ESpark-Viridian interview
Duffy talks about the partnership between Entrepreneurial Spark and Viridian, to launch hatcheries in India.
We are launching a brand-new 18-month program in ten cities, where entrepreneurs can come, get enabled, have access to mentors, get taught about finance, what it’s like to be an entrepreneur…We’re going to be launching in August. The vision is to create over 10,000 jobs, 60 entrepreneurs in ten centers. Make them all investable. Create a brand-new network of entrepreneurs, that grow together. That have confidence that they can pitch, but have great humility. They understand grassroots and giving back. They understand the value they bring to the communities that they serve and the cities they live in.
60 Seconds with Jim Duffy
The Fife Business Journal asks Duffy questions about Entrepreneurial Spark. On why he started the program.
I realised that the support services available to start-ups in Scotland weren’t very joined up and that other countries which were fostering start-up businesses for the first 12 to 18 months helped them achieve traction more quickly. If you look at the likes of the ecosystems in Boston and New York, for example, they have great entrepreneurial hubs in which businesses really look after each other. I saw that similarities could be applied over here in Scotland but you can’t just take a US model and plonk it in this country and expect it to work. I had to look at the business psyche in Scotland and assess the mindsets and perceptions of its entrepreneurs. It seemed to take a lot more over here to make people ‘oven ready’. I had initially planned to launch E-Spark as a private, limited company but I did nine months of research beforehand and went out to Babson College in Boston. When I told them I’d raised a quarter-of-a-million to help fund it, they said ‘don’t do it; go home and start it as a social enterprise instead’. Everything seemed to pick up right away and, before long, Sir Tom Hunter became involved.
ESpark TV – The Nest
Duffy answers questions about The Nest on ESpark TV.
The Nest is a new 12-month program. It’s a space in three areas in the Central Belt of Scotland, and it’s also has an executive education module…It is based in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Ayrshire. We’re doubling the space in our facilities to create the Nest spaces…You get a full time executive enabler, who will work closely with you on your business. He or she will review your business every month. You will also get an executive education programme wrapped around you. Every month you’re all going to get together as an elite bunch of professional people, and we’ll dig down really deep in your business proposition, your team, leadership and finance.
TechBritain TV interview
Duffy talks to TechBritain TV about his most important piece of advice.
Make sure you have customers. Make sure you have tested and validated it. Don’t fall in love with your idea or product, and think everyone’s going to buy it…Get a wee bit out, let customers taste it, and if they want more then you’ve possibly got a business.
Evening Times profile
In an interview withe the Evening Times, Duffy talks about Entrepreneurial Spark.
It’s not an accelerator or an incubator, it’s an incu- accelerator, where the chicklets are hot-housed. I love getting involved with the entrepreneurs and all their different business models, maybe it’s the teacher in me. They know they can come in here and they’ve got someone to talk to, someone who’ll support them and challenge them…We want to increase our bank of mentors and get the investment community wrapped around us. Sometimes I feel like the luckiest guy in Scotland, this is the best job in the world.