What's this? This is an unbiased just-the-facts news timeline ('newsline') about Jim Duffy, created by Newslines contributors. Become a contributor

Jim Duffy

Jim Duffy16 posts

Jim Duffy is a Scottish businessman. He is the Chief Executive Optimist at Entrepreneurial Spark, a startup business accelerator that started in Glasgow, and is now in multiple cities across the UK and has launched in India. Duffy was a police officer for many years, before starting his own businesses. After he sold those he started Entrepreneurial Spark, with the aim to help ease the startup process.

Latest News view > Click for Biography view
29 Aug, 2012

Chief Executive Optimist video

Video appearance0 Comments

Duffy introduces Entrepreneurial Spark.

We want to develop entrepreneurial mindsets and behaviours. The vision between Entrepreneurial Spark is a brand new group of people in Scotland, thinking differently, acting differently, doing different things in a different way, but collaborating with each other. Sharing ideas, sharing information, being more open, thinking global, looking at trends abroad. That’s what we want to do over the next three to five years.

Jim Duffy - Chief Executive Optimist

18 Mar, 2012

Be A Mentor video

Video appearance0 Comments

Duffy invites mentors to join Entrepreneurial Spark.

We’ve set up Entrepreneurial Spark in Glasgow. We’ve set it up in Scotland. We feel Scotland needs it. It will be good for Scotland. It will boost Scotland. It will collaborate with other businesses. But we can’t do it all ourselves. We’ve had fantastic support from Willie Haughey. Fantastic support from Sir Tom Hunter. And what we’re really looking for is — we want other businesses, other people who feel they could be ambassadors, other people who feel they could be supporters, other people who feel they could be brand advocates. Or simply a mentor. Someone to come forward and help. We’re reaching out to you to help us crystalize what we’ve started here.

8 Mar, 2012

Glasgow Caledonian University interview

Video appearance0 Comments

Duffy talks to Glasgow Caledonian University about his career, how he started Entrepreneurial Spark, and the project’s aims.

It’s absolutely unique. We call them ‘Chicklets’ because Entrepreneurial Spark is the Hatchery. The Hatchery is the “hard” part. Within that we give free desks, free space, free printing, free computers, software, free cleaning, bins emptied, wireless broadband, printing, stationery, meeting rooms, ideation space, enablement. So it doesn’t get any better for a business to start up. That particular space has been provided, and paid for, by Willie Haughey OBE, a successful Glasgow businessman. I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you, if he hadn’t put his hand in his pocket. He was the first to do that after we got a donation from Tom Hunter. He’s opened up his business. He’s put us on his executive floor level.  And these Chicklets can benefit from all that. The whole idea is the fail fast, they fail smart, and fail cheap…if they fail.

Jim Duffy discusses Entrepreneurial Spark