Since 2009, Cultural Enterprise Office has developed the skills and talents of 232 businesses, 275 participants and awarded almost ÂŁ850,000 of investment funding to 136 new creative industry start-ups based in Scotland.
Obscure Couture Jennifer Coyle & Lyndsay Pagan
2010 Main Programme
We had the business idea and we wanted to focus on building our business. We wanted to take it from a hobby to a real business and needed the support to do so.
Heads Up Development Andrew Williams
2010 Main Programme
The training within the Starter for 6 programme helped me to see what was missing in my product, skill set and how to grow these skills.
Andy Murray Design Andy Murray
2010 Main Programme
Having little knowledge and experience about running a successful creative business, Starter for 6 really helped me grow in confidence about my work, how to pitch my products, how to market and how to network. It was great to meet so many like minded people in similar situations.
Visorcat Jill Boulton
2010 Main Programme
Starter for 6 was one of the major turning points for the business. It was an intellectually stimulating environment and fantastic to meet and work with similar businesses. I can honestly say that the business would not be where it is today without Starter for 6.
Playful Communications Jon Gill
2010 Main Programme
Starter for 6 was the catalyst for me in recognising my potential and gave me the confidence to leave full time employment. Starter for 6 was also a great networking experience, something that I hadn’t had the confidence to throw myself into before. It helped me establish a lasting network of creatives across Scotland, in person and online.
Vanilla Ink Kate Pickering
2010 Main Programme
Starter for 6 was challenging, thought provoking and very emotional. We picked apart everyone's idea, challenged everyone to think differently and to really put things into perspective. Then we built it back up again, with more power, consideration and meaning.
With Kerlaff Paul Kerlaff
2010 Main Programme
Starter for 6 enabled me to clearly articulate the purpose of my business and equipped me with the means to move forward. Unlike many business development programmes, it seemed ideally suited to creative businesses.
Pea Cooper Millinery Paula Cooper
2010 Main Programme
Starter for 6 was vital to my business. The sessions over the four months were invaluable and what I learned about business and about myself was priceless. Talking to the other participants gave me the confidence I was lacking and just to know I had been selected on such a prestigious programme made me realise I had huge potential.
Starter for 6 helped boost my business skills. It gave me a solid grounding in financial management and planning, which is critical in running any business.
2010 Main Programme
I found Starter for 6 extremely accessible for a creative mind like myself and for someone who is not used to thinking in a ‘business like’ way.
2010 Main Programme
Interface3
Quietly Eccentric
Kate Ho
Lindsey Gardiner
Luminous Edge Ltd Robin Sayer
2010 Main Programme
I found myself with an enthusiastic group of creatives, at a similar stage in their business development and facing challenges that I could relate to.
TenderCrush Sheila Logan
2010 Main Programme
The whole programme was a joy to attend. There was a great rapport between the attendees and the organisers, all the businesses were so diverse and individual and all like-minded creative people which was fantastic. There was a great feeling of support within the group.
Fin Taw Studio & Gallery & The House Of Hares
2010 Main Programme
Valerie A Graves Meeting new people and sharing experiences, exchanging views, tips and advice was invaluable. The schedule of events and the programme training was enjoyable, often challenging but above all very great fun and informative.
Touzie Tyke Peter Cotter & Ewan Watson
2010 Fast track
We started the Fast Track programe with a business idea and by the time we left we had a business plan, mentors and a much greater understanding of how business works. We have been able to take our experiences from Starter for 6 and apply them in other aspects of our business.
Go Think Learning Robert Brice
2010 Fast track
The experience made me think much more broadly about the business. In writing the business plan and preparing for the pitch, I carried out much of the research and identified many of the key parameters surrounding the business.
Bouncefootball.com Andrew Carr & Steven Kirk
2011 Main Programme
Being on Starter for 6 was highly rewarding and a hugely postive experience. From the initial interview process, the structure of the programme forces you to act and think like a business. Starter for 6 helped us get into the mindset that turned our idea into a living and breathing business.
Worhaus Colin McDougall
2011 Main Programme
Being on the programme gave me the chance to pitch my business model and ideas.
Pidgin Perfect Dele Adeyemo & Marc Cairns
2011 Main Programme
The Starter for 6 programme was essential to the survival of our business in the first few months as first and foremost it gave us a clear goal to aim for. The Programme also gave us the practical skills to set up a business but more importantly it kept forcing us to ask ourselves difficult questions about the viability of our business model which we had to find ways to answer.
