Let’s celebrate great British start-ups

Global Entrepreneurship Week is a chance to sing the praises of our start-ups and strengthen the foundations for them to succeed, says Timothy Barnes

Today is the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the world’s largest festival for entrepreneurs and startup supporters. In nearly 200 countries around the world, some 40,000 events are expected to welcome 10m participants to celebrate, learn and develop start-ups and the ambitious entrepreneurs that make them happen. 

In the UK, hundreds of events are taking place across the country, hosted by schools, universities, charities and private companies. 

From market-stall traders and high-street retailers to the latest Artificial Intelligence and biotech companies, entrepreneurship is truly thriving across the UK, with some 800,000 new companies registered each year.

Support for these new entrepreneurs, and could-be entrepreneurs, is getting better all the time. There are amazing examples of activities in Hull, Liverpool and Glasgow this week that show just what the future might look like across every region.

Indeed, Global Entrepreneurship Week itself is a UK success story, with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown having taken the lead 17 years ago in turning national Enterprise Week into a worldwide festival, along with partners from the US. We should be proud to have been an early global champion for the power of entrepreneurship to build wealth and opportunity and do that most un-British of things: talk ourselves up. 

Entrepreneurs in every part of the country

But, while we can find amazing startups and entrepreneurs in every part of the country, it needs to be easier for more people if we are to ensure we get the best from the UK’s incredible talent and we all need to look for those opportunities to enhance investment and public policy to meet the UK’s growth and productivity agenda.

A new report from global consultancy Startup Genome, supported by the Global Entrepreneurship Network, was presented at the G20 summit in Rio last week as part of the build-up to Global Entrepreneurship Week.  

The APEXE Nations Report finds that, “…among the individual G20 countries, the UK is second only to the US in terms of the effectiveness with which we convert that potential into actual start-up value. However, policymakers should not be complacent: with only one city, London, in the top-40 start-up ecosystem ranking,” explains Dr Chris Haley, Head of Research for Startup Genome, and lead author of the new study.

The Centre for Entrepreneurs is the UK’s leading entrepreneurship charity with support from leading entrepreneurs and companies such as Founders Forum, the London Stock Exchange, McKinsey and Flutter. We work to make the country more entrepreneurial and deliver entrepreneurial development programmes, research the state of entrepreneurship and inform policymakers and the public on how they can support entrepreneurship in the UK and beyond.

Our own research and activities show entrepreneurs thrive here in the UK. As a nation, we are really good at this. Entrepreneurship is a national strength that we can, and should, be doubling down on as the UK searches for new economic growth and to address the structural issues around productivity and regional development that we have long sought to address. 

But that’s enough lecturing. This week, get involved and help celebrate some UK success – and maybe think about starting something new! 

Ahead of GEW, we asked dozens of successful entrepreneurs for the one piece of advice they would offer someone wanting to start a business. Here’s what three of them had to say:

Trust your instincts and embrace the power of storytelling. Every business, especially in the world of luxury and craftmanship, has a story that sets it apart. Share your journey, your passion, and the meaning behind what you create – it’s what customers connect with and remember. At the same time, stay resilient and open-minded; the path to growth is often paved with unexpected challenges and changes. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice, learn from every experience, and most importantly, hold onto the essence of why you started – because that spark is what will keep you and your brand alive.

AJAZ AHMED MBE – Founder, AKQA

At the start of any business, perfecting your product or service so it solves a meaningful problem for your target audience should be the top priority. Even though I’m a marketeer at heart, I always tell founders to resist the urge to focus on marketing and distribution too soon. Instead, invest that early energy in developing messaging that resonates with your audience to drive initial usage of the product and allow for an improvement loop of the product

MAYA MOUFAREK – Founding CMO, Pharmacy2U

‘. 

‘The best piece of advice I’d give to anyone starting or scaling a business is to know the difference between being right and winning. As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to focus on proving ourselves right, but real success comes from fostering collaboration, adaptability, and resilience within your business.

CAROL SHANAHAN – Co-Founder, Synectics Solutions

Timothy Barnes is CEO of the Centre for Entrepreneurs