up your learning curve, and fill in the gaps in your knowledge so you can make faster progress
  • Discuss your options, and the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches, so you can make the right business decisions
  • Direct you towards business and tech resources that will make it quicker and easier to build, market and sell your product 
  • Show you how to avoid common pitfalls and mistakes - and help you create a framework to manage the build process
  • Help you prepare and plan your next steps, so you can move forward with a clear sense of direction and purpose
 
​You might choose to "go it alone" and spend hours trawling the Internet, piecing details together to try and work out what you need to do next - a frustrating, risky, and time-consuming exercise, especially if tech isn't your thing, and there may be a steep learning curve. You also may pick up advice that is poor quality, or not directly relevant to your needs, which can create a whole new set of issues.

You might also try asking people you know, but this usually won't be enough to give you the specific answers and information you need to make solid decisions, or give you access to the dedicated time that you need to reach the right conclusions.

When is mentoring useful?
These are the most common reasons that clients contact us. A professional opinion can be extremely valuable when:
  • You want to focus and make rapid progress
  • You’re feeling unsure about the best course of action, or you have several options and you’re not sure which to go with, and you’d like a professional opinion
  • You have a very specific question, scenario, or challenge, that you would like to discuss, or have us work through with you
  • You want to brainstorm and discuss a range of ideas
  • You’re feeling, anxious, or stressed, or like you’re going round in circles
  • You'd like help with planning and strategy

Learn more about our mentoring services here.
Where do workshops take place?
All workshops and programmes take place online.
Our workshops and programmes are not pre-recorded and you will learn with us live.