{"id":7598,"date":"2019-07-11T10:17:23","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T10:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.openbusinesscouncil.org\/?p=7598"},"modified":"2019-07-11T10:17:23","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T10:17:23","slug":"popup-business-school-story-how-a-rant-letter-caused-an-entrepreneurial-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.footballthink.com\/popup-business-school-story-how-a-rant-letter-caused-an-entrepreneurial-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"PopUp Business School Story: How A Rant Letter Caused An Entrepreneurial Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"PopUp
PopUp Business School Story: How A Rant Letter Caused An Entrepreneurial Revolution<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Simon Paine was sent to deal with a complaint about Business Link\u2019s poor advice. He ended up quitting the government advisory service and founding the PopUp Business School<\/a> with Alan Donegan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was handed a three-page handwritten letter of complaint and thought \u2013 who on earth writes letters by hand?,\u201d<\/em> recalls Simon Paine, now co-founder and CEO of PopUp Business School.<\/p>\n

The author of the \u201crant letter\u201d was Alan Donegan, a serial entrepreneur who felt the advice he\u2019d received by the then government\u2019s advisory company, Business Link, was poor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so bad it nearly put me off starting a business. They told me to write a business plan, do financial projections and take a loan. I remember sitting at home feeling lost and dejected. I didn\u2019t want to get into debt, I wanted to start making money,\u201d<\/em> says Donegan.<\/p>\n

Paine, who, in 2011, working as Business Link\u2019s programme manager, met Donegan at a caf\u00e9 to discuss his issues. Three hours later, he emerged thinking that actually Donegan was completely right and that entrepreneurs both needed and deserved a much better service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realised Alan wasn’t the only one turned off by the \u2018traditional\u2019 way of starting a business,\u201d<\/em> says Paine. \u201cSo we kept on talking and thinking about how to make things better.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

In 2011, the pair decided to set up The PopUp Business School to provide a clear alternative to traditional business advisors. The PopUp method<\/a> focuses on making sales, rather than business plans and debt. It has proved successful, being popular with groups such as the long-term unemployed, people on a low income, students and those for whom English is a second language. The company\u2019s recent impact report found that a quarter of those attending the two-week course launch a business while at the school, with most of those also making their first sale within five days.<\/p>\n

But the idea took some hard work and fine tuning before it took off. \u201cOur first event was in a backroom at a timber workshop. Many of those attending didn\u2019t really want to be there, they\u2019d been sent by the Job Centre – but we won them over,\u201d<\/em> says Paine.<\/p>\n

The PopUp Business School has faced some fierce criticism from those who favour the traditional approach. \u201cWe\u2019ve been regularly attacked by traditional business advisors because we are the complete opposite of the traditional approach taught by places like Business Link, schools and banks,\u201d<\/em> adds Donegan. \u201cBut I\u2019m sick of people who never started a business telling others how to do it. Accountants, teachers and lecturers, who\u2019ve never run a business, are putting people off with bad advice.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
The PopUp Business School has faced some fierce criticism from those who favour the traditional approach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since 2012, over four thousand people have attended PopUp Business School events and the company has popped up in six countries worldwide. In 2018 it helped launch 680 businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had cake makers, fitness trainers, the long-term unemployed and people who can barely speak English come to our events. You don\u2019t need money to start a business, most people just need an idea and someone to show them how,\u201d<\/em> says Paine.<\/p>\n

Donegan adds: “We are democratising entrepreneurship to make it possible for anyone, regardless of their starting point, to make money doing something they love. Our mission is to change the way starting a business is taught by removing the need for business plans, and start-up loans and, instead, making the very best, practical business training free to anyone that wants it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Simon Paine was sent to deal with a complaint about Business Link\u2019s poor advice. He ended up quitting the government advisory service and founding the PopUp Business School with Alan Donegan. \u201cI was handed a three-page handwritten letter of complaint and thought \u2013 who on earth writes letters by hand?,\u201d recalls Simon Paine, now co-founder […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":""},"categories":[3666],"tags":[3511,3517],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPopUp Business School Story: How A Rant Letter Caused An Entrepreneurial Revolution - OpenBusinessCouncil Directory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Simon Paine ended up quitting his job and founding the PopUp Business School with Alan Donegan to start an entrepreneurial revolution. 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