We’re often asked where founders can find practical help beyond policy change. Below are the government services and organisations we most often point entrepreneurs to. If you have feedback, would like to suggest a resource, or would like your organisation to be featured, please get in touch.

    • Business.gov.uk is the government’s official portal for support with starting, running and growing a business, including guides, funding tools and advice.

    • Set up a business (GOV.UK) provides official step-by-step guidance on choosing a business structure and registering with HMRC and Companies House.

    • Companies House handles company incorporation, registration and filing, and provides guidance on company structure and directors’ responsibilities.

    • HMRC Tax Confident provides tax guidance for new business owners.

    • British Library Business & IP Centre (BIPC) provides free training, workshops, market research tools and one-to-one support through a national network of public libraries.

    • Enterprise Nation provides free online courses and tools on social media, branding and business basics.

    • Growth Hubs provide free local advice, workshops and referrals for people starting and growing a business. (England only)

    • Business Gateway is Scotland’s national business advice service, offering free one-to-one start-up guidance and local workshops. (Scotland only)

    • Business Wales is the Welsh Government’s fully funded business support service, offering independent advice on starting, running and growing a business. (Wales only)

    • Invest NI is Northern Ireland’s economic development agency, offering funding, innovation, export and entrepreneurship programmes to help businesses start and grow. (Northern Ireland only)

    • British Business Bank is the government-owned development bank, running finance programmes and a Finance Hub to help smaller businesses access loans, equity investment and guarantees.

    • Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, provides government-backed personal loans of up to £25,000 for business purposes, with 12 months of free mentoring.

    • Finance and Support for Business (GOV.UK) is the government’s search tool for grants, loans, training and workshops, filtered by business stage and region.

    • UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) is the trade body for angel and early-stage investment, providing guidance for founders on raising investment and a directory of angel networks and early-stage funds.

    • Better Business Finance is a banking-industry initiative providing information and tools to help businesses understand their finance options and find appropriate funding.

    • ThatRound is a platform that helps early-stage founders raise equity by matching them with relevant angel networks, syndicates and VC funds.

    • Barclays Demo Directory is a free Barclays platform where founders can list their business, with an optional short pitch video, for its network of investors and corporates to browse, alongside regular demo days for early-stage businesses.

    • Scottish Enterprise provides grants and co-investment funding to help businesses innovate and grow. (Scotland only)

    • Development Bank of Wales provides loans and equity investment to help businesses start, strengthen or expand. (Wales only)

    • Invest NI provides grants, loans and co-investment to help businesses grow and innovate. (Northern Ireland only)

    • Enterprise Management Incentives (GOV.UK) provides official guidance on EMI, the main tax-advantaged share option scheme for smaller companies, covering eligibility, tax treatment and how to grant options.

    • Employee Ownership (GOV.UK) provides official guidance on employee ownership trusts (EOTs), their tax treatment and how to transfer a business into employee ownership.

    • Employee Ownership Association provides guidance, events and peer support for businesses considering or operating employee ownership.

    • Co-operatives UK provides guidance and support on co-operative and shared-ownership business models.

    • Small Business Commissioner provides free advice and support to help small businesses resolve late payment disputes with larger businesses.

    • Business Debtline provides free, confidential debt advice to self-employed people and small business owners.

    • Unlock Your Numbers (Xero) provides free financial learning and mentoring to help underrepresented small business owners manage their finances.

    • Wise provides international payments and multi-currency business accounts. Founders signing up through The Entrepreneurs Network get their first transfer fee-free, up to £10,000.

    • Help to Grow: Management provides a government-subsidised leadership and management programme for SME leaders, delivered through UK business schools.

    • Be the Business provides free mentoring, peer learning and practical tools to help SME leaders improve how they run their businesses.

    • Enterprise Nation provides online communities, events and learning for small business owners.

    • Foundology is a global peer-coaching community for startup and scale-up founders. Its FounderCircles are confidential, founder-only groups where members pressure-test decisions and work through leadership challenges together. Christina Richardson, Founder, is an Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network.

    • Helm is a peer network for founders and CEOs of scale-ups with over £2m revenue and 20 or more employees, offering monthly forums chaired by exited founders, more than 160 events a year and one-to-one support.

