StartUp Britain is a national campaign founded by a group of eight
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
entrepreneurs to encourage enterprise in the UK.
The campaign was launched on 28 March, 2011 by then Prime Minister
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
with the support of then
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
,
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...
and the
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
; although, it is completely funded by private sector sponsors.
Founding members
*
Duncan Cheatle
Duncan Cheatle is an entrepreneur and supporter of UK enterprise. He has founded and co-founded multiple enterprise support initiatives, including The Supper Club, a London-based membership club for fast-growth entrepreneurs; Startup Britain, a p ...
, The Supper Club
* Emma Jones, Enterprise Nation
*
James Murray Wells
James Nicholas Murray Wells OBE (born March 1983) is an English entrepreneur and was founder, owner and executive chairman of Prescription Eyewear Limited (trading as Glasses Direct), London, which he started whilst at university in 2004 and so ...
, Glasses Direct and Hearing Direct
*
Lara Morgan
Lara Morgan is a British entrepreneur and the founder and former CEO of Pacific Direct. Having sold her share in Pacific Direct, she is now involved in several UK startups.
Background
Born in Germany, Catherine Lara Morgan left school aged 18 w ...
, Company Shortcut
*
Michael Hayman
Michael Morris Hayman (born 3 January 1970) is an entrepreneur, broadcaster and author in the United Kingdom. He is a co-founder of Seven Hills, a London-based campaigning communication consultancy. Michael is chairman of Entrepreneurs at the p ...
, Seven Hills
* Oli Barrett, Co-sponsorship Agency
*
Rajeeb Dey
Rajeeb Dey Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 6 December 1985) is a British entrepreneur. He was the winner of the O2 X Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 Award and has been referred to as "among the most high profile" young entrepreneurs by ...
, Enternships.com
* Richard O’Connor, Chocolate and Love
Operations
StartUp Britain was acquired in March 2014 by the Centre for Entrepreneurs, part of the New Entrepreneurs Foundation charity. It is run separately from the centre's main activities but partakes in joint reports and research to help shape and inform policy.
The campaign organises an annual summer bus tour which has visited more than 60 British towns and cities. More than 25,000 people have boarded each year to receive advice from representatives of companies including PayPal, BT Business and Intuit.
It runs annual finance, tech, and marketing weeks in which experts in these industries share their experiences and has also held one-day events including StartUp Food, StartUp Fashion and StartUp Entertainment which offered guidance on succeeding in these sectors.
StartUp Britain has more than 100 "champions" running campaigns at local levels to encourage more people to start their own businesses.
Its Pitch Up initiative has encouraged high street brands such as
John Lewis and
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
to accept pitches from start-up companies while more than 350 small traders have had working experience from vacant shop units through the Pop Up Britain scheme.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Startupbritain.orgCentreforentrepreneurs.orgStartUp Britain FacebookStartUp Britain Twitter
Business incubators of the United Kingdom
2011 establishments in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 2011