MOMENTS of inspiration come, and, for many, go.
There are numerous ideas being nurtured and formulated, tested and developed, and launched onto one market or the other.
Some are simple but clever ideas, real innovations and inventions, but at that stage they still have to be sold and crossing that divide is the painfully obvious challenge.
Sticky Heelz is an example of how an idea can be carried through from light-bulb moment to US expansion with the right kind of trust and backing from investors and government agencies.
Laura Birrell, a former corporate development director of the Building Research Establishment, created a solution to ill-fitting shoes using sticking plaster and Velcro.
But how did Ms Birrell get from that minute her Christian Louboutin's didn't fit to potentially breaking America?
As well as timely investment from her partner, Ms Birrell was steered by the Business Gateway, Scotland’s national business advice service, responsibility for which was passed to the country's local authorities a decade ago.
Clearly fledgeling and expanding firms get advice but the service also offers access to its connections to the wider network of support and then additional backing from enterprise agencies.
READ MORE: Scots entrepreneur signs US deal for Sticky Heelz footcare product
Last year 9,129 new businesses were set up with support from Business Gateway and 47 per cent were led by women.
So financial support and tailored advice from agencies like Business Gateway, which has helped create 100,000 jobs in 10 years, seem key.
But the drive and acumen of the entrepreneur are just as crucial.
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