The Hunter Foundation (THF) is aiming to collect hard data on the impact of its entrepreneurial support endeavours as it prepares to launch the second round of its Scale Up Scotland 2.0 programme for companies aspiring to become £100 million turnover operations.
Run in partnership with the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB), Scale Up 2.0 welcomed its first cohort of 12 last year. Hosted by Sir Tom Hunter at THF's headquarters at Blair Estate in Ayrshire, it operates alongside the foundation's Pre-Scaler and the original Scale Up programmes to create a pipeline of growing businesses.
Sir Tom Hunter said much of the success of these programmes lies in meeting fellow entrepreneurs, making connections and forming business relationships.
READ MORE: Sir Tom Hunter admits: 'Sometimes I wake up and despair'
“We have a distinct offer for each of them, but the thing that is common to them all is this peer-to-peer support and learning," he said. "That's really powerful."
Asked whether the foundation's efforts to boost entrepreneurial activity in Scotland have had significant impact, Sir Tom said his "gut feeling" was they had but added that there are currently no figures on turnover or employment growth to back that up.
“We want these companies to grow, we want them to grow quicker with less risk, to be more successful, to employ more people, and to pay their taxes, and therefore we are recruiting an alumni program as well to keep in touch with these businesses and to track that data," he said. "We have nothing to show you today because [Scale Up 2.0 has only been going for a year], but we are hopefully going to follow these businesses over the longer-term to see what actually happens.
"It’s all very well me saying it’s nice and it was great, and companies saying it, but we need the tangible data to tell us yes, this helped.”
THF are now taking applications for the second year-long programme that begins in January. Those selected will attend quarterly overnight events including masterclasses and dinners focused on the challenges facing businesses as they grow larger.
"The Scale Up Scotland 2.0 programme has been a pivotal catalyst in our business growth journey, elevating our aspirations with an unparalleled network of trusted advisors and motivational speakers, forging invaluable links with fellow CEOs, and providing a gateway into the flourishing landscape of scalable Scottish businesses," current cohort member Richard Madden of WeConnect Energy said.
READ MORE: ‘Britain not the powerhouse we think it is’ says Sir Tom Hunter
Participant companies must be headquartered in Scotland with current revenues typically in excess of £20m. They must also have a strong record of year-on-year growth along with the potential and matching ambition to achieve revenues of £100m within the next five years.
The programme is open to the chief executives and leadership teams of up to 12 businesses. Upon joining, THF will undertake a deep dive into each business to identify and align the team on the specific challenges and opportunities facing the entrepreneurial leader, the collective executive team, and individual functional leaders.
SNIB chairman Willie Watt said Scale Up Scotland 2.0 programme is aligned with the bank's missions.
"We believe that a healthy scale-up support landscape is critical to enable growing businesses to thrive," Mr Watt said. "Ensuring that scaling businesses can access the support and guidance they need to sustain their growth brings productivity gains, high-value job creation and the power to transform our economy.”
Another member of the current cohort, Sobon founder and chief executive Scott Smyth, said: “Start Up Scotland 2.0 has provided access to a new network of world-leading entrepreneurs and business advisors that are already positively impacting the growth of my business.
"In addition, I have got to work with and learn from an amazing cohort of other ambitious entrepreneurs, each with a shared vision of scaling their business to £100m-plus.”
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