A three-day entrepreneurial ‘Boot Camp’ run by Unlocking Cornish Potential (UCP) is helping to guide 30 graduates as they launch their own businesses in Cornwall.
The Boot Camp is the first event to be held at the new Health & Wellbeing Innovation Centre in Truro, which doesn’t officially open until the New Year.
The first two days took place last week, with the final business pitches on Wednesday (December 12).
More than 20 business advisors and support partners have been on hand to test out the graduates’ ideas and help them develop their plans, including representatives from Unlocking Potential, Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), Oxford Innovation, Lloyds TSB and Cornwall Innovation.
From a copywriting/design firm to a seaweed harvester and a micro-brewery, the cross-section of industry and innovation has impressed the various facilitators and business professionals at the event.
UCP graduate business start-up programme manager, Chris Phillips, said: “The UCP Boot Camp is as tough as it sounds but it’s a fantastic process for these entrepreneurs to go through.
“We test their ideas and help them think about things they just haven’t considered. What’s ultimately on offer is a fantastic package of support from UCP, including a training and mentoring allowance, a network of contacts and in some cases additional financial support.”
