Entrepreneurs
are
starting
businesses
driven
by a
passion
for
ideas
rather
than the
pursuit
of
wealth,
but do
you need
to spend
more
time
ensuring
your
intellectual
property
(IP) is
adequately
protected?
A survey of users of VentureNavigator shows
that entrepreneurs and small business
leaders are driven to start companies by
their passion for ideas rather than the
pursuit of wealth.
When asked to rank main motivations for
starting a business ‘financial reward’ came
a distant third with 6.9 per cent of the
vote, behind ‘passionate about the idea’
(41.4 per cent) and ‘wanting to be your own
boss’ (39.7 per cent).
The survey also asked users to identify what
they see as the main barriers to success
when starting up. The top two responses were
a ‘lack of money to invest’, chosen by 44
per cent, and ‘fear of failure’, with 19 per
cent.
One of the main surprises of the survey was
that the challenge of protecting
Intellectual Property (IP) was not cited as
a barrier to success or an area where advice
is sought, despite widespread expert opinion
that this is one of the fundamentals of
starting a business.
“Despite the economic barriers put in the
way of small businesses and start ups, it is
good to see that the British entrepreneurial
spirit is not dead,” said Janice Pittis,
Project Director for VentureNavigator.
“Passion is such an important driver as
there is much hardship to be endured during
the early phases. Passion by itself,
however, is not enough. There must be
adequate business acumen to turn an idea
into a viable business opportunity and this
is where entrepreneurs need help from
experts and their peers who have done it
themselves and can advise.”
“The fact that IP is not at the forefront of
start-ups minds is troubling. It’s common
practice to protect physical assets with
security systems and CCTV cameras, but these
are not nearly as critical to a business’s
success as the idea and IP. Passion for
starting up on your own cannot act as legal
protection of your brilliant idea and hard
work.”
One of several industry bodies aiming to
promote the issue of IP protection is the
Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys.
Matthew Dixon, spokesperson for the CIPA
said, “Getting good Intellectual Property
(IP) protection is crucial for start-up
businesses. An entrepreneur who is
developing an innovative product or business
model needs to be able to keep copycats and
"me-too" operators at bay. That's what
intellectual property rights are for.
Without strong protection the investment in
the business can be at risk and that's why
getting good advice at an early stage is so
important.”
The VentureNavigator survey also looked at
where individuals seek out advice when
starting a new business, and found that
number one source of information was the
Internet, used by 38.9 per cent of
respondents. In second and third places
respectively are ‘Local enterprise agency’
(23.9 per cent) and ‘Friends and family’
(15.0 per cent).
In terms of where people require the most
help or advice when starting a new business,
the top three results were as follows:
‘Sales and marketing’ (25.7 per cent); ‘How
to turn your idea into a reality’ (24.8 per
cent); and ‘Business planning’ (19.5 per
cent).
Find out more in our Sales and Marketing
section.
Find out more about planning your new
business in our Business Start Up
section.
