Turning Inspiration into Business

Turning an entrepreneurial idea into a sustainable growing business is a real challenge.  And watching the start-up founders currently engaged in our market validation programme is a real inspiration!  They've been busy - attending workshops here at the BCC - learning about capital raising, pitching, governance, first partnerships and communication to name a few things.  But mostly they have been talking to potential customers (lots of them!) and their search for a repeatable and scalable business model will help them develop a business that can grow - FAST!

To be an attractive proposition for investors a company needs to be able to prove product/market fit.  At this stage in a business's life the key is learning to distinguish success from failure, learn from it and adapt fast.  The faster a founder can learn and adapt, the quicker the start-up will achieve market fit.  As our start-up founders will tell you, the best way to achieve this is to talk to your customers - have lots of conversations - identify their problems and get their opinions about your prototype product or service.  Successful market validation is the entrepreneur’s passport to rapid growth and investment.

By the end of the BCC market validation programme our start-up founders will have:

·         a validated product/market fit

·         a business model customised to their business

·         relationships started with numerous potential customers

·         a clear idea of the resources needed to develop their business

·         a clear pitch for potential investors and partners

It's thrilling stuff watching the progress of our start-ups, we're excited by their potential and can't wait to see how they develop.  Watch this space !