The Innovation Blog: how to accelerate your business for free

Business commentator

Thursday 9 August 2012

With free support and start-up funding solutions on offer for Scottish businesses, there really is no excuse for not starting that company you've always dreamed of.

If I told you that Scotland had not one, but two FREE business accelerators, would you believe me?

Well, we do.

One is based in Glasgow and the other is seven miles west of Kilmarnock, just north of Dundonald. Both are part of Entrepreneurial Spark, a not-for-profit company that is focussed on enabling entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurial Spark has received support from philanthropists Willie Haughey OBE and Sir Tom Hunter and has gained backing from Scottish councils. Entrepreneurs at both locations are given free access to desks, computing and broadband facilities, phones and printing equipment, as well as IT support, meeting rooms, communal events and mentoring. The facility also provides the space and support to help with the creative process of nurturing ideas, communicating them and developing them into successful businesses. Both locations take in new entrepreneurs every 45 days after they have passed a light-weight (but thorough) application process. To get a spot you will need a workable idea and the drive and determination to make your idea happen. You can start with just an idea or have been trading for up to 3 years. The phrase "workable idea" is theirs and it is important to note that they didn’t say "world beating". Your idea doesn’t have to be for a brand-new product, it just needs to be something that can be made to work. Their website says that new entrants will go through their process of entrepreneurship where they will help you to develop your idea and monitor your progress. They promise to expose you to a new way of thinking that is focussed on developing you as an entrepreneurial leader. You can initially stay for up to six months and if after six months your venture is still capable of accelerating, you can stay for up to another six months. In total, you can stay for a maximum of one year. The online application is only ten questions about you and your idea. But don’t let this fool you. You must give a lot of thought to your business model, who you think your customers are and what issue your idea addresses for those customers. My advice would be to imagine you have created your product, but that no one has bought it yet. How would you convince a customer to pay for it? What problem does it solve for them? Who are your competitors and what are their products like in comparison to yours? Why should someone buy your product and not one from your competitors? Just because you think an idea is great does not automatically mean that someone else will. Always remember to put yourself in your customer’s shoes when explaining your product. Don’t expect someone to quickly see the innovation behind your idea. You will have to explain it. Even though Apple make some of the most desirable products in the world, that you might expect to sell themselves, Apple still spent $933 million on advertising in 2011. You too will need to invest your time in promotion. One thing that Entrepreneurial Spark does not currently support is funding, although there is a part of their website for funding that is marked as coming soon. For start-up's looking for funding, crowd funding is one possible source to consider. A group of interested investors are put in touch with those who need funding, usually through a website. Some crowd funding systems offer loans (such as Funding Circle), while others like Crowdcube offer investment in return for a share of the company. However, a prospective entrepreneur needs to be prepared before seeking such funding. Crowd funding websites will make your business model public, which is something that you may not want to do, or you may only want to do this after protecting your IP. For some though, crowd funding can really work. Sue Acton of Bubble and Balm has already had £54,000 pledged to her Fairtrade-certified body-care products company. So now there really is no excuse for not starting up that company you always dreamed of. Entrepreneurial Spark can give you the essential, practical support for free and crowd funding could be a good source of start-up finance for your new company. Happy innovating.

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