The CLIMB Accelerator Bootcamp is the annual acceleration component of the wider CLIMB Programme — a focused, cohort-based intensive built around the real operational and strategic challenges of scaling a creative or IP-led business. It includes expert-led workshops and masterclasses, peer-to-peer support and targeted mentorship. There are three core focus areas:
The Bootcamp runs over 8 weeks for a total of 46 hours, combining:
Dates:
By the end of the programme, participants will have:
The programme curriculum is organised around three interconnected themes:
Market-entry planning; strategic partnerships; regulatory navigation; and the protection and commercialisation of copyright and IP.
Public and private funding options; diversified funding strategies; the communication of scalability and market demand; and the development of relevant funder and investor relationships.
Team structures for scale; recruitment and capability planning; leadership through organisational change; and the transition from founder-led delivery to sustainable business leadership.
Additional Operational Foundation
Operational systems and structures, creative strategy and reducing founder dependency are considered across all three themes.
Mentorship and Peer Learning
A dedicated Mentorship Week in the programme provides two focused 45-60 minute sessions per business. Additional one-to-one sessions are built into the in-person weekends.
Facilitated peer learning is integrated throughout the programme. The cohort provides a structured setting in which founders can examine shared challenges, test assumptions and maintain accountability for implementation.
Participants of the CLIMB Accelerator Bootcamp will work with a wider group of facilitators, mentors and industry experts selected for their expertise across the programme’s core themes: market expansion and creative IP, investment and funding, and leadership and team development. This will give each business access to relevant specialist knowledge as well as targeted mentorship linked to its particular growth priorities.
Mary Carty FRSA is an investment, board and strategy adviser working at the intersection of capital, culture and inclusive growth. She sits on the Fund Advisory Panel of the €100M Western Investment Fund (Western Development Commission), and for six years was Non-Executive Director at Science Gallery International, overseeing its expansion from Europe to India, Australia and Mexico. She is CEO of Wilson & Keys.
She has founded and governed organisations where none existed before: co-founder of AwakenHub and the AwakenAngels syndicate, Outbox Incubator (the world’s first STEM incubator for girls), and Toddle, an email marketing SaaS platform scaled to 30,000+ users, acquired in 2013.
BAFTA-nominated for her work with the National Galleries of Scotland, she advises boards and funds deploying capital into the creative economy, and has shaped the institutions that capital reaches, from Meath Local Authorities Arts Office to LaunchPad and CREW.
Over more than two decades Mary has established the organisations, frameworks and civic infrastructure that open access, create opportunity and change what is possible.
Olga Kizina is a creative business advisor and organisational psychologist and with 15 years of experience supporting creative entrepreneurs, startups, and innovation programmes. She helps founders strengthen their leadership, build sustainable businesses, and develop effective teams while staying true to their creative vision.
Through her work with Creative Business Network, she led global programmes, including Creative Business Cup, Foreign Mentor Weekend, and Creative Business Academy, supporting creative businesses across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa in entering new markets and building international partnerships.
Since 2011, Olga has been designing educational programmes for creative entrepreneurs and serving as an expert at investor pitch events, hackathons, and startup competitions. Her hands-on experience and extensive work with founders enable her to tailor her approach to each business, taking into account the founder’s personal goals and strengths.
Declan is an experienced entrepreneur, business consultant and business mentor. He is founder of one of Ireland’s most distinctive, artisan food companies, Kinvara Smoked Salmon. He is a business mentor with CREW, Galway LEO, Mayo LEO, SCCUL and Enterprise Ireland and lecturer with UCD Innovation Academy and with the New Frontiers programme at ATU. He also delivers start-up courses to early stage and scaling entrepreneurs.
Sinéad specialises in talent attraction, development and retention strategy. With over 20-years’ experience establishing and leading award-winning talent programmes across banking, telecommunications and FMCG sectors, Sinéad has developed expertise in supporting organisations unlock the potential and power of its talent strategy to have maximum individual and organisational impact.
As founder of FUTURE-ROOTS talent strategy consultancy, & in her work as talent strategist, Sinéad partners with organisations to define their talent strategy across the full 360 employee experience from attraction to selection, onboarding, ongoing development, retention & off-boarding.
With a keen interest in the future of work, Sinéad is a keynote speaker on topics relating to the evolution of the workforce with particular focus on leveraging the strengths of the multi-generational workforce. She regularly contributes to national publications as a thought leader in the early talent space.
Claire Corbett is a creative industry leader and strategic consultant who helps businesses scale for long-term relevance and sustainable value.
For over two decades, she has steered and reshaped creative organisations through uncertainty, rapid growth, market expansion and structural reinvention. She has held multiple board roles, converging strategy and creativity with commercial performance.
Claire advises global networks, ambitious independents, founder-led studios, and emerging creative tech ventures on a central challenge: how to translate creative ambition into enterprise value. Her work sits at the nexus of strategy, IP, insight, and leadership behaviour.
The programme fee is €900, payable in two instalments, the first of which must be made in advance of the kick-off weekend.
The programme is being offered to the SME at 20% of the market rate with the remaining 80% supported by Enterprise Ireland’s Smart Regions scheme. The full programme is valued at €4,500. To avail of the discounted rate, all applicants are asked to confirm that they have the appropriate De Minimis balance to accept the support. More information on De Minimis State Aid can be found here: State Aid | Enterprise Ireland
The CLIMB Bootcamp will support a cohort of
creative founders who:
Participants are expected to engage at a strategic level, bringing real business challenges and opportunities into the programme.
Sectors welcomed
For queries regarding eligibility, contact Stephanie Ford, Programme Associate: Stephanie.ford@crewdigital.ie
The closing date for applications is Friday 18 September.
