AccelerateHER Stories

From investor curious to ready to contribute: Fiona Martin

How the Women to Women Programme helped Fiona Martin build the confidence, knowledge and perspective to become part of the...

From Setback to Ready to Raise – Lesley Thomson of Nudge Innovations

How the Women to Women Programme helped Lesley Thomson sharpen the story, numbers and confidence behind Nudge Innovations Building the...

Women to Women Programme: Applications 2026 Are Open

Applications are now open for the next Women to Women Programme, the peer-powered investment accelerator created by AccelerateHER and our...

How Eva Prikler is building a body-based wellbeing product for emotional regulation

Eva Prikler: Building Calming Solutions From Lived Experience When Eva Prikler joined the Barclays Eagle Labs Female Founder Accelerator, powered...

From Insomnia to Innovation: The Story Behind Zebble – Eliza Twist

How Eliza Twist turned a personal health challenge into a hardware startup designed to help people rest better Some founders...

Investing in Women Who Invest in Better Systems: The Petscribers Story

How Petscribers scaled from veterinary frustration to a funded startup with support of the Barclays Female Founder Accelerator, powered by...

Female founders don’t lack ambition – with Elizabeth Pirrie

Elizabeth Pirrie on the Barclays Eagle Labs Female Founder Accelerator, powered by AccelerateHER There’s a narrative that still lingers in...

The financial realities of scaling with Johnston Carmichael

Johnston Carmichael x AccelerateHER – Why the right support changes everything There’s a moment in every founder’s journey where things...

Female Founder Showcase – Support for female founders critical for unlocking economic growth says Deputy First Minister

AccelerateHER Female Founder Showcase: Backing Scotland’s Women to Build, Scale and Lead On Tuesday, 3 March 2026, 160+ investors, founders,...

“Launch, Raise & Scale” – Building a Bold Business with Dominnique Karetsos

After our London Big Connect event where Dominnique delivered an awesome keynote speech, we just had to sit down and...

From Accelerator to Alliance: A HealthTech Success Story

AccelerateHERstory: How a Chance Zoom Connection Sparked a HealthTech Collaboration Set to Reshape Clinical Trials When Lucie Legrandois and Hannah...

What Investors Really Want to See from Female Founders

A Conversation with Anna Vaughan of the Scottish National Investment Bank As Director, Marketing and Communications at the Scottish National...

Jacqueline Morrison: From Offshore Idea to Women in Innovation Winner

How Jacqueline Morrison is scaling, giving back and urging others to apply for the Women in Innovation Awards When you...

From Pilot To Platform: Nicky’s Wellness Traveller W2W Journey

How a five-week sprint sharpened the vision, numbers and confidence behind Wellness Traveller Stepping from pilot to platform When Nicky...

From Founder to Fundraiser: Natasha Allden’s W2W Journey

How Natasha Allden Built Confidence, Community and Momentum Through the W2W Programme Stepping into Scotland’s investment ecosystem When MULTIPLY Technology...

From Headhunter to Angel Investor: Susan Lindsay’s Inspiring W2W Journey

From curiosity to commitment When Edinburgh-based headhunter and business owner Susan Lindsay first saw a LinkedIn post shared by Julie...

AccelerateHERStories: Olivia Parkes – Redefining the Art of Personalisation

There’s a composure about Olivia Parkes that doesn’t ask for attention; it earns it. When she speaks, she’s clear, assured,...

W2W aims to increase Scottish female angel investor numbers

Scotland’s first all-female business angel syndicate, Investing Women Angels (IWA), and its sister organisation AccelerateHER have launched a new initiative...

Scotland must normalise female founder investment

Research published by Young Company Finance (YCF) last month, barely a week after we marked International Women’s Day, raises serious...

Investing in women isn’t a social obligation – it’s an economic imperative 

by AccelerateHER CEO and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Heriot-Watt University, Elizabeth Pirrie  2022 saw over 150,000 women in the UK start their...