This article is part of the Business Insights Series, where we explore how real entrepreneurs and changemakers approach business, community, and resilience. In this conversation, I spoke with Niraj Aryal, Head of Programmes at Trampoline NH C.I.C., a South London-based social enterprise supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Trampoline NH C.I.C. offers free and inclusive business support programmes to early-stage founders and local creatives. Their mission is to create accessible, community-rooted opportunities for people from diverse and underserved backgrounds to build and test business ideas. Through mentoring, training, and shared platforms, they work to reduce entry barriers and increase confidence in entrepreneurship.
Trampoline differs from traditional incubators in both form and function. It focuses on serving people who often don’t get a seat at the table, those with ideas, energy, and potential, but limited access to networks, capital, or mainstream business support. The emphasis is on creating pathways for participation where they didn’t previously exist. Niraj shared how Trampoline is addressing this gap with programmes that focus on early-stage support, confidence building, and real-world tools, and how his own path from Nepal to London shaped his perspective on what entrepreneurs actually need.
From working with university students in Kathmandu to supporting sole traders in Peckham, his journey reflects a pattern of direct involvement with those starting at a disadvantage. And it shows in how Trampoline designs its programmes.
The value of access before ambition
“Some barriers tend to be common to all groups, for example, discrimination, access to finance, access to relevant entrepreneurship advice, and lack of business skills and experience,” according to research from Enterprise Research AC. These systemic challenges particularly affect entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds who often face “double or even triple disadvantage” when establishing businesses.
Trampoline NH CIC has been operating since 2016, starting with informal support sessions and gradually evolving into a key programme delivery partner for boroughs across London. Their focus is Southwark, where they support around 300 entrepreneurs annually, with a dedicated core of 110 through the Select Pioneers Fund Program. Behind each of those numbers is a person navigating the fragile early stages of a business idea. Some aim to scale, others simply want to see if their concept is viable. Trampoline recognises that early momentum often begins with basic validation and a sense of encouragement, not necessarily a fully formed plan.
“We create programmes, we onboard people, and then we provide the support to those early-stage, often marginalised communities who cannot afford to pay for the services.”
The kinds of support on offer range from basics, like business registration and compliance, to more complex needs, such as business modelling and financial planning. Some participants come with clear direction, others with vague hopes and unfinished thoughts. Both are met with the same level of attention.
“It’s free for the service users at the point of delivery, and yeah, we try and build their confidence.”
What stands out here is the deliberate effort to make entrepreneurship feel possible. In most ecosystems, there’s an assumption that someone pursuing a business idea is already bought into the mindset, has access to a network, and is willing to spend their own capital. Trampoline works from a different starting point: what if you’re interested, but unsure? What if you’ve never been encouraged to take risks or even imagine yourself as a business owner?
By removing the financial pressure from the outset, the team at Trampoline gives people the headspace to learn, experiment, and gain clarity, without betting their rent on a bad supplier or guessing their way through compliance. For many, this is the first time their idea is taken seriously. That alone can change the trajectory of what they do next.
How a tutor from Nepal found a new mission in London
Before joining Trampoline, Niraj worked with SkillLab, a startup in Nepal that focused on bridging a critical gap in higher education: the absence of structured career support. In many Nepali universities, students navigate their future with minimal guidance, which makes even finding internships a challenge. SkillLab tackled this by offering training in job preparation, resume writing, and supporting the creation of incubation programmes within university campuses.
“We used to connect them to opportunities… even internships were very hard to find for young people back home.”
That early experience, working with students who lacked access to structured support systems, seems to echo in what Trampoline is doing now in South London. There’s a throughline in Niraj’s work: helping people step into possibilities they didn’t know were available to them. And just like the students in Kathmandu, many of the entrepreneurs Trampoline works with are at the beginning of their journey, needing both encouragement and practical help.
After moving to London for his Master’s degree, Niraj joined Trampoline as a Startup Engagement Associate and gradually grew into a leadership role. What helped him connect so quickly was the philosophical overlap: both SkillLab and Trampoline exist to close access gaps. They serve people who might be capable and creative but don’t have an easy route into formal systems.
