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MSDUK Accelerator Programme Cohort 4

Eager to gain hands-on experience, enhance your business strategies, and establish a powerful network of like-minded peers? Then look no further. Joining the MSDUK Accelerator programme (Cohort 4) could be the transformative step your business needs. Just ask Suzanne Alleyne, Founder of Alleyne&, a consultancy renowned for its strategic services to global brands and dedication to creating equitable and resilient workspaces. Suzanne found her match in the MSDUK Accelerator, where active implementation, peer collaboration, and expert guidance converge to shape businesses like yours into thriving success stories. Embark on a journey that turns aspirations into achievements, refines knowledge gaps, and boosts your business to new heights  

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Suzanne was looking for an intensive opportunity to learn through active implementation and a cohort of peers to take her business through from concept to delivery and evaluation. The MSDUK Accelerator provided the perfect opportunity for Suzanne to test what she thought she knew about her business and fill in the gaps.  

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About Alleyne& 

Alleyne& is a consultancy that provides strategic services to global brands and supports organisations to create equitable, leveled-up, and resilient spaces, enabling people to thrive and succeed at work.  

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This consultancy is beyond the start-up phase; we know what our aspirations are, what type of clients we want to work with, and we know why we want to work with them. What we felt we needed was to go from delivery to evaluation and beyond. I was looking for an opportunity that was quite intensive as I personally don’t learn well purely from reading materials. Compared to other programmes we have taken part in, the MSDUK Accelerator has been game-changing for Alleyne&. There’s the saying, ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’, and the programme has shown us what we didn’t know.  

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Learning Experience 

Overall, I saw the whole learning experience come together as the sessions progressed throughout the four months with each workshop building atop of one another. We knew that as Alleyne&, we have found a gap in the market. But that is not the same as asking potential clients what needs that we will be servicing. The programme has supported us in knowing the right questions we should be asking our potential clients and understanding what exactly they need from us. It was clear that the facilitators and guest speakers chosen for these workshops are experts in their fields with a wealth of experience to offer.  

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A session that stood out to me was the ‘Hype Yourself PR Workshop’ because though this is a topic we have a lot of experience in, she broke it down clearly and made the information applicable for us. Also, the ‘Tendering Workshops’ stood out to me which had elements of speculative selling. During these sessions, we found that this is an area that we needed to improve on, and the guest speakers guided us through that process. The session was conversational and interactive whilst they were sharing expertise and knowledge about the tendering process. Following these sessions, we have continued the relationship with the guest speakers who ran these sessions, something that is welcomed and encouraged throughout the programme. 

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Pushing Tasks up the Priority List 

I would describe the module tasks as the chance for an entrepreneur to do the work they would need to do to build their business. We were fortunate in that when we were assigned a module task to complete, it would overlap and coincide with something we were trying to incorporate at Alleyne&. The format of experiencing the learnings and then speaking with the cohort which was followed with a task worked extremely well for us.  

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Whilst these tasks may seem like an extra thing to add to the to-do list, they truly are made to make us complete the things that we may have been pushing to the bottom of our priority list. In fact, for success needs, these are the type of tasks we pushed to the top of our priority list.  

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Demo Day  

One of the highlights for me attending the MSDUK Accelerator Demo Day and being one of the 10 businesses pitching was learning about how to talk to procurement teams and buyers. Learning about the procurement processes and understanding the sales cycle directly from the people within those teams was valuable. We learned not only do we need to convince them; we need to provide them with the knowledge they need to convince the correct people within their team. In addition to that, the real highlight of this Demo Day was feeling the sense of camaraderie amongst the cohort. Seeing the other 9 businesses pitch during the Demo Day, I felt that we were really rooting for one another. 

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Suzanne’s Biggest Takeaway 

As a founder and entrepreneur, I believe in interconnectedness and that if one part of your business is weak, it will affect the rest of the business. My biggest takeaway from this programme was seeing how every session and learning built upon one another showing the importance of interconnectedness.