    • Nurole is a board search specialist that helps founders and investors recruit chairs, non-executive directors and advisers for growing companies.

    • Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme provides intensive coaching, mentoring and masterclasses for high-growth businesses. (Wales only)

    • Business Gateway provides leadership development workshops and adviser support for founders and senior managers. (Scotland only)

    • Employing People (GOV.UK) provides official guidance on hiring staff, pay, pensions, leave and employer responsibilities.

    • Employment Changes for Employers (Business.gov.uk) provides official guidance on the employment rights reforms and what employers need to do.

    • Acas provides free, impartial guidance on employment law, HR practices and workplace dispute resolution. (Great Britain only)

    • Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides free guidance and tools to help businesses meet workplace health and safety obligations. (Great Britain only)

    • Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) provides guidance, tools and best-practice resources on HR, people management and workforce planning.

    • Freshminds provides interim and permanent talent for scaling businesses, from a curated network of directors, consultants and analysts. James Callander, Managing Director, is an Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network.

    • People Puzzles provides fractional People Directors who work part-time within leadership teams on HR strategy, structure, workforce planning, leadership development and reward. Helen Stenhouse, Co-Managing Director, is an Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network.

    • Labour Relations Agency provides free advice and dispute resolution services on employment matters. (Northern Ireland only)

    • Digital Boost provides free mentoring and workshops to help small businesses improve their digital marketing and online sales.

    • Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) provides guidance and best-practice resources on communications and reputation management.

    • Growth Hubs provide free advice, workshops and referrals on business growth, including sales and marketing. (England only)

    • Business Wales provides guidance and adviser support on marketing strategy, branding and sales growth. (Wales only)

    • Business Gateway provides training and one-to-one advice on marketing, e-commerce and commercial growth. (Scotland only)

    • UK Export Finance provides government-backed loans, guarantees and insurance to support UK exporters.

    • Export Support Service (Business.gov.uk) provides free, tailored advice on exporting rules, customs and international trade.

    • Wise provides international payments and multi-currency business accounts. Founders signing up through The Entrepreneurs Network get their first transfer fee-free, up to £10,000.

    • Scottish Development International provides export advice, market intelligence and international growth support. (Scotland only)

    • Business Wales Export Support provides advice and support to help businesses find and develop overseas markets. (Wales only)

    • Invest NI Trade Services provides export advice and access to trade missions. (Northern Ireland only)

    • Innovate UK provides grants and support to help businesses develop and commercialise new products and services.

    • Innovation Funding Service lists open Innovate UK funding competitions and is where businesses apply for them.

    • Innovate UK Business Growth provides free one-to-one advice to innovative SMEs with high growth potential.

    • Catapult Network provides access to specialist facilities, expertise and partnerships to help businesses commercialise new technologies.

    • Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) part-fund projects in which a graduate works inside a business on an innovation project, supported by a university or research organisation.

    • Google Digital Garage provides free, self-paced courses and events on digital tools, from building a website to using AI and analytics.

    • Digital Boost provides free one-to-one mentoring to help small businesses choose and use digital tools across their operations.

    • Office for National Statistics (ONS) provides free official data on the UK economy, labour market and business trends.

    • Companies House Search provides free access to filed accounts, officers and ownership details for UK companies, useful for researching competitors, customers and partners.

    • British Library Business & IP Centre (BIPC) provides free access to premium market research databases and industry reports.

    • Beauhurst provides data on UK private companies, including funding rounds, financials and high-growth businesses, for market research, prospecting and benchmarking.

    • Find a Tender is the government’s central platform for public sector contract opportunities under the Procurement Act 2023.

    • Contracts Finder lists lower-value public sector contract opportunities, mainly in England.

    • Crown Commercial Service provides access to central government procurement frameworks and guidance for businesses selling to the public sector.

    • Tussell provides data and insight on UK public sector contracts and spending to help businesses find and win government work. Gus Tugendhat, Founder and Managing Director, is an Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network.