Eugo Games Euan Galbally
2011 Main Programme
Starter for 6 required me to review every aspect of my business and to consider key aspects of business that I was completely unaware of. Starter for 6 enabled me to accept and initiate this challenge and for that I am very thankful.
Fashion School Jacqui Burke
2011 Main Programme
Starter for 6 benefitted my business as it gave me a starting point, direction and motivatation to continue. I also made contacts through the programme that I still use today.
Little Riot Joanna Montgomery
2011 Main Programme
Taking part in the Starter for 6 programme was not only great fun, but was also one of the most valuable undertakings so far in my business journey. From my first workshop with Starter for 6, everything was relevant, engaging and forced me to really nail down the things which would help my business succeed. I learned how to be concise in delivering my concept to others and how to highlight my product’s key offerings.
Strange Theatre Liz Strange
2011 Main Programme
One of the things I've struggled with constantly is trying to get the balance between both a business and artistic mindset. Peer support on the Starter for 6 programme from people that were stuggling with the same dilemmas helped me to keep going.
EyeCandy Couture Lynne Mills & Lucy Ross
2011 Main Programme
The experience gave us confidence in our idea and our abilities to set up and run the business with sound advice and structure to our business plan.
Mahala Le May Mahala Le May
2011 Main Programme
Starter for 6 has left me with more confidence to define my work as a designer and more of an idea how to grow a business.
Method Studio
2011
Marisa Giannasi & Callum G Robinson
Main Programme
The programme trained us to hone in on our ideas, always question the what and the why, and to start to understand the importance of clearly communicating what’s unique about our idea.
Fabulous Inventions Ltd Mary Campbell
2011 Main Programme
Starter for 6 benefitted my business as it gave me a starting point, direction and motivation to continue. I also made contacts through the programme that I still use today.
Coolside Ltd Michael Corrigan
2011 Main Programme
Starter for 6 was a fantastic experience. I think any environment where there is a 'mish mash' of different people from different backgrounds, with different skillsets but with a shared vision of creating something sustainable, is very exciting to be involved in. It's a great way to get an outside perspective and a fantastic opportunity for collaboration.
Air Manufacturing Robbie Belshaw
2011 Main Programme
Starter for 6 was great for me as it helped kick-start the thought process of turning the concepts in my head into actual business making products.
Hoos (Design) Ltd Stephen Good
2011 Main Programme
The Starter for 6 team helped me take an intial, unrefined concept and develop it, through the use of various approaches, tools and techniques, into a much more sophisticated, refined proposal.
Briggs & Cole Christy Cole & Jane Briggs
2011 Main Programme
Starter for 6 was rewarding in the sense that it encouraged participation with other businesses and their insights. The whole experience was engaging and challenged perceived ideas about how business models operate and sustain themselves.
Starter for 6 was a great reality check, it forced me to thoroughly examine my business approach and viability and translate this into concrete plans and and a funding pitch, it was an incredibly useful experience.
2011 Main Programme
Willemese Music Bart Willemese
Everyone there was like-minded, driven and focused, creative and innovative and were great to bounce ideas off. It was a very helpful environment and the structure of the programme really helped me to focus.
2011 Main Programme
MAKE Summer School Freddie Main
This program helped me to workout my path forward and plan out what I need to help me to achieve my goal and vision.
2011 Main Programme
I found the programme to be excellent for confidence building and encouraging participants to think outside the box. It helped me realise the size of my potential market and focus in on the important contact network I already had.
2011 Main Programme
Guardian Grip
Aimee Kent
Jason Li
Aimee Elizabeth Kent
FitSip
2011
Belinda Goldsmith & Christine Manson
Fast track
We learned a lot from the Starter for 6 programme, both from our fellow participants and from the people who led the programme.
Wildhutte Euan Gray
2011 Fast track
Starter for 6 was great, particularly meeting other folk undertaking the same steps, but with very different business ideas and backgrounds. Being able to talk about the challenges they had faced and were facing made it easier to define my own, and foresee areas that might be challenges in the future.
RAW Design Solutions Robbie Macdonald
2011 Fast track
The structured approach of Starter for 6 allowed me to look at the design from a business perspective rather than an engineering perspective and therefore supported the development of a business plan. The interaction with other people on the programme gave me a lot of encouragement and the positive feedback I received during the course gave me the confidence to move the design forward.
