On Monday Mike Butcher, Editor of TechCrunch Europe, wrote about a new startup accelerator called Accelerator Academy. In the post Mike talks of the accelerator ‘arms race’ and how Accelerator Academy has attempted to one up the competition with some unique features. However I feel Accelerator Academy need not try as a truly game changing accelerator/incubator has launched here in Scotland - Entrepreneurial Spark.
Based in Glasgow and founded by Jim Duff, Entrepreneurial Spark offers startups:
- Office space 1 mile from the city centre
- Telecoms
- Hardware
- Meeting rooms
- On site parking
- Coffee (a startup essential)
- Discounted food
The cost to the startup for all of that? Nothing. Not even equity. This is possible as Entrepreneurial Spark is not for profit and has attracted some impressive names to back it such as entrepreneurs Sir Tom Hunter, Willie Haughey OBE and Brian McGuire and a range of companies such as Teamly, Kiltr, The BIG partnership and Harper McLeod LLP.
In the coming months Entrepreneurial Spark will open it’s doors for startups to enter and it’s hoped that in the first batch entering the Entrepreneurial Spark hatchery there will be 20-25 startups. The startups will be part of a 6 month program that is broken down into 4 distinct stages with the aim being participants graduating as startups well on the road to success. Whilst in Entrepreneurial Spark startups will have access to top business mentors (such as the backers mentioned earlier) and to ‘Entrepreneurial Facilitators” who have been trained at the world renowned Babson College.
As fantastic as all this sounds I don’t even think the best thing about Entrepreneurial Spark is the costs, the access to mentors or the free coffee but the low barrier to entry. Jim has stressed he wants the process of entry to be painless, in fact it’s a simple one sheet agreement between the startup founder or founders and Entrepreneurial Spark.
It’s a fantastic opportunity and I would encourage anyone with the slightest inclination to start a business to get in contact with Jim to enquire about joining the program when doors open in early 2012.
