In brief
The Baytree Centre team joined Gate One to support their aspiring female entrepreneurs who needed new ways to develop early-stage ideas into viable concepts. Through a pro bono workshop, the Gate One team introduced a “non-ideation” process to deconstruct challenges, covered the practical foundations of starting a business, and provided access to an online incubator platform. The session provided attendees with a clear framework for problem-solving, helping them break down large problems into smaller, actionable challenges.
Baytree’s challenge
The Baytree Centre is a UK-registered social inclusion charity based in Brixton, South London and a longstanding part of the local community. For over three decades, Baytree has supported women, girls, refugees and migrants facing barriers to work and education to build confidence, develop skills and access new opportunities. That support makes a real difference: around one third move into employment, and over 60% continue into further education.
As part of this journey, some of the women supported by Baytree were at an early stage of exploring self-employment and social enterprise. They were keen to find new ways of thinking about ideas and challenges, both in business and wider, and to understand how early concepts could be developed into something viable. Baytree called on Gate One to support this thinking, helping build confidence, clarity and structure through a non-ideation approach.
Our approach: Helping aspiring entrepreneurs think differently
The pro bono workshop was designed to create space away from day-to-day pressures, allowing participants to tap into ideas and aspirations they already hold but do not always feel able to voice.
We introduced a non-ideation process – an approach to problem solving that deliberately avoids traditional brainstorming. This is a session we typically run at the start of every incubator cohort and is designed to help people think differently about problems. We do this by pulling challenges apart, examining them from multiple angles, and questioning whether they are the right problems to solve in the first place, before moving to solutions.
Alongside this, we:
- introduced the practical foundations of starting a business, including different financing options and a walkthrough of company registration and early-stage requirements.
- gave participants access to our online incubator platform, enabling them to continue developing their thinking in their own time.
”Gate One took the time to really listen and guide the women and young people through a different way of thinking, without pushing towards readymade answers. This has given them a practical framework they can continue to use to approach challenges more clearly and make better decisions in the future.
It was genuinely heartening to see the women welcomed and supported by Gate One in such a warm, open and encouraging environment. Thank you again for creating such an impactful and uplifting experience for our community.
Sham MinhasSocial Mobility Coach, The Baytree Centre
Our aim wasn’t to necessarily generate new ideas in the room, but to create the space for participants to break the problems down into smaller, clearer challenges which helped them to think differently and more practically about what they might do next.
Key results: Providing pro bono business mentoring and incubator access
Participants left the session with practical techniques, enabling them to approach problems with greater clarity and confidence. We guided them through the key steps involved in setting up a business, should they choose to pursue that route, and given access to Gate One’s Incubator online resources to continue developing their thinking beyond the workshop.
Through the session, we saw participants move away from default or obvious solutions, taking time to break challenges down into their individual components and rebuild them with greater intention. Rather than leaving with a single, broad problem statement, participants began to surface four or five more focused challenges, smaller, clearer and easier to act on. Using a non-ideation approach created the space for participants to step back, prioritise what mattered most, and move forward with greater clarity, confidence and purpose, often in ways that felt more achievable and grounded.
However, for the women, the day went beyond a traditional learning session. For many it offered the opportunity to step out of their local area and spend time in a central London workplace environment. Being welcomed into the Havas office created a sense of possibility and helped make entrepreneurial ideas feel more tangible and achievable.
Since the workshop, several participants have asked Baytree to run a follow-on programme, keen to explore the incubator course content in a supportive environment. They want to build on what they’ve learned and continue developing their ideas with greater confidence and structure. Attendees left feeling encouraged, with a clearer understanding of what it takes to start a business and a stronger belief that their ideas are valid, viable, and worth pursuing.
Participant feedback highlighted the impact of the session, with many describing how it created space to think differently, build confidence, and explore ideas without pressure:
