V Tickets

Win tickets to the sold-out music festival

Navigation - link to other main sections from here

Skip Navigation

Entrepreneur

Jane Asher found that it was better to raise her prices than to cut them

Lessons learnt in tough times

Companies that endured previous downturns offer some tips on how to survive

Entrepreneur 

Andrew Ritchie, founder of Brompton Bicycle
How I made it: Andrew Ritchie of Brompton Bicycle

When a friend of his father’s showed Andrew Ritchie the Bickerton folding bike, it sparked an obsession that drives Ritchie today

Entrepreneur 

Rachel Elnaugh
MPs take entrepreneur lessons from Dragons' Den

The TV entrepreneurs joined a parliamentary committee discussion on how to foster small business in the UK

Please ignore the next two links as they are for dynamic functionality. All content has already been displayed for you.
previousnext
top track 100

Entrepreneur watch

Julie Diem Le with her range of Zoobug glasses

Boom or bust for our three entrepreneurs?

Three years ago we began following three start-up businesses. Here's how they have fared on the business roller-coaster

Internet entrepreneur Rob Taub training session for the Sussex Thunder Gridiron Football

Start-ups with winning ways

We have followed the fortunes of three small businesses and all are still continuing on the road to success

The sun shines on our start-ups

A year ago we decided to track three entrepreneurs with different business ideas. Rachel Bridge checks on their progress

Our first six months in business

Three fledgling firms in three very different markets are making good progress, writes Rachel Bridge

Best 100 Companies

Find out who you should be working for with our list of the top employers

My Big Idea

Donna Baker, who left her job as a claims loss adjuster to launch a range of clothing for boys aged two to eight

Guy

When the boys' clothing market needed a shake-up, Donna Baker was just the Guy to do it

Cyclepods

Cyclepods

James Steward's cycle storage redesign stole a march on the competition

findaTVexpert.com

Claire Richmond turned from being a programme maker into an expert producer - literally

Securus Software

Bill Jenkins's software is designed to keep young computer users safe, and with good reason

The next big thing. We ask Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who, and what, are destined for success

Key challenges

Philip Green

Masterclass with UK’s top retailer

Last year’s Entrepreneur Challenge winner Matthew Riley and Sir Philip Green, the mentor he won, reveal how they got along

Fiona Hamilton in the cafe at her latest business, Fifi and Ally

Contacts put icing on the cake

In the last of four features on the challenges facing entrepreneurs, Andrew Stone looks at what networking can achieve

A mentor can tune your skills

What are the key challenges facing entrepreneurs? In the third of four features, we look at the importance of having a mentor

Appearances can be deceptive

Video: Rushing to judgment about a prospective employer may lead to misperceptions says Colin Day, the chief finance officer at Reckitt Benckiser

Business colleagues looking at mature man in meeting

The five realities of the entrepreneur

In the second extract from his book, Michael E. Gerber considers what makes a successful entrepreneur

How to... get started

How to write a business plan

There are probably thousands of people with great ideas just waiting to be turned into profit, but ideas are nothing without a proper business plan

How to: Pitch for success

If your presentation is concise, clear and to-the-point, a three-minute pitch can elevate your career

How to: Keep the cash flowing

Cash, as the old adage goes, is king, and nowhere is that more true than for the day-to-day operations of a business

Learn how to woo the investors

Preparing a business so that it will appeal to financial backers is a tough process. Training courses can help

Bob Ford

Enterprise Clinic: Loki Ltd

Bob Ford gets expert advice on how to move his company to the next level

Business Doctor: Giving time off to find new jobs

The woman who made a fortune off Crocs

Sheri Schmeltzer is the woman behind Jibbitz, a Crocs accessory that started as a way of amusing her children

Expert determination

Experts cheaper than courts | Can I sack a long-term sick employee?

Business Letters

Small business and petty theft

How I Made It: Martin Miller, founder of Martin Miller's Gin

After the last recession wiped out my firm I took to the gin

The Entrepreneur Challenge

Entrepreneur Challenge

Bank of Scotland Corporate £25 Million Entrepreneur Challenge - Winner Matthew Riley, founder of Daisy Communications

It's not just about winning

There are many benefits to taking part in the Challenge according to entrants

Prize fighting

A man wearing boxing gloves with Computer.

Big win competitions for small businesses

Your chance to compete for some of the most lucrative entrepreneurial awards

Sweet success: training manager Tony Salt of Swizzels Matlow with employees Magda Tkaczyk and Rafal Krysa

Training fosters happier workers

Raising skill levels improves motivation and staff retention

Martin Miller in Millers Hotel Westbourne Grove london

How I made it

In the aftermath of recession Michael Miller took to the gin

Donna Baker, who left her job as a claims loss adjuster to launch a range of clothing for boys aged two to eight

My Big Idea

Donna Baker turned out to be just the Guy to change the look of boys' clothes

Entrepreneur Challenge Q&A

Peter Cullum of Towergate.

What does it take to be a winner?

We quiz Challenge judge and entrepreneur Peter Cullum

      The Bank of Scotland
      Corporate £35million
      Entrepreneur Challenge

      Bank of Scotland

      Building on the huge success of 2007, Bank of Scotland Corporate is maintaining its reputation for being the Bank for Entrepreneurs with the Bank of Scotland Corporate £35 Million Entrepreneur Challenge.

      The Entrepreneur Challenge closed for entries on 19 May and the short listing process is underway in each of the regions. Seven regional winners will then be chosen from the finalists with each winner receiving up to £5m funding entirely free of interest for 3 years and free of arrangement fees.*

      Register below for news and updates.

      * Funding subject to status and terms to be agreed, security may be required.

      register for news and updates

      Video: The Entrepreneur Challenge

      Latest from the
      Entrepreneur
      Challenge

      Bank of Scotland

      Every application will be assigned to one of our seven regions. Our panels will choose a regional winner to go through to the national final.

      Explore the regions below:

      Bank of Scotland
      register for news and updates

      Story of the
      Entrepreneur
      Challenge 2007

      Bank of Scotland
      Matt Riley

      open quote markThank you very much to Bank of Scotland Corporate for this. It's absolutely fantastic and I'm really looking forward to working with them and Sir Philip Green in the future.open quote mark

      National Winner 2007
      Matt Riley,
      Daisy Communications
      Click here for gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      William Chase

      open quote markWe're absolutely amazed and the whole team is very flattered to win the Bank of Scotland Entrepreneur Challenge. It's great to know there is a bank out there that's supporting the entrepreneurs. . . .open quote mark

      Midlands & Mid Wales
      William Chase,
      Tyrrells Group Ltd
      Click here for gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      Chris Howell

      open quote markThis is fantastic news for DriveTech and fantastic news for road safety. What this award is going to do for DriveTech is ramp up the operation quickly so that we can make a fundamental difference to the lives of young people in this country.open quote mark

      South England & South Wales
      Chris Howell,
      Drivetech (UK) Plc
      Click here for gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      Ian Millner

      open quote markIt's brilliant! We've never won anything before... we're exhilarated and honoured... It's our responsibility now to do the right thing with this investment.open quote mark

      London
      Ian Millner,
      Iris Nation Worldwide Ltd
      Click here for gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      Michael Shand

      open quote markGetting this is more than we ever thought we could do, just being in the national final is great.open quote mark

      Scotland & Northern Ireland Winner
      Michael Shand,
      RB Farquhar (Manufacturing) Ltd
      Click here for gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery
      gallery