StartUp Britain is a national campaign founded by a group of eight British entrepreneurs to encourage enterprise in the UK.
The campaign was launched on 28 March, 2011 by then Prime Minister David Cameron with the support of then Chancellor, George Osborne and the Government; although, it is completely funded by private sector sponsors.
Founding members
Duncan Cheatle, The Supper Club
Emma Jones, Enterprise Nation
James Murray Wells, Glasses Direct and Hearing Direct
Lara Morgan, Company Shortcut
Michael Hayman, Seven Hills
Oli Barrett, Co-sponsorship Agency
Rajeeb Dey, Enternships.com
Richard O’Connor, Chocolate and Love
Operations
StartUp Britain was acquired in March 2014 by the Centre for Entrepreneurs, part of the New Entrepreneurs Foundation charity. It is run separately from the centre's main activities but partakes in joint reports and research to help shape and inform policy.
The campaign organises an annual summer bus tour which has visited more than 60 British towns and cities. More than 25,000 people have boarded each year to receive advice from representatives of companies including PayPal, BT Business and Intuit.
It runs annual finance, tech, and marketing weeks in which experts in these industries share their experiences and has also held one-day events including StartUp Food, StartUp Fashion and StartUp Entertainment which offered guidance on succeeding in these sectors.
StartUp Britain has more than 100 "champions" running campaigns at local levels to encourage more people to start their own businesses.
Its Pitch Up initiative has encouraged high street brands such as John Lewis and Sainsbury's to accept pitches from start-up companies while more than 350 small traders have had working experience from vacant shop units through the Pop Up Britain scheme.