Incubation hubs play a crucial role in addressing these access gaps. A 2022 paper from the Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal highlights that “hubs can contribute to inclusive entrepreneurship and promote social inclusion by providing all people with equal training opportunities to establish and manage businesses.” This approach is particularly effective because it provides “specialised skills that were not common in marginalised communities and could be turned into a business.”
Along the way, he also experienced a shift in how work is structured and understood. In Nepal, professional relationships are often more hierarchical and demand a kind of personal availability that extends beyond office hours.
“Your boss might call you even late in the afternoon. Whereas here it’s okay to not answer and switch your phone off.”
This disparity extends beyond mere working hours.. It touches on deeper expectations around authority, autonomy, and how boundaries are respected in professional settings.
Understanding these shifts helped Niraj shape Trampoline’s programmes with a level of cultural sensitivity that many organisations overlook. When you design support systems for people who might already feel like outsiders, it matters how you make space for them. What’s offered matters, but so does the environment people are welcomed into. It influences whether they feel entitled to participate, to ask questions, or to see themselves as part of the entrepreneurial landscape.
Growing into a new kind of hub
The Trampoline team grew from five people to fifteen over the last three years. Growth in numbers has gone hand-in-hand with increased structure, separating out teams responsible for programmes, outreach, and operations. This kind of internal coherence is what often marks the transition from grassroots effort to an organisation with long-term stability in mind. Niraj now oversees all programmes and plays a central role in defining the next big chapter: the Enterprise Hub.
This new project, now officially launched as of autumn 2025, is an expansion shaped by recurring patterns observed through years of working directly with small business owners. The Enterprise Hub now features coworking areas, a podcast studio with professional recording equipment, a fully equipped fabrication lab, craft studios, training suites, and a community-accessible dark kitchen, bringing together facilities that respond directly to the needs of early-stage entrepreneurs in South London.
What makes this space feel different from others on the market is its intentional mix of tools and support systems tailored to practical startup needs, especially for people who may still be exploring whether entrepreneurship fits into their life. The space functions as a multi-use environment designed to be messy, creative, and useful, without the performative polish of some commercial spaces or the rigid expectations often found in conventional coworking setups.
For example:
- The fabrication lab is equipped for hands-on prototyping and craft production, which isn’t commonly found in standard coworking environments.
- The podcast studio offers plug-and-play access to production-grade equipment, ideal for founders who want to build a media presence but lack the setup.
- The dark kitchen supports food entrepreneurs who need compliant cooking space to run experiments, host tastings, or fulfil orders.
- Business training is built into the space, not bolted on. It’s part of the rhythm of activity, which makes it easier for founders to dip in, ask questions, or develop new skills without needing to enroll in a long programme.
The entire setup is based on access, not aesthetics. While many shared spaces are built for people who are already confident, networked, and revenue-generating, this one considers those still at the edge of possibility. It tries to give them the tools, environment, and cultural cues they need to step forward without fear of judgement or overwhelm.
“One thing to understand about South London is it’s been going through a lot of regeneration… rent is sky high, businesses can’t afford spaces.”
When we talk about regeneration, the conversation usually revolves around housing or commercial redevelopment. But what’s often overlooked is how these shifts squeeze out small business operators, especially those just starting out. High rents don’t just impact where someone lives, but whether they can afford a desk, a studio, or a kitchen to produce and sell. The £1 million grant from Impact on Urban Health gives Trampoline a rare opportunity: to build a space that responds to these very pressures while staying rooted in community needs.
The Enterprise Hub is being shaped with accessibility and familiarity in mind, especially for individuals who haven’t always found traditional co-working spaces welcoming. Its design choices and programming reflect a broader intention to meet people where they are, with environments that support confidence-building as much as productivity.
For many, especially those early in their journey, the space provides access to tools and a setting where they feel permitted to explore, participate, and find their footing. The way a resource is presented can influence whether someone feels confident using it. Presentation, accessibility, and environment all shape how people engage with what’s offered, especially in the early stages of their journey.
Having access to equipment is helpful, but being in an environment that acknowledges your presence and potential can be equally meaningful for someone taking early steps into entrepreneurship.