Go-Arts Ana Rice
2011 Fast track
It provided an adrenalin injection which energised every aspect of my ideas at that time. Advice from product designers enhanced my belief in the designs and was hugely encouraging.
The ability to receive guidance on manufacturing, distribution networks and angel funders proved invaluable. Equally the questions asked of us by the expert tutors offered insights into how businesses can grow and equally fail.
2011 Fast track
Media-Stop Sylvia Grace Borda
I found the experience of being a participant in the Starter for 6 programme to be a very positive one, and was fully supported with detailed and relevant information and enjoyable interaction with tutors and fellow participants.
2011 Main Programme
Environmental Art Hebrides Ltd Laura Donkers
ShareSci CIC Alex Gibberd & Tim Oliver
2012 Main Programme
The best thing about Starter for 6 was meeting people and exchanging ideas.
Shareflow David Kelly
2012 Main Programme
I learned a great deal about myself and the kind of business I wanted to build. I also made some great contacts – the camaraderie amongst the participants was something I'll never forget, and I'm still in regular contact with many of them.
Vivomotion Dr. Mhairi Towler
2012 Main Programme
Starter for 6 widened my network in the creative industries and gave me the support I needed at the right time.
Kitchen Press Emily Dewhurst
2012 Main Programme
The Starter for 6 programme gave me the confidence to think strategically and respond to challenges. Beyond the knowledge gained on the programme, the other big benefit has been from the continued networking with participants.
Ala Mairi Fatima Mahmood
2012 Main Programme
Starter for 6 made me identify the innovation in my project, core values of my brand and reach my target audience. The programme is organised in a very self motivated manner.
Harvest Skate Co. Jamie Johnson & Kieron Forbes
2012 Main Programme
An eye opening experience, we found the workshops helpful and concise. We both gained a bit of confidence and had inspiring conversations with other participants and staff. The course helped us to consolidate our business plan and define individual roles. We are much more confident in speaking publicly and discussing business to investors and stockists.
Faff Digital John-Paul Thain
2012 Main Programme
Starter for 6 helped me to expand my horizons by informing me about areas of business I wasn't aware of, such as marketing and helped drill home some of the realities of being in business.
Generation Glow (T/A BassBaton)
2012 Main Programme
Jonathan Service Really inspiring. Great to work through exercises thinking about your business but also interesting to learn about other businesses at the same stage as you.
DidiCareS Limited Professor Emeritus Elvidina N. Adamson-Macedo PhD
2012 Main Programme
When I ‘found’ the Starter for 6 website. It was my ‘Road to Damascus’. My participation was essential for my business to develop and become a successful start-up. I have acquired knowledge, skills to increase my self-efficacy by believing that, given the right support and resources, I can become a successful entrepreneur.
indieAds Sam Goldblatt & Louise Knowles
2012 Main Programme
It was a great experience.
Susan Castillo Susan Castillo
2012 Main Programme
Starter for 6 introduced me to so many like minded creatives who were in the same situation as myself. It gave me a way of approaching things that terrified me before and showed me how to talk about what I do, forcing me to really define what I do. It gave me more confidence in myself and work, which was my biggest struggle.
Jane North Edinburgh Wendy Jane Mudie
2012 Main Programme
Starter for 6 gave me the space to help define my business idea and build a solid business plan. Starter for 6 is a very unique programme; not only do you get the help and support of experienced business advisers, but you are able to brainstorm and plan with other creative entrepreneurs who are very good at thinking outside the box.
MakeThatMove Ltd Consol Efomi
2012 Main Programme
The team involved in the Starter for 6 programme were very accessible and managed to allocate time to every participant. The programme is also an opportunity to meet like-minded people and the programme structure allowed a lot of interaction with peers.
The mix of practical workshops, mentoring and advice was very effective. The final pitching for funding was both a challenging and beneficial experience.
2012 Main Programme
I found the experience extremely positive. The programme has benefited my business in many ways but most of all I have come out with a very well thought out and researched business plan.
2012 Main Programme
Almaas
Shapes of Things LTD
Siv Almaas
Jamie Bruski Tetsill
Before I started the program I wasn't ready to launch my business idea, but after completing the programme I felt full of confidence that my business would work.
2012 Main Programme
Starter for 6 was a fantastic catalyst to help take my business idea forward to the next level and beyond. It helped give my concept focus and clarity.
