INSIGHTS / News

Research suggest that 50% of UK startups are likely to fail within the first three years, often because the vision and passion of the entrepreneur is not matched by sound business knowledge and practices. To address this, SETsquared Surrey is inviting entrepreneurs from tech start-ups in the south east to attend a three-day course, covering the basics of starting and growing a business.

SETsquared, the world’s number one university business incubator, is running its three day entrepreneurship programme at the Surrey Technology Centre, Guildford from 15-17 June.

This hands-on, interactive course with learning backed up by practical tasks will cover all the essential elements of starting a business and is aimed at entrepreneurs with an idea for a tech based product or service, founders of early stage technology ventures and more experienced entrepreneurs launching a new product or venture.

Experienced entrepreneurs and investors will lead lectures and small group workshops to equip delegates with contacts and the confidence to optimise their business success. Day by day, entrepreneurs will build on their business idea and will leave armed with an executive summary, a pitch desk, a business model and a basic financial plan.

Programme modules tackle issues such as ‘The power of why’, understanding real customer problems, telling a compelling business story, routes to market, generating revenue streams, developing a financial plan and understanding funding.

Delegates will also hear from SETsquared entrepreneurs who have gone on to success, who will share their experiences of the entrepreneurial journey. At the end of the three day course, budding entrepreneurs get the opportunity to pitch live to an audience of investors and mentors. Speed dating style feedback from panelists who watched the pitches will leave entrepreneurs with all the expert advice needed to hone their presenting skills and improve on their business idea.

Celia Gaffney, director of SETsquared Surrey at the University of Surrey said: “We are delighted to bring the highly successful entrepreneurship programme to Surrey. The region is bursting with entrepreneurial talent, which we are eager to help develop and turn into real business propositions.

“Businesses that have already taken part in SETsquared’s entrepreneurship programme at our other innovation centres have gone from strength to strength and those taking part in this course will get the opportunity to hear about real life case studies from SETsquared entrepreneurs.

“This is a unique opportunity for high-tech start-ups in the south east to take guidance from the world’s best university business incubator.  Getting the chance to then put three days of training into action immediately in front of investors. We’re excited to see what’s produced from those taking part.”

Tom Dewhurst from start-up Ordable, a previous participant on the entrepreneurship programme, said: “The programme has been really inspirational. As a business we’re preparing for our next round of investment, so the course has been very useful for fine-tuning our investment proposition.”

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