    • Public Contracts Scotland lists public sector contract opportunities. (Scotland only)

    • Sell2Wales lists public sector contract opportunities. (Wales only)

    • eTendersNI lists public sector contract opportunities. (Northern Ireland only)

    • The Insolvency Service provides official guidance on insolvency processes and directors’ responsibilities when a company is in financial difficulty.

    • R3 is the trade body for insolvency and restructuring professionals, with guidance for businesses in financial difficulty and a directory of advisers.

    • Business Debtline provides free advice to self-employed people and small business owners on dealing with business debt and financial difficulty.

    • Civil Mediation Council helps businesses find accredited mediators to resolve commercial disputes.

    • Fora provides flexible workspace, from a single desk to a whole floor, at more than 70 locations across London, the UK and Germany. Founders can claim a free day pass.

    • Business Rates Relief (GOV.UK) explains the reliefs available to businesses, including Small Business Rate Relief, and how to apply through your local council. (England only)

    • Check and Challenge Your Business Rates (GOV.UK) lets businesses check the rateable value of their property and challenge it if they think it is wrong. (England and Wales only)

    • UK Science Park Association (UKSPA) is the membership body for science parks and innovation campuses, and its directory helps research-intensive businesses find lab and specialist space.

    • Selling Your Business and Closing Down (GOV.UK) provides official guidance on selling, closing or transferring a business.

    • Business Asset Disposal Relief (GOV.UK) provides official guidance on the reduced rate of Capital Gains Tax available when selling all or part of a business.

    • Family Business UK provides guidance on succession planning for family-owned businesses.

    • Buzzacott provides M&A advisory services to help entrepreneurial businesses with exits, acquisitions, mergers and fundraising. Meera Shah, Head of M&A Advisory, is an Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network.

    • People Puzzles helps owners prepare for a sale, investment or employee ownership trust transition, and with succession planning, by building the leadership team and structure a business needs to run without its founder. Helen Stenhouse, Co-Managing Director, is an Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network.

    • MoneyHelper provides free, government-backed guidance on choosing a regulated financial adviser.

    • Mental Health at Work (Mind) provides free tools to support mental wellbeing at work.

    • Able Futures provides free, government-funded mental health support for employees and self-employed people.

    • Business in the Community provides free toolkits on employee wellbeing and responsible business practice.

    • FounderFuel Pulse (Foundology) is a free, research-based three-minute assessment that gives founders a personalised report on what underpins their performance and wellbeing, with founder-tested strategies for building capacity. Christina Richardson, Founder, is an Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network.

    • Ness Labs provides evidence-based articles, courses and tools on productivity and mental wellbeing at work. Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Founder, is an Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network.

    • New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) provides research and guidance to help individuals and organisations give effectively.

    • Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) provides support and guidance on structured, tax-efficient giving.

    • Founders Pledge is a community of founders who commit a share of their exit proceeds to charity, with research-led advice on where to give.

    • UK Community Foundations is the national network of community foundations, which help donors give to local causes.

    • UnLtd provides funding and support to people starting social enterprises.

    • Tax-Free Childcare (GOV.UK) provides official guidance on the scheme, under which the government adds 20% towards childcare costs for working parents, including the self-employed.

    • Maternity Allowance (GOV.UK) provides official guidance on Maternity Allowance, the main maternity payment for self-employed women.

    • Female Founders Forum is The Entrepreneurs Network’s programme for female founders, combining research, events and policy campaigning to tackle the barriers they face.

    • Prowess provides a free online hub with advice, women’s business networks and funding information.

    • Gingerbread provides free self-employment guidance for single parents.

    • Pregnant Then Screwed provides a helpline and rights guidance for pregnant women and mothers, including those returning to self-employment.

    • Access to Work (GOV.UK) provides a government grant to pay for support and equipment for disabled people in work, including the self-employed.

    • Hatch Enterprise provides free courses, mentor matching and grant access for ethnic minority founders.

    • Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK) provides a free entry-level tier for ethnic minority-owned businesses to build visibility and access corporate buyer networks.

    • National Black Women’s Network (NBWN) provides free networking and professional development support for Black women.

    • Lloyds Bank Academy provides free online learning and lived-experience mentoring for disabled, d/Deaf and neurodivergent founders.

    • OutBritain provides free networking and advocacy support for LGBTQ+ business owners.