Our recent user survey shows that upfront capital investment, sales and marketing and how to turn an idea into reality are key concerns but IP is not being protected
A survey of users of VentureNavigator shows that entrepreneurs and small business leaders are driven to start companies by their passion for ideas rather than the pursuit of wealth.
When asked to rank main motivations for starting a business ‘financial reward’ came a distant third with 6.9 per cent of the vote, behind ‘passionate about the idea’ (41.4 per cent) and ‘wanting to be your own boss’ (39.7 per cent).
The survey also asked users to identify what they see as the main barriers to success when starting up. The top two responses were a ‘lack of money to invest’, chosen by 44 per cent, and ‘fear of failure’, with 19 per cent.
One of the main surprises of the survey was that the challenge of protecting Intellectual Property (IP) was not cited as a barrier to success or an area where advice is sought, despite widespread expert opinion that this is one of the fundamentals of starting a business.
“Despite the economic barriers put in the way of small businesses and start ups, it is good to see that the British entrepreneurial spirit is not dead,” said Janice Pittis, Project Director for VentureNavigator. “Passion is such an important driver as there is much hardship to be endured during the early phases. Passion by itself, however, is not enough. There must be adequate business acumen to turn an idea into a viable business opportunity and this is where entrepreneurs need help from experts and their peers who have done it themselves and can advise.”
“The fact that IP is not at the forefront of start-ups minds is troubling. It’s common practice to protect physical assets with security systems and CCTV cameras, but these are not nearly as critical to a business’s success as the idea and IP. Passion for starting up on your own cannot act as legal protection of your brilliant idea and hard work.”
One of several industry bodies aiming to promote the issue of IP protection is the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys. Matthew Dixon, spokesperson for the CIPA said,
“Getting good Intellectual Property (IP) protection is crucial for start-up businesses. An entrepreneur who is developing an innovative product or business model needs to be able to keep copycats and "me-too" operators at bay. That's what intellectual property rights are for. Without strong protection the investment in the business can be at risk and that's why getting good advice at an early stage is so important.”
The VentureNavigator survey also looked at where individuals seek out advice when starting a new business, and found that number one source of information was the Internet, used by 38.9 per cent of respondents. In second and third places respectively are ‘Local enterprise agency’ (23.9 per cent) and ‘Friends and family’ (15.0 per cent).
In terms of where people require the most help or advice when starting a new business, the top three results were as follows: ‘Sales and marketing’ (25.7 per cent); ‘How to turn your idea into a reality’ (24.8 per cent); and ‘Business planning’ (19.5 per cent).
You can find out how to maximise your chances of success by checking out the Assessments, Resources and Community areas of VentureNavigator.
