23 October 2018
Start-up Day 2018 in London and around the country
Start-up Day helps budding entrepreneurs from around the country feel confident and provide tools to start a business and turn their dreams into a reality. Not only did this year’s event take place at the Business & IP Centre in London with almost 400 people attending a busy programme of talks, speed-mentoring and one-to-one advice sessions; there were 13 Business & IP Centres participating nationwide, where more than 720 individuals attended the day.
With an all-day line up of talks, our speakers in London covered everything from how to understand the UK market right now (Mintel market intelligence analyst Jack Duckett explained the latest trends) to becoming a successful entrepreneur and key strategies to employ when starting your own business (as experienced by Tangle Teezer ex-CEO Matt Lumb). The priceless advice our twelve speakers shared with the audience throughout the day was also live webcast, so you could tune in from anywhere in the world to watch... and listen!
Our audience didn't just listen, they also had the opportunity to engage in interesting discussions with the speakers
But that's not all: speed mentoring sessions with experts from Santander, Mintel, Google, Intellectual Property Office, Companies House and more covered practical aspects of setting up and running your own business, preparing attendees for the grit behind the glamour of entrepreneurship. To further empower current or future entrepreneurs, we also ran one-to-one advice sessions and tours of the Business & IP Centre itself, making the third edition of Start-up Day in London our busiest yet.
Sheffield on brand with Start-up Day decorations!
This is the second year Start-up Day has taken place across the National Network, allowing local entrepreneurs to be part of the presentations and talks at each regional centre, as well as the attendees being able to watch live broadcasts from London, all for free, as praised by one participant, “Left feeling so lucky and grateful to have access to this free information. Thank you for all your hard work organising this!”
Three Rivers Gin at Business & IP Centre Manchester’s Start-up Day
Of the attendees up and down the country, 40% were planning to start up a business and 39% were either self-employed or the owner of a business. The majority of people said that lack of finance and the business idea itself were the main reasons behind them not starting a business in the past. A fifth of respondents stated that making a difference was the main motivation for wanting to start a business, with being their own boss and having a better work/life balance also high on the list, one attendee said “Superb event, kind people… after two years as a carer this event has given me many ideas - but mainly hope for my future.”
The Women’s Organisation’s Cynthia hosting a panel of Start-up Stars, including Natalie and Jeni from SIREN, Sarah from SLMC Consulting and Amy from Drone Factor at Business & IP Centre Liverpool.
Dr Max Gowland from Prime Fifty, Terry King OBE from Chapter3, Ralph Keeton from Ghost Walks Hull, Vikki Johnson from Fusion Laser Cutting, Andy Steele from 360 Accountants, Rob Lewis from 54 Degrees North and Vicky Cartwright from Diva Cupcakes at Business & IP Centre Hull’s Start-up Day’s Start-up Stars.
If you missed this year’s Start-up Day, all speakers’ videos from London are available on our YouTube channel and our blog with our top tips is available to read. To see all of our upcoming events and workshops, visit our website. Here are a few highlights from the Start Up Day 2018.