Sainsbury Boost For Connect

Lord Sainsbury’s review of the UK science and innovation system. includes a glowing endorsement