Scottish accelerator goes looking for new chiclets

by Startacus Admin

Scottish accelerator goes looking for new chiclets...

If you are an early stage startup or business and reckon that a little structuring, shaping and support might make your business rule the roost, then this Scottish programme might be for you.

With three locations in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the West Coast, and a vision to create and support a business startup renaissance in Scotland, Entrepreneurial Spark has always been a keen supporter of Startacus, shouting out about our platform and encouraging their chiclets (more on this later) to write about their startup journeys.

So when we heard that Entrepreneurial Spark was on a new drive to get applications for their next 5 month free business accelerator programme which is kicking off in February 2014, we were more than happy to help.

Celebrating two years since its inception, Entrepreneurial Spark has managed to support over 400 startups across Scotland (no mean feat), covering a diverse range of sectors – and is now looking for a new batch of opportunity-hungry entrepreneurs who can make the most of the Entrepreneurial Spark accelerator environment.

Focusing on the entrepreneurial mindsets and behaviours, whether in initial idea stage or up to 5 years trading and with up to a million pound turnover, Entrepreneurial Spark looks at the individual and sets their business up to be investor ready.

With experienced entrepreneurs-in-residence on hand including Lord Haughey, Sir Tom Hunter and Ann Gloag OBE, a pool of over 50 mentors and a growing entrepreneurial support network (and all for free) the Entrepreneurial Spark ecosystem is certainly to be envied and the word free always helps too!

There are three other things though that we like about Entrepreneurial Spark -

1.Their website is good

2.They understand the power of creating an inclusive and collaborative environment and Scottish brand and

3.They value the power of social media to spread their network and the network of their startups.

Whilst you might wonder why having a good website should be such a wow factor, it’s worth noting that from our experience, there's most often or not, not that much enterprising about many regional enterprise or governmental websites. Some look like they were created in the early 1990's!

Therefore it’s nice for us to promote an organisation that whilst not revolutionary, understands that preaching creativity, branding and marketing to startups means creating an in-date and unique brand too.

Oh yeah. The 'chiclets' term comes from the accelerator spaces which are known as hatcheries and their occupants or startups are known as chiclets. There you go then - a straightforward definition and not a chicken or egg joke cracked.

So to summarise, if you are a Scottish based startup looking for free acceleration then it would be worth taking a look at all the Entrepreneurial Spark details linked here. And as the Entrepreneurial Spark gang would most probably tweet #GoDo

• #scotland
• #

Published on: 22nd September 2013