Building a model that lasts
The Enterprise Hub will rely on a blended membership model: subsidised access for underrepresented groups and full-fee memberships for others. This approach to membership reflects a broader philosophy of shared space design that considers both financial accessibility and operational feasibility. Tiered pricing becomes one of several tools to keep the space open to different kinds of users while still supporting long-term sustainability. The vision is to build a space that supports those who’ve been historically left out, while also ensuring that it doesn’t become financially unsustainable.
Trampoline has also partnered with an external learning and evaluation partner. That’s an encouraging move. Too often, pilot initiatives remain stuck in early enthusiasm and anecdotal feedback. With structured evaluation in place, they’ll be able to track what works, what needs adjusting, and how the space is actually used versus how it was imagined on paper.
Sustainability here includes financial metrics, but also how the space is used, its reputation among entrepreneurs, and whether it’s perceived as relevant to their business goals and daily routines. That means balancing ambition with responsiveness, especially when designing for communities with varied needs, goals, and capacities. And reaching those audiences in the first place is part of the challenge.
Marketing, for Trampoline, is built on a clear understanding of the community’s access points. It’s a 60/40 split between in-person and digital outreach, grounded in places where trust can be built: libraries, community halls, local events. That level of presence is more resource-intensive, but it acknowledges that not everyone discovers opportunity through a well-placed ad. Engagement often starts offline, through a conversation, a flyer, or an introduction from someone already involved.
“Encouraging those people to become a member with us, come and use spaces… that will also be a challenge.”
These efforts highlight something every founder should pay attention to: product-market fit involves both the offer itself and the way people discover, interpret, and relate to it. Presence, visibility, and perceived relevance all play a part in whether a product or service lands well with its intended audience. Trampoline’s blend of structure, humility, and local connection gives them a better shot at building something that sticks.
Conclusion: building something usable
Trampoline NH doesn’t expect every entrepreneur to scale fast or raise capital. It creates a space where people can test their ideas, sell on weekends, or explore a new path altogether. Entrepreneurship, in their context, unfolds along varied paths. It offers room to explore ideas without immediate pressure to scale or formalise. That kind of flexibility, especially at the start, is more rare than we realise.
“For some people… [traditional entrepreneurship,] it’s not a dream worth pursuing. That’s a win for us as well.”
This perspective about what success looks like is reflected in the monthly Makers Market, a community pop-up where Trampoline participants bring their products to real customers. The emphasis here includes a way to test assumptions: Does the product make sense to someone who isn’t your friend? Will someone pay for it? What kind of feedback do you get? The market becomes an educational lab, not a performance stage. And sometimes, the outcome shifts from expected success to a thoughtful reconsideration of direction.
Some entrepreneurs discover that what they thought they wanted doesn’t hold up in practice. That doesn’t make their time wasted. It’s a version of insight that’s rarely built into most programmes, where the only acceptable result is scaling up. Trampoline gives space for a different kind of exit, one that values real insight over forced growth.
“A lot of entrepreneurs are self-employed or sole trader when they come to us.”
From what I see in my own work at Serenichron, many founders carry a quiet pressure to pursue a specific kind of success, even when it doesn’t match their lifestyle or motivation. What I found refreshing about Trampoline’s approach is how deliberately they avoid imposing that pressure. Support at Trampoline aligns with the founder’s level of interest and engagement, rather than predefined goals around growth or ambition. If someone wants to turn a skill into a side income or simply validate a project idea, that’s enough reason to participate.
Trampoline’s mix of support, space, and community reflects a grounded understanding of the early-stage journey. And while the steps may vary, there’s still momentum. Not everyone starts with a map. But that doesn’t mean they’re not moving.
About the Author
Vlad writes about automation, operations, and the little tweaks that make a big difference in how businesses run. A former game designer turned founder, he now helps teams fix broken workflows and spot the revenue leaks hiding in plain sight.
About Serenichron
Helping businesses grow by simplifying strategy, streamlining systems, and making tech actually work for people. We bring clarity to chaos with practical tools, honest guidance, and just enough curiosity to question the default way of doing things.