Inspiring new class of entrepreneurs

ONE of the biggest complaints from entrepreneurs looking to start new businesses is over the calibre of advice they receive. Some ask how advisers who have never set up a new venture could possibly know what it feels like.

But in the case of Sharon Bamford, there is no start-up problem she won't have encountered.

Bamford is chief executive of the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, (SIE), a publicly funded agency that aims to nurture entrepreneurialism in universities and colleges in Scotland. The institute links 20 of the country's degree-awarding bodies with the business community and investors.

Bamford and her team are trying to create a nation of Hunters and Bransons by offering students entrepreneurship masterclasses and summer school programmes, international internships in corporations, grants for start-ups or patent application costs and the confidence to try something new.

"We are all very good at putting ourselves down. One word emerges throughout all the processes and that is confidence," she says. "Confidence in any start-up situation is the key. We find that once students have tried it, it gives them the push to make an even bigger step and start up on their own."

As no stranger to entrepreneurial activity herself, Bamford is a beacon for the energy and enthusiasm required for business start-ups. Having started five companies on her own, ranging from an international project management consultancy, a drilling simulation firm in the oil and gas industry to Montessori pre-schools when she couldn't find appropriate childcare, she knows only too well the pitfalls that SMEs face.

Her partner, Tony, is involved in an oil and gas start-up in Aberdeen and has just won the backing of a $1million (578 million) grant from the US Department of Energy.

"We do entrepreneurship as a family," she says, adding that she believes the confidence to try something new should be instilled into Scots as children through the recently launched schools enterprise programme.

"We are getting it right in schools now, with money from successful entrepreneurs pouring in. Until quite recently, school careers offices couldn't deal with entrepreneurs. In higher education, there has been a sea change and entrepreneurship is now seen as a skillset for graduates. It's now OK to start a business when you are at university. For many people, having the confidence just to get on with it is the key."

Before joining SIE, Bamford lectured in entrepreneurship at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, managed an incubator facility nurturing 14 young high-tech start-up and spin-out companies, and was director of the University of Edinburgh's flagship 100m science park development.

She says: "What my career has allowed me to do is to be able to identify with the often conflicting agendas of government, universities, SMEs and investors in the economic development arena.

"One area where I believe we can improve is in mentoring entrepreneurs. My advice to anyone starting up is to find someone who could help and give objective advice.

"Everyone still sees mentoring as a soft concept but the value is immense. Sometimes when you are in a start-up there are issues that need to be resolved but, for the entrepreneur with the vision, sometimes this is overlooked. It could be something as simple as managing cash flow."

Bamford accepts that for many start-ups "it can be lonely," but she says the thrill of seeing something through can more than compensate for the hard work required.

She is also a board member of Technology Ventures Scotland and the UK's newly formed National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship.

"In these various roles I see all types of start-ups, but again I believe it comes back to confidence," she says. "Everyone asks themselves have they done the right thing, but their vision and tenacity should see them through.

"It might be high risk, but if we are not trying then we have to give up."

Originally, the UK governments' Office of Science and Technology backed the SIE, but it is now funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. It remains the only national organisation that links enterprise educators, commercialisation practitioners, students, the business community and investors.

She believes SIE has a "pivotal role" to play in supporting the development of enterprise skills, cultural change andthe "vital component" of boosting the commercialisation potential of university breakthroughs.

One of the highlights of the year is the SIE National Business Plan Competition. This year, 1,300 business ideas were generated, a 190 per increase on 2004, with the winners sharing a prize fund of 63,000 of cash and consultancy advice.

Galloway Falconry Centre, set up by a husband and wife team from the University of Paisley, took the top award for undergraduates. The winner of the top prize in the postgraduate section was Michael Bowes from Glasgow University, who has set up a revolutionary drink vending machine - Barhand.

This year also brought the launch of the first UK National Business Plan Competition, which SIE project managed on behalf of the UK Science Enterprise Centres. The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts supported the project and sponsored the 25,000 investment prize.

Two Scottish students, Susanne Olsen from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and Scottish winner Michael Bowes, fought off stiff UK competition to walk off with the prize money. Olsen's company, Clear Process, aims to tackle the global problem of climate change by separating the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, from other gases. Olsen, from Brazil, has recently completed a PhD at Robert Gordon University and is a Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellow in New Venture Creation. She was awarded the top prize for Entrepreneurial Business of the Year.

Bowes's invention, the Barhand, which impressed not only the Scottish judges but also the UK panel, is an automated drinks vending machine that will transform the drinks industry by cutting costs and queues and increasing revenue. Bowes, who graduated in law last year, took the Entrepreneur of the Year honours.

Bamford said she was delighted with the standard of entries to the competition. "Susanne's and Michael's business plans were extremely well-thought-out, viable and inventive business ideas and they are a testament to the hotbed of young talent we have in Scotland. Competitions such as this are a great way to inspire the entrepreneurs of tomorrow and give them the confidence and skills to go for it."