Can I do this? Not alone.

I'm so humbled to have been accepted onto the Impact Central startup accelerator along with some amazing founders. ‘Humbled’ sounds a bit cliché, but my world often seems rather small. I spend nearly all of my days at home with two small children and my husband. I haven’t worked in an office for nearly six years so I am a little bit in shock that the amazing team at IC think I can make Borro a million pound business. Not that I don’t believe in the business idea but I think I struggle to think BIG.

Founder of Borro

Most of my first week has been about introspection. One of the key values of Impact Central is relationships. And this week has made me realise this is something I really need to work on. I have a few close friends (none of whom are in business), I didn’t do an MBA, I didn’t go to Oxbridge, I didn’t work in PWC or similar so I feel like I have NO helpful contacts, and I also wonder why anyone would want to help a start-up who can’t offer anything (financial) in return. I’m coming to realise that if I don’t build relationships, this business will never be bigger than me. But working with others is unfortunately not something that comes naturally. I do prefer to work alone so I can do things my way! I’ve been working as a freelancer for the past five years, so have been happy at home by myself, working by myself. But although it was easy, it was also boring. So I need to move out of this comfort zone.

I actually found this first sprint week really tiring, which might have had something to do with the children waking me up in the middle of the night and then 5:30, but I think it was mainly to do with interacting with people! I’m just not used to it! But I’m starting to realise that the more you spend time getting to know people, the more you empathise, are interested by their journeys, build a connection and really want to help. I think it really helps that the Impact Central team and other founders are all seeking to make a big environmental impact, so everyone has shared key values. I think that bonds you and is one of the great things about IC. I remember when I started working in publishing and we were having a conversation about grammar across the office and I thought ‘I’ve found my people’. I had this feeling again this week. I can’t wait to get the most out of this amazing programme. Watch this space!

Sarah - Founder of Borro

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