Generator Launch Business Growth Pipeline

After a successful pilot programme involving one of the region’s rapidly expanding creative organisations, Development Agency Generator has unveiled the launch of its 12 month Business Growth Pipeline Programme.

In a bid to increase the growth capability of creative and digital businesses in the North East, Generator is urging ambitious and established firms to apply to the programme, which is set to create hundreds of new jobs and create new positions within the emerging sector.

While the agency acknowledges there are a number of effective programmes for startups, it believes there is a gap in the provision of bespoke intensive support for existing businesses with growth ambition in the region’s creative sector.

Speaking on the launch of the programme, which opens for applications today (Monday 22nd August), Generator’s Business Support Programme Manager, Jonny Gray, explains: “By their very nature, creative and digital enterprises tend to be born out of creative brains who do not necessarily have a background in business and fresh perspective alongside experience and vision, can impact immeasurably on growth.

“We see the Business Growth Pipeline as a vital support mechanism to assist North East based creative and digital businesses scale-up their operations to achieve their full potential.

“Many businesses in the sector are led by an owner/founder where the move from ‘successful creative’ to ‘successful entrepreneur’ presents challenges, particularly around commercial growth.

“Generator has a fantastic knowledge of the values and motives driving decision-making by these creative and digital firms, many of which are started by mavericks whose creativity, lifestyles and business ambitions are totally entwined.”

The Business Growth Pipeline will provide ambitious North East based businesses with the right conditions to achieve their full growth potential – increasing turnover and expanding their workforce in line with NELEP’s economic ambition of ‘more and better jobs’.

On entering the pipeline, clients are provided with a diagnostic from where they are matched with appropriate industry leading experts who will take on an ‘Interim Director’ role over a 12-month period, working on specifically agreed areas of the business that need expert guidance, or where experience may be lacking.

One of the region’s leading software companies, Gospelware – who are on course for a record year of growth – successfully completed Generator’s 6 month Business Growth Pipeline pilot, and were delighted by the results. The pilot programme resulted in Gospelware being able to employ their own full-time Financial Director.

Managing Director, Ryan Davies, said: “The support we received from Generator from our interim Financial Director was fantastic – it really helped us align our financial goals around monthly output and helped us with process for reviewing. Our interim Financial Director was a great guy to work with, providing us with a wealth of knowledge and experience. “

Meanwhile, Jonny Gray believes the programme would have had a significant impact whatever the outcome of the EU referendum and will provide a welcome shot in the arm to those businesses who were disappointed by the outcome of Brexit.

He adds: “There’s a lot of good work going on in the North East’s digital sector and we aim to play a pivotal role in its further development through the Business Growth Pipeline and other business support initiatives we run.

“The business growth pipeline will help drive productivity and spur growth, helping the North East to reach a ‘par’ position with the rest of the country and enhance the North East as a place to invest and start and grow a business.”

Applications for Generator’s Business Growth Pipeline are now open. Businesses can apply online now via http://generator.org.uk/business-growth-pipeline and are required to answer some simple background questions about their company.