Entrepreneurship Programme Brings Scale to Scottish Businesses

Scottish entrepreneurs with potential to scale-up to grow their businesses can now join a programme providing world class training from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Business School. Scotland Can Do SCALE has two strands, an online course which explores putting customers at the heart of a business and a residential summer school. Funded and delivered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council and sitting under the Scotland Can Do government banner, the programme will involve participants following a free online course called Entrepreneurship 101 – Who is Your Customer?, which is the first step for securing additional support opportunities including qualifying for the summer school.

The online course has been developed by Bill Aulet, Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT entrepreneurship and author of 24 Steps to Disciplined Entrepreneurship, who is also a visiting professor in entrepreneurship at Strathclyde University. The objective of the programme is to build a community of entrepreneurs leading scalable businesses across Scotland, with ongoing support provided to those with ambition and potential for growth. Luke Johnston, CEO of innovative oil & gas software firm Cognitive Geology, took part in the pilot programme and has achieved great traction since August last year. “Scotland Can Do SCALE really helped me to step back and shape the future of the business, using Bill Aulet’s 24 steps as a framework. In recent months we have hired two new developers, two geoscientists and are currently recruiting to continue building our team. We have secured £100K in grant funding, been selected for the London Stock Exchange ELITE programme and secured a funded place at the MIT Entrepreneurial Development Program. We’re meeting with some of the world’s largest oil companies this year in Houston and experiencing tremendous growth,” he said.