2013 Main Programme
Case-it
Cocksure
James Morrison
Brian Thomson
allenomis Annalisa Simonella
2013 Main Programme
The Starter for 6 programme helped me see my products from a different perspective and define them in a more complete way. I can now identify the most effective ways to promote my business and the market sectors to target.
Jelly and Gin Aoife Behan & Carol Soutar
2013 Main Programme
The Starter for 6 programme offered us space and support to decide the best way forward. Starter for 6 allowed us to identify the changes that we needed to make, without imposing a one-size-fits-all approach to business.
The City of Play Ltd Bobby Lee
2013 Main Programme
When we initially applied to participate in the Starter for 6 programme, The City of Play was little more than an idea. Starter for 6 helped to change that.
Iolin Brian John Montgomery
2013 Main Programme
The support and specialist advice has been outstanding. The monthly sessions were a massive help in terms of driving towards goals and this helped provide direction and navigate many of the trickier areas of business.
Perpendicular Universe David Cooper
2013 Main Programme
The programme helped me find a balance between my own creative desires and the requirements of my audience, and how to pitch and present an idea appropriately. These are elements artists don't often consider, but are vital in turning creative talents into a sustainable business.
teamtrackr Duane Roft
Š 2015 Cultural Enterprise Office
2013 Main Programme
The Starter for 6 programme was exactly what I needed at this stage of my development. There was an amazing mix of creative and entrepreneurial talent within the group, and I was really blown away by the passion and enthusiasm of the participants.
[Do Not] Feed The Animals Eilidh Ellery
2013 Main Programme
Starter for 6 has been an eye-opening and amazing experience that has really helped me to grow and develop as both a pre-start (soon to graduate to a start-up) business and as a person.
Scheme to a Dream Entertainment
2013 Main Programme
Gavin Livingston
Starter for 6 came at a perfect time for me in my career. I got great value from every single session and learned so much that I didn't know before.
Frajul Julie McConnachie
2013 Main Programme
After five months of intense innovative business training, the Starter for 6 programme has given me an amazing head start in setting up a creative business. What the programme did was pull the ideas out of my head, mess them up even more, until it all made sense.
PeterWardDesign Peter Ward
2013 Main Programme
The Starter for 6 programme provided a great opportunity to step back from the product we were building and look at the business side of things in an interesting and engaging way.
ckirkprojects Craig Kirk
2014 Main Programme
My experience as a Starter for 6 participant was engaging, at times challenging and ultimately rewarding. The vagueness of a business model I started with has been replaced with a more solid concept and form for my freelance practice.
Dana Finnigan Dana Finnigan
2014 Main Programme
Starter for 6 has taught me a great number of essential skills required to run my own business. I would never have predicted that following participation on the programme that I would say loud and proud that I really like cash flows.
Taiga Audio Gareth Griffiths & Pete Smith
2014 Main Programme
It was great to learn alongside people working in totally different fields and gain ideas and inspiration from each other.
Lonely Mountain Skis Jamie Kunka
2014 Main Programme
I always came away from the training with towers of positivity which then went into the next month of planning. Starter for 6 forced me to analyse every aspect of my business in a fun and creative way.
Indie Authors Scotland Kim & Sinclair Macleod
2014 Main Programme
The learning structure, the support from tutors, our coach and other participants made it fun, challenging and practical. We learned so much.
3D Tweed Lucy Boermans
2014 Main Programme
It was a massive learning curve! Overall - a hugely positive experience that I'll refer back to in many years to come.
Made possible with the financial assistance of the Craft Makers Awards Scheme: Forth Valley
Sword MacLean Marina Maclean & Phillip Sword
2014 Main Programme
Starter for 6 has instilled a huge sense of validation and confidence in not only our business idea, but ourselves. We now have a fully formed business plan which has been invaluable as we develop the business.
Admium Mason Holden, Daniel Harkin & Michael Evans
2014 Main Programme
Aside from providing us with financial and professional support, Starter for 6 encouraged and motivated us to be proactive when it came to market research and financial planning.
Scratch Ideas Matthew Marais
2014 Main Programme
It was really encouraging and reassuring to meet other people starting businesses who were going through the same experience and the same highs and lows. The programme is run incredibly well and I found it led me through a natural progression of analysing my business.
Notio Studio Michael Findlater, Joanne Potter & Ryan Watson
2014 Main Programme
A lot of the Starter for 6 training exercises involved testing ideas quickly through quick scribbles or playing around with post it notes. We now try to adopt this method for generating ideas within our company.
