Newcastle Startup Week business encourages startups to get peer support

Today (May 17), the launch of 360 Growth Circles aims to give local early growth business owners and entrepreneurs access to a peer-to-peer support network.

This is hoping to help those businesses/individuals make better decisions quicker, while increasing their chances of growing sustainable scaleups that will make it past five years and beyond.

The UK is said to have a poor record in startup survival rates, with only just over half of new businesses still going five years after launching.

According to research from the Office for National Statistics, nearly 60 per cent of new businesses in the region never make it to the five-year mark.

Carri Nicholson, the founder of 360 Growth Circles, said “Over the last two years, I’ve seen the significant impact that facilitated peer-group support has had on the growth of businesses in the £650k - £20m turnover range, through my role as a regional chair with Vistage UK.

“However, I kept meeting people who told me that whilst they would love to be part of such a network, the costs involved meant it was well out of their current financial reach.

“Over time, it became clear that the 360 Growth Circle concept was a bit of a no-brainer in terms of providing affordable peer-group support to those businesses where it can make, perhaps, the most difference.

“I only wish something like this had been around when I launched my first business in 2000 - I’m pretty certain all those mistakes I made as a new entrepreneur would have been significantly reduced if I’d been part of a supportive network of people who were on the same journey that I was.”

Targeted at businesses with an annual turnover of less than £360k, 360 Growth Circles aims to give the region’s small business owners a secure space where they can gain a 360 degree perspective on their activities, share their business issues and find solutions.

Carri will be joined on her mission to improve the growth of local small businesses by Dianne Sharp, a fellow Vistage chair, who will also launching 360 Growth Circles this summer.

Dianne added: “We’re really looking forward to helping these businesses use their collective knowledge to short cut their way to business growth, learn as leaders and improve their business thinking.”

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