From Leave it to Us to Integration

Siân PrimeCourse Director MA Creative & Cultural Entrepreneurship

GoldsmithsAnd Independent

Surveying the landscape..What happens to the boldness?

NESTA: Creative Pioneer Programme

• A 3 year programme to:– Find the most interesting creative graduates in the UK– support the development of new types of business

models– develop new types of business development tools– Create materials that could be integrated in to

curriculum or offered post-graduation– Support new types of facilitators of business start-up– Fast-track creative entrepreneurs and develop

businesses with growth potential

What were we looking for?

• We selected on:– Creative talent– Ability to see a commercial application for their

work– Their personality...including ability to work in

group– Potential to contribute to the Knowledge, Creative

and Social economy

Who were they?

• An interactive Designer with an idea for a new form of memorial

• A glassmaker who was looking for a new business model for crafts people

• An architect who wanted to create a new type of practice

• A communication designer who wanted to re-design the NHS

• A fashion designer who used braille in her designs

Types..

• Dyslexic• High achievers• Cynical• “Perceivers”• Action Learners• The ones at the front of the class• The ones in the back row of the class

What did we want from them?

• For them to be risk averse• To engage with a new network• Loyalty• Honesty• Criticism• Professionalism• Focus • Time – but not much

What did we give them• Initially..

– Two sets of 10 days training – The opportunity to bid for £35k start-up funding– A business Advisor– A mentor/coach/consultant– Our time

• Then we got sensible– A week’s training plus 6 weeks of support– The chance to bid for up to £5k competitiively– A mentor

• Then we got even more sensible– 4 days of training over 4 months– A coach– A chance to apply for up to £10k

What did we do really?

• We looked at creative businesses and reviewed their techniques for – Making the intangible tangible– Depicting the Business Model and where value rested– Visualising the operational plan for the business

• We created a process that was designerly, non-linear• We worked with them when it was relevant and timely• We used credible case-studies• We created rules they couldn’t disagree with

Principles

• Develop the person and the business• Focus on ambition• The creative is at the heart of the business with

the customer/client/audience• Be clear that sometimes the only way to measure

the success of a business is through its financials• Accept “it is difficult because it is difficult”• Creating a business is an act of design, non-linear

and constantly problem solving

Modelling Techniques

• Priority Modelling– Money or Meaning?

• Evidence Modelling– Making the intangible tangible– Focussing on benefits not features– Accepting you have to fulfil a need and create a gap

• Relationship Modelling• Blueprint Modelling• Consequence Modelling

Environment

What did we achieve?

• 90 businesses started, 85 are still trading• 2 have received significant investment• The programme ran in 8 of the nations and regions of

the UK• It is still running in some regions• Starter for Six has been invested in by Scottish Executive• Over 1000 businesses established, most micro

businesses some SMEs• A methodology that is available to anyone

What did we used to say?

• Leave Higher Education to develop creative skills, we’ll do the work afterwards

• It isn’t worth engaging creative people in enterprise and business development until they are ready to start

• Teach them how to use excel.

What do I say now

• That isn’t good enough• Be more explicit about the process• Many people do want to leave Higher

Education with a plan• It is my/our duty to encourage people to be

aware of the impact they could make, and how to make it

• Teach them how to use excel

We were:

• Intuitive• Relying on personal experiences• Entrepreneurs• Reflective learners• A team• Ambitious• Arrogant/Confident• Wanting to change things.. Fast

I am

• Intuitive• Reflective• Able to balance personal experience with

research and academic evidence• Unsure• A well networked individual• Working in a slow moving organisation

What’s the goal?

• To integrate Entrepreneurial Modelling in to an MA in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship– Design– Media and Communication– Drama– Music– Creative Computing

• To offer every student in Goldsmiths an opportunity to engage with these techniques and leave understanding relationship between creativity and entrepreneurship

What are the references?

• Dan Pink• Howard Gardner• Charlie Leadbeater• Henry Chesborough• Karen StephensonAnd..• Business Model Generation• Kaos Pilots• Social Innovation Disrupters

What is our definition of entrepreneurship?

• Entrepreneurship is the creation of value:– Social– Aesthetic– Economic

• Ideas are often big.. Big sometimes/mostly costs.

What do I do?

• use the NESTA modelling techniques• explore the difference between an

entrepreneur and a business owner• interrogate the form and purpose of a

business plan• encourage self-questioning• move their academic and creative research

skills in to market research skills

Dan Pink

6 essential senses in 21st century• Design • Story• Symphony• Empathy• Play• Meaning

• Moving beyond function• Narrative – not just argument• Big picture invention• Empathy – beyond logic• Play – light-heartedness• Purpose is the journey

Howard Gardner

• Discipline• Synthesise• Creative• Respectful• Ethical

Sometimes it feels like I’m filling a gap

Sometimes more like I’m driving in to a hole

It is a different type of relationship

Who are they?

• Live Artists• Communication Designers• Architects• Opera Singers• Film Makers• Fashion Designers• Producers

Who will...

• Give up if there isn’t a new way• Make an impact on “their community”• Create lifestyle businesses• Have portfolio careers• Have a high-growth business

What are the demands

• That the students are flexible learners• That I move between being educator,

facilitator, coach and tutor• That we all move from personal ambitions to

academic, industry and economic contexts and back again frequently

• That I can move from questioner to signposter to adviser swiftly and at the right times

Yet more demands (I do go on and I am a moaner)

• A really strong network of creative and social entrepreneurs– No VT budget– Access to current business models

• A flexible teaching space• Professionalism from the students• A Warden/VC that “gets it”• Courage

What have I noticed?• That students seem to need a more mapped our and

more linear process• That once they engage with the materials they forget that• That many of them are immediately focussed on “doing

well” rather than developing skills for a future enterprise• That we have to agree that both are possible• That the business planning process mirrors their creative

process• That it makes even more sense after graduation...

What is different

• The level of trust• The level of professionalism• The reliance on 1 person to understand 37

different businesses, at least 5 different sectors

• Knowing when to give advice and when to allow discovery

Perhaps because

• This is a very different way of learning• They came to the programme for a business

plan and an MA• It is a 12 month programme• They are paying for it?

So now I...

• Start with what a business plan is..why and who for

• Then move on to modelling• The reverse of the NESTA process

What are 3 important things?

• Credible• Timely• Relevant

It is important too to Break it down

Stop them being Stalkers

Leave them knowing that the need to answer:

• Why should I trust you?• Why should I believe you?• Why should I care?

• http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-creative-cultural-entrepreneurship/

• http://www.iccegold.com/• http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23ICCEgold• S.prime@gold.ac.uk• Twitter.com/SianeP