Introduction to Evo Fashion
Kick off your Evo Fashion journey with an in-depth introduction to the program’s content, themes, and schedule. This session provides a comprehensive look at the 4 full-day workshops, legal webinar and a dedicated pitching showcase, designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed for success in the fashion-tech industry. The introductory session will highlight the topics covered on each workshop day, helping you plan and prepare for your team’s participation. You’ll also meet the lead facilitators who will guide you through each phase of the program.

Opening Circle: Getting to know each other
Introductions from everyone in the room, who you are, your brand and what you are working on.

Game of Incorporation: Motivations and Challenges
This is a quick exercise that helps us all get to know, not just what you are doing but, your motivations and the challenges you are facing right now in taking your venture forward. These are things that will both move you forward and potentially also hold you back, so the more open you can be, early in the course, the more chance you’ll have to learn and grow.

The Fashion Industry’s Impacts and Innovation Opportunities (Part 1)
In this mini-deepdive, Brooke Roberts-Islam sets the scene and establishes the role of sustainability in the fashion industry. This session offers a clear and focused exploration of the current state of the industry, highlighting key processes, supply chains, technologies, and business models. Brooke simplifies complex sustainability challenges and identifies the actions that can make the biggest difference, helping you understand the urgent steps required to reduce the industry’s impact on people, nature, and the climate. You’ll learn where innovation and solutions are most urgently needed, and gain valuable insights into the macro ‘sustainability’ actions that have the capacity to deliver the most critical impact reductions.

Reflections: What Does This Make You Think, Feel, Want to Do
Tom Farrand leads this session which encourages you to take a moment and reflect on how you feel about the course and insights gained so far. You’ll have the chance to share your thoughts amongst breakout groups in an exercise that fosters active and empathetic listening.

The Fashion Industry’s Impacts and Innovation Opportunities (Part 2)
In this session, Brooke shifts the focus from the current state of the fashion industry to the emerging opportunities driven by innovation and regulatory changes. You’ll explore how new impacts, legal requirements, and compliance obligations are creating unique opportunities for businesses to innovate and adapt. Brooke will guide you through the evolving landscape, highlighting the intersections between sustainability, technology, and regulation, and how these changes can be leveraged to drive progress in your business.

Breakout Session
In groups, discuss how specific industry challenges and opportunities connect to different types of innovations. You will each receive a worksheet to help outline how these industry realities may impact your business and competitors. This session is designed to encourage collaborative thinking and strategic planning. After group discussions, Brooke will lead a short debrief to highlight key findings and innovative ideas that emerge from the activity.

Purpose Placards
In this short exercise, you will get the chance to visualise your personal intentions, motivations and challenges for the course ahead in a simple, fun and creative way. This will serve as a foundation to come back to during the course, so you can reflect on your progress, and see what else you might need to learn or explore, to keep moving towards your goals.

Listening as a Superpower
Tom Farrand will lead a session introducing you to new ways to listen and with a set of different choices you can make in how you process information and show up in conversation. You will start to practise these immediately in small groups in an exercise to set your personal intentions for the course ahead, creating the conditions for optimal learning.

Reflections
A moment to check in and reflect on the day. What was exciting, challenging or surprising to you? And what are you taking away from today that you’ll carry into this evening and tomorrow?

Welcome Dinner
Round off the day with dinner at Inis, a new local restaurant that celebrates produce, provenance and simplicity, and continue conversations with themes and talking points provided to guide discussions.

Finding Flow – Energy Management
This morning session will delve into your current ways of working, creativity and what gives and takes energy away from you. You’ll explore the conditions that enable you to find your flow and do your best work. On the flip side, we’ll also look at ways to avoid burnout so you can protect your well-being as you develop your business.

Start-Up Case Study and Analysis
In this session, Brooke Roberts-Islam will present a comprehensive start-up case study that touches on all the key topics covered throughout the programme. This case study is designed to prime you for the upcoming workshops, encouraging you to think critically about each topic in advance. Brooke’s analysis and the featured start-up will help you identify and explore the essential questions and challenges relevant to your own business journey.

Breakout Session
In this breakout session, you’ll assess how the insights from your first day at the Evo Fashion Launchpad directly influence and impact your business. You’ll work on identifying key areas of focus for your product, service, and business model. Worksheets will be provided to guide your evaluation, helping you apply the case study findings to your own business strategy. This session is designed to refine your approach and set clear priorities as you move forward in the programme.

Final Feedback and Discussion
Round off the start-up case study with a critical analysis session and open discussion.

Peer Power
The last thing we’ll be doing is introducing the peer coaching format that will form the basis of your peer-to-peer group sessions. Peer learning, for founders, is fundamental to building a support and accountability network that will help you to learn and experiment with the challenges you are facing during the course.

Peer-to-Peer Group Session
The first of your peer-to-peer sessions will be guided to help you establish a working format for future meetings. This is your opportunity to check-in with one another, share challenges faced as a founder and business, and encourage mutual support and collaboration.

This is your opportunity to check-in with one another, share challenges faced as a founder and business, and encourage mutual support and collaboration.

ESG History and Frameworks: UK and Abroad
This module provides an in-depth exploration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, tailored to the fashion and textile sectors. You’ll start with a sector-agnostic overview of ESG and then dive into the specific challenges and opportunities in fashion. Key focus areas:

Exercise: Evaluate Your Business
A quick exercise that encourages you to explore the following questions within the context of your business:

ESG Tools, Methods and Evaluation
This module delves into the evaluation of various tools and methodologies essential for ESG compliance, as touched upon in the first session of the day. Explore standards, requirements, and limitations of the Science-Based Targets, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Fashion Charter, Global Reporting Initiative, and the Higg Index. This session will also cover audit processes for due diligence and compliance, and other methodologies for impact assessment – including evaluating Chain of Custody certifications versus ‘forensic’ traceability.

