Start-up recipe of success and the role of leadership

One of the commonly used buzz word today is ‘ecosystem’ especially when it comes to Technology Business Incubator (TBI) and start ups. So to find out more I spoke with Karthik Durgaprasad, who works in South East England for local government. Karthik has over ten years plus experience of delivering start-up programmes in London for local government and business support agencies, currently based in Basildon Council.

Question: I asked him what does it comprise of and what are the characteristics of a good ecosystem (ES)?

Answer: Every TBI is unique and so does the linked ES also. It depends on various external factors the type of industry or sector, location, buzz in the economy, access to right skills at the right price, availability of risk capital, networking, mentors, academic guidance and access to cost effective professional services like legal, IP matters, accounting etc.

A strong and established ES will always have a positive impact on the success and on the time taken by the start-up business to achieve that. Hence, it is well worth the investment for the entrepreneur to launch his/her business from a TBI. For the same reasons many venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms own and manage their own TBIs. Another example of this is the number of successful business which are spun off from TBIs based in the top universities globally.

Question: Now, to the big question, who is responsible for the creation and running of this ES which we have been talking about? There is no app for that, for sure and it is not a readymade solution offered by the TBI also.

Answer: The answer lies within the leadership of the TBI. The leadership/manager’s responsibility is to connect all the dots in the ES with the start-up community at the TBI. Their understanding of the businesses and relationships with various actors of the ES will ensure the success of the ES. The needs of the entrepreneur, integrity and confidentiality is at the centre of this triangular relationship.

Question: Moving along, I am sure you must be aware of the upcoming India-UK TECH Summit. What is Basildon Council’s involvement there?

Answer: Basildon Council is a proactive local authority in the UK, supporting the growth of local businesses is key priority for us. We are participating at the TECH Summit to promote the profiles of local businesses and equally keen to meet Indian businesses who are interested in opportunities in the UK. We have special interest in smart city projects and part of TECH Summit smart city trade delegation to Kochi. We as a local authority provide various services to our residents. Our annual budgets to manage and deliver them is over £200 million. Basildon Council is looking to share their expertise in business transformation, revenue generation, waste management, economic development and leadership with future smart cities of India as a practitioner consultant. In 2015, we delivered a pilot for Aluva Municipality, Kerala with the support of the British Deputy High Commission Chennai and European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC) Delhi. This project was led by WS Atkins and currently we are working with them in the Kochi smart city project also.

Collectively all stakeholders can benefit from the ES when the start-up succeeds. Find out how we could ensure this success and the pivotal role played by effective leadership by joining us for the TBI workshop series organised by UK Science and Innovation Network (UK SIN) and delivered by Basildon Council.