“It helped me bring personal values and business values to the surface and into a coherent pitch.”
“You’ll gain confidence and knowledge in face-to-face pitches, especially with a new audience. The practice is invaluable.”
-
Ideal for early-stage entrepreneurs, startup founders, creatives, and anyone with a complex business idea from North-Essex who wants to communicate more clearly. Whether you're preparing to raise investment, launch a new product, or simply want to sharpen your storytelling — this is for you.
-
The North Essex Economic Board (NEEB) supports the following regions of Essex: Braintree, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Maldon, Tendring, and Uttlesford. These are all district and city councils within North Essex, and the Essex County Council joins them in this collaborative partnership.
-
No. The NEEB funding is only to be used for those registered in the following regions of Essex: Braintree, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Maldon, Tendring, and Uttlesford.
-
Each session includes opportunities for peer-to-peer and mentor-led feedback. While 1:1 feedback isn’t guaranteed, breakout groups and live pitch rounds give everyone direct, actionable input.
-
The final showcase event is a live pitch in front of a panel of experts, including investors, business advisors, and industry peers. It’s your opportunity to present your refined pitch and get high-value feedback and potential connections—the exact date and panel line-up TBC.
-
Not at all. We’ll help you build one throughout the course. By the end of the programme, you’ll walk away with a professionally structured pitch deck ready for investors or clients.
-
The core workshops are delivered online for maximum flexibility and accessibility. The final pitch event will be in person (venue and date TBC) to give you real-world experience and networking opportunities.
-
Pitch to Convince is a journey, not a single session. It blends storytelling, business modelling, brand development, financial clarity, and community-building into one cohesive programme, with weekly iterations and feedback. You don’t just learn how to pitch — you evolve how others experience your
-
Just bring your idea, an open mind, and the willingness to grow through feedback. We’ll provide the rest
-
It is not free, but it is fully funded, which means you do not pay for it; instead, Essex County Council and the NEEB programme do. The Weave successfully sell this programme for over £400 per person, so you are experiencing what others have paid for. How good is that?
-
It helps if you have more than just an idea, if you have a concept or venture you’re actively working on, this will maximise what you get from the course. The programme is designed to help you shape and evolve your idea through weekly practice and feedback.
-
We understand life gets busy. While attending all sessions will give you the full benefit of the programme, recordings or catch-up resources will be made available for those who miss a session. That said, live participation will maximise the impact of the feedback and peer learning.
The Weave and NEEB, in partnership, present Pitch to Convince. A fully funded NEEB programme starting on the 2nd of October 2025
Build a Business Story People Believe In
Delivered over eight weeks, join a cohort of North Essex businesses on a journey to improve their pitches, to gain investment, drive sales, and open up opportunities. All online, all delivered live, and full of chances to gain feedback from our qualified and respected team of facilitators.
Are you a North Essex business, ready to find a powerful new voice to attract customers, partners, and/or investors?
Pitch to Convince includes five-sessions of practical pitching workshops, supported by four webinars to help develop a pitch deck. Delivered over eight weeks, it is designed to help founders, creatives, and changemakers articulate what they do, why it matters, and how to pitch it confidently.
Whether you're just starting or refining an existing model, this programme helps you:
Craft a compelling narrative
Know and connect with your customer
Build a complete, resonant pitch deck
Deliver with clarity, confidence, and impact
Structure:
5 x Thursday sessions delivered every two weeks (Oct 2 – Nov 27, 9:30–11:30 AM)
4 x Tuesday evening webinars delivered every two weeks (4–5 PM, recorded)
Practical outputs after every session: videos, posts, and a pitch deck
A showcase event to present your business to a panel for feedback
🧠 You’ll leave with:✅ A full pitch deck tailored to your audience✅ 4 pieces of live, public content (2 videos + 2 posts) all of which have been boosted by engagement✅ Peer feedback, facilitator support, and real-time testing✅ Confidence in your purpose and clarity in your delivery
No homework. No heavy theory. Just you, your business, and the tools to tell your story.
Limited places – apply now.
Please note:
Only North Essex (UK) businesses are eligible to take part in this NEEB-funded program.
Meet Your Facilitators
-
James Cracknell, Co-Founder of The Weave, mentors entrepreneurs through the challenges of building meaningful businesses. With extensive experience in finance, leadership, and innovation, he co-leads The Weave, fostering a supportive community for founders. James provides calm insight, deep listening, and strategic guidance, helping leaders reflect and grow. He focuses on supporting the person behind the business, believing well-supported founders build the best companies.
-
Magdalena Mahdy is a qualified bookkeeper, business mentor, and founder of ProfitMIND, which combines finance skills and mindset work to help entrepreneurs succeed. With a marketing background and experience running creative businesses, she supports solo founders and small businesses with DIY finance training, bookkeeping, and cash flow forecasting. For over eight years, she has mentored students at the University of Essex, blending financial expertise with empathy to build confidence and clarity around
-
Director of Community Wellbeing
Having just recently joined The Weave, Sandrine is responsible for building a regional wellbeing hub for founders and business owners, to support The Weave’s mission to arrest founder burnout. She brings her expertise as a qualified Sophrologist and Wellbeing practitioner to lead a team of practitioners and coaches dedicated to providing sustainable, solution-focused practices. As a qualified Sophrologist, she aims to help combat founder burnout through her practice and other well-being methods. Sandrine has extensive experience delivering one-to-one sessions, group workshops, and self-care programs focusing on chronic stress, sleep, and anxiety management.
Facilitation, at its core, is about enabling groups to work effectively and achieve their goals. The Weave team are experienced facilitators with many years of practice to lean into. This is not our first rodeo. Far from it, we have delivered hundreds of events and consistently brought out the best in people. Our expertise ensures that every session is purposeful, engaging, and drives measurable results. Trust The Weave to turn your group’s potential into real achievement.
Testimonials
Testimonials
“The biggest thing was the feedback after each pitch, delivering what we needed to hear with warmth and enthusiasm, which made it easy to digest and act on—significantly improving our weekly progress.”
“It’s hugely beneficial to hone your skills to present your business more appropriately and effectively”
Company number: 12213782
VAT registration number: 335 4715 03
Registered Company Address: 46 Queens Road Queens Road, Earls Colne, Colchester, Essex, England, CO6 2RS