Giantwell Michael Richardson
2014 Main Programme
Starter for 6 has helped me understand my role in the business. I see the importance of building the right business for me based around my own values and interests. The programme encouraged me to step back and consider the business as a whole.
McCaffrey Robert McCaffrey
2014 Main Programme
I enjoyed wearing a shirt and jacket and having a destination to go to with other aspiring, creative entrepreneurs in a structured and productive environment. In between sessions I felt renewed motivation to research and develop parts of my business I had only recently discovered existed.
Hidden Armada Will Wright & Michael Doig
2014 Main Programme
We learned how to present our game to different types of audience and learnt what’s important to us about our product isn’t always the same as what’s important to a customer.
Bespoke for all folk Lizzie Smith
Starter for 6 has given me the confidence to speak about my business as a viable entity and has put me through a rigorous process of questioning my assumptions and improving my business model.
2014 Main Programme
Storybook Patterns Cassandra Belanger
2015 Main Programme
Being on the programme has, in essence, provided room and focus for this new business to develop and grow into something real, where it might not have otherwise.
Bespoketacles Laura van Weegan
2015 Main Programme
Meeting and getting to know the other participants was great. We have set up a group on Facebook so are still in regular contact, everything from woes to successes, and it's great to know they are there if ever support is needed.
Rogue Orchestra
2015
Debbie Aitken & Annemarie McGahon
Main Programme
From beginning to end Starter for 6 has been a rewarding and nourishing experience.
Talking Couch Gavin Donald
2015 Main Programme
My experience was very positive. I found the team to be very supportive, friendly and accommodating. It allowed me to form a good base for the building of the product into a business.
HERE + NOW Liz Thomas
2015 Main Programme
Starter for 6 breaks you down and builds you back up: it makes you look at the pieces which construct your business, challenges you to re-think them, and re-builds the essence of your business idea with reality, resonance and sustainability.
Vinella and Krupa
2015
Federica Lucia Vinella & Marcin Krupa
Main Programme
We absolutely enjoyed being part of the programme, and even if today we are focusing on a different journey, we still regard the experience as priceless and important.
PonyoSquid Paula Fox
2015 Main Programme
It's a programme where your idea-baby is torn apart and then, if you're doing it right, re-pieced together to make a stronger foundation with broader understanding of what your business is and what it could be.
Social Screen Rebecca Thompson
2015 Main Programme
Sharing the journey with the group of other people in similar stages of their business helped me to keep on track and deliver on my promises to myself.
VH Innovation Ltd Victoria Hamilton
2015 Main Programme
My experience on the Starter for 6 programme was great. I found this programme to be different from other programmes as it brought me together with a group of people from a very varied background to my own.
Monotes Zsara McEwan
2015 Main Programme
I feel the Starter for 6 experience has given me validation for my idea, an introduction to a supportive community and a bank of tools and resources to call upon as my project develops.
Talking to others participants openly about our businesses was a real eye-opener. I received fresh insight from a wide variety of other creative industries.
2015 Main Programme
Ant Workshop Tony Gowland
It has clarified where the business is going to go in the future; giving me the tools and the confidence to make a go of it and to confidently approach new clients.
2015 Main Programme
The Beekeeper’s Daughter Charlott Rodgers
Starter for 6 provided not just time but also head space to reflect on some of the more fundamental and long-term business goals.
2015 Main Programme
The programme steps encouraged me to ask myself sometimes difficult questions that have given me a strong understanding of what my business is and what it has to offer.
2015 Main Programme
The Zoom Club
The Passenger Press
Claudine Quinn
Rhian Nicholas
Starter for 6 has made us far more conscious of how much we need to work on developing the business itself as much as developing the product.
2015 Main Programme
As a participant I learned about my role in the business and what my product focus should be.
2015 Main Programme
AJ Equestrian
Selvacolour™
Jane Cumberlidge & Anni Stonebridge
Silvana Palacios
I would describe my experience on Starter for 6 as being somewhat transformative. It equipped me with new tools and methods for examining and understanding my business idea.
2015 Main Programme
Jamie Gilmour Jamie Gilmour
The programme has given me the confidence to trust my vision and to feel relaxed about inevitable change and direction.
2015 Main Programme
eekoo Kara Ramsay
Turning creative ideas into successful businesses
Š 2015 Cultural Enterprise Office