ESG in Practice
Ed Brial, CEO and Co-Founder of Materra, shares insights into how their ESG and sustainability strategy was initially established, and its evolution as the business has grown and pivoted. Learn how Materra supports its brand partners in meeting their ESG commitments, providing real-world examples of compliance and innovation in the fashion industry.

In Conversation
Brooke Roberts-Islam and Ed Brial discuss the key ESG challenges faced by startups and offer practical approaches for overcoming them. The conversation will conclude with a Q&A, providing the opportunity to gain insights into how these strategies can be applied to your own venture.

Exercise: ESG Mapping for Your Business
A quick exercise that encourages you to explore the following questions within the context of your business:

Write A Sustainability Statement
Craft a statement that expresses your commitment to and approach towards sustainability. Guidance, tips and a framework will be provided to help communicate your values, intentions and strategies on environmental impact and social responsibility.

A one-to-one session with sustainability and innovation expert Brooke Roberts-Islam to help best curate the most relevant approach to supporting your brand’s needs and sustainability goals.

Business Models and Unique Value Proposition with Tom Farrand
This morning, Tom will guide you through a deep-dive into the business model canvas, with a focus on defining and refining your unique value proposition. A well-defined value proposition will help you to clearly communicate the unique benefits you offer to customers, ensuring alignment with customer needs and desires. Refining this core message will help you to position yourselves effectively, strengthen customer engagement, and create a compelling brand narrative that drives growth and differentiation.

Simple and Practical Financial Modelling with Stuart Balmer
During your afternoon session, you’ll explore key areas of financial modelling, aligned with the business model canvas. This half-day workshop will cover how to analyse costs, develop revenue streams, and forecast sales growth using tools such as 3D/4D modelling concepts. You will also delve into cash flow management, income statements, and pricing strategies, and receive a practical toolkit to support your financial sustainability and business growth.

This is your opportunity to check-in with one another, share challenges faced as a founder and business, and encourage mutual support and collaboration.

An opportunity to deep dive into any of the topics highlighted in the Finance: Models, Budgets and Forecasting workshop, as they relate to your business. Receive tailored advice and to come away from the programme with a robust and achievable financial plan.

A comprehensive overview of Intellectual Property (IP) that explores the world of patents, trademarks, copyright and confidentiality agreements, outlining the essentials of safeguarding your business and products. You’ll learn how intellectual property arises and how to protect it, with a focus on the nuances of IP relating to technology, software and AI. Lastly, you’ll receive practical advice on costs and funding opportunities to support the protection of your products and services.

Marketing and Communications with James Poletti, Strategy Partner at 33Seconds
This session begins with a deep dive into two macro factors reshaping marketing: the shift towards net zero, which is driving innovation and changing consumer behaviours, and the blurring lines between B2B and B2C marketing, influenced by digital commerce and consumer awareness of ingredient brands (such as Gore-tex or Polartec).

You’ll then move on to brand strategy, exploring the crucial difference between brand, proposition, and positioning. James will offer practical frameworks to simplify these concepts, provide best-practice examples, and you’ll engage in exercises to define your brand identity and positioning.

Next, James will cover marketing strategy. You’ll learn how to craft a customer journey, applying the AIDA model (awareness-interest-desire-action) and building a communications framework that aligns with media strategy. This hands-on session will equip you with the tools and insights needed to build a strong, consumer-focused brand and marketing approach.

Leadership and Shadow Behaviours with Tom Farrand
People-coach, Tom Farrand, will lead you through a process to understand your personality preferences, and how you can grow your personality in the ways you most want or need. This will help you better develop yourself as a founder and set a course for the next stage of your personal growth.

This is your opportunity to check-in with one another, share challenges faced as a founder and business, and encourage mutual support and collaboration.

A one-to-one coaching session with Tom Farrand. The aim of the session is to identify any areas where you and/or your team are stuck, and to help you get the energy flowing so that you can move forward.

Investment Readiness with Andy Ayim, GuessWorks
This morning’s workshop aims to help you navigate the funding landscape. The session kicks off with an exploration of different funding strategies, walking through various funding options while highlighting the common pitfalls and sharing examples to help you determine the right path for your business.

Andy will also guide you on finding and connecting with investors, offering practical tips on identifying the right investors and building relationships early. You’ll draft a funding strategy that considers important aspects, including which investors are most likely to convert, how to think about funding and dilution over multiple rounds, and matching your business needs with the lifestyle you want as you build your venture.

The workshop will also dive into what investors look for in a pitch deck, helping to refine your pitch to effectively highlight key business strengths. In the final segment, you’ll work on enhancing your deck, receiving peer-to-peer feedback and expert insights to improve your overall fundraising strategy.

This comprehensive session will equip you with the knowledge and tools to confidently approach investors and secure funding that aligns with your business goals.

How to craft a memorable pitch with Ginny Radmall, Founder of The Ivy Way
Elevate your pitch in this interactive workshop that explores how to craft a compelling story, capture your audience’s attention and explain your product in a memorable way. You will also receive constructive feedback on your pitch and hone your ability to convey your ideas with confidence and conviction. Create the perfect pitch whether you’re seeking investment or partnership opportunities.

Pitch your business to a panel of investors, including VCs, angels, crowdfunding platforms and more, all interested in sustainable, fashion tech solutions. Build your network and forge relationships for the future of your business.