Last week I was invited to attend a reception for the New Entrepreneurs Foundation (NEF) at Number 10 Downing Street with the Prime Minister. This was a huge honour for Freshminds and even more so for the New Entrepreneurs Foundation (NEF). We have helped NEF to screen and select two cohorts of exceptional aspiring young entrepreneurs to be 'matched' with entrepreneurial businesses for a year. During this year the foundation provide the candidates with training, coaching and mentoring giving them the toolkit to eventually set up their own businesses.
It was fantastic to hear that David Cameron backed the programme, emphasising that it is entrepreneurship which will drive prosperity in Britain.
The prime minister’s vision is one where young school children will aspire to be entrepreneurs when they grow up instead of footballers and pop stars! This requires a cultural shift in the UK which can be led by programmes such as NEF. More entrepreneurial role models will be what shapes and drives the culture of Britain.
For all of you out there who are reading this thinking I want to be an entrepreneur or in fact an intrapraneur within a business, think about programmes such as NEF. Those of you who are already running your own successful businesses, think about how you can be a role model to other young aspiring entrepreneurs. If I could summarise one key takeaway from Number 10 and hearing the PM speak it was this, ‘it's not always what your country can do for you, it's what you can do for your country'. We can all do our little bit to help drive prosperity just as NEF and all those on the programme are doing.
