Entrepreneurs urged to test out their big ideas as free business support programme is set for New Year start

Entrepreneurs are being urged to see if they are eligible for a free support programme aimed at helping them find out if their business idea is as good as they think.

By The Newsroom

Published 27th Dec 2013, 10:59 GMT

Nottingham Trent University’s The Hive@Mansfield Proof of Concept scheme helps individuals and businesses research, plan, test and validate ideas to see how commercially viable they are.

The next 12-week programme starts on January 8th and is open to enterprises in Mansfield and Ashfield.

Dr Michael Huxley, who runs the initiative, said evidence of potential for commercial success is crucial for investors’ decision making. Of 206 proposals the scheme has helped entreprenueurs explore over the last eight years, he said: “About 40 per cent of ideas are not as they first thought and they decide not to go ahead but they now know how to undertake this due diligence, validation process and can apply it to future ideas.”

For more information, visit www.ntu.ac.uk/hive-mansfield or email [email protected]