Mayor launches Business Bootcamps to train 1,000 new entrepreneurs

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today called on budding entrepreneurs to boost their chances of success by signing up for a series of tailor-made ‘Business Bootcamps’.

The programme, launched today at the British Library’s Business and IP Centre with £275,000 of funding from the Royal Bank of Scotland and £135,000 from the EU’s Interreg scheme, will give around 1,000 new entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop the key skills they will need to build successful businesses.

The bootcamps, inspired by a similar project in New York, will cover a wide range of sectors, including digital and mobile technology, fashion, hospitality, entertainment, creative and bio-tech industries. Co-ordinated by Capital Enterprise, the membership organisation for enterprise support providers in London, Business Bootcamps will see a total of 27 sessions being run over the next 12 months that provide intensive training.

With between 25 and 50 places available on each, the bootcamps will be run by established business people and experts in their field at some of London’s leading universities, training colleges and other professional bodies. Participants will benefit from access to the latest ‘insider knowledge’ of their chosen field, networking opportunities, access to key contacts and discounts on equipment that will help them to get successful businesses off the ground.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “London is brimming with entrepreneurial spirit across a huge range of sectors, from fashion to finance, science to technology, hospitality and the arts. New enterprising start-ups are going to be ever more important to our city’s prosperity and as we continue to creep out of recession we must do all we can to support those with the brightest ideas. These brilliant bootcamps will help budding entrepreneurs to get the inside track from the experts on how to start and grow successful, thriving companies."

Ian Cowie, Chief Executive, business and commercial banking, RBS, said: "Helping new businesses succeed is crucial to economic recovery and London start-ups will play a huge role in this. We're helping more businesses get off the ground than any other bank and of the 2,000 new business start-ups we support across Britain each week, one in four are based in London. We're investing in this programme to help more new businesses to get access to quality advice early on, in addition to subsidising tickets by over £300, our local business managers will run sessions on how to access finance."

John Spindler, CEO of Capital Enterprise, said: “Capital Enterprise is delighted to be the lead organiser on this exciting and innovative programme for London’s new and ambitious entrepreneurs. Opportunities to learn from and access the contacts and resources of industry leading organisations and successful entrepreneurs will have a big impact on the start-up and growth of ambitious, job creating businesses in London. Anyone who is interested should check out www.thebusinessbootcamp.org where full information on all the bootcamps is available.”

Rachel Elnaugh, former BBC Dragon and British Library Business & IP Centre Business Mentor, said: “If you want to be the best in business you need the right training. One of the best of ways of excelling in business is to gain as much insider knowledge as you can and that is why I’m supporting Capital Enterprise’s Business Bootcamps. The British Library Business & IP Centre provides expert advice to entrepreneurs and is supporting this initiative by providing a Bootcamp on Professional Services. If you want to increase your knowledge and your profits then I urge you not to miss out.”

The Mayor formally launched the programme today at the British Library’s Business & IP Centre where he met with seasoned entrepreneurs who will be involved in delivering the Business Bootcamps.

These included leading food industry expert Jane Milton, Nigel Stokes, managing director of bio-tech equipment firm deltaDOT, fashion designer Yasmin Kianfar, Ben Todd, executive director of Arcola Theatre and Cate Trotter, founder of analysis and innovation consultancy, Insider Trends.

To sign up to the scheme visit the Business Bootcamp website at www.thebusinessbootcamp.org

Notes to editors:

- Business Bootcamps are a portfolio of sector-specific intensive business training programmes targeted at potential entrepreneurs and business people who are starting or looking to grow their own business. They are particularly geared towards those sectors which require a great deal of investment and/or research to get ideas off the ground. The overarching aim of Business Bootcamps is to give people the skills, knowledge and contacts they need to succeed. Participants will be given practical advice on how to overcome barriers to getting a business idea off the ground or growing an existing one.

- It is a £400,000 pilot programme funded by RBS and the European Union’s Interreg programme, which aims to provide a new model for helping to start businesses in sectors where barriers to entry and yet growth potential are both high. Funding will cover around 70 per cent of the cost of developing and running the bootcamps, with the remaining funding coming from fees paid by those who attend - £200 on average per bootcamp.

- Charging is further offset through the provision of offers and discounts from session sponsors. For example, a participant attending a hospitality workshop may receive a 15% discount on catering equipment from a bootcamp sponsor.

- Capital Enterprise is the membership body for deliverers of enterprise support in London. It facilitates entrepreneurship via its 45 (current) member organisations covering all 33 London boroughs and through the development of new and innovative pan-London programmes. Members include enterprise agencies, universities, chambers of commerce, charities and private sector companies all of whom are funded to promote entrepreneurship in London and help entrepreneurs to start and grow companies and create jobs.

- The British Library Business and IP Centre is supported by the London Development Agency (LDA) to provide a one-stop-shop to support entrepreneurs and SMEs in London to gain access to and exploit existing and new business and IP (intellectual property) information, and other relevant content and data, guided by impartial Library information experts and associated partners. The British Library’s Business & IP Centre has been used by over 200,000 people since it opened in March 2006. The Centre is free, but users need a Reader Pass. For more information visit: www.bl.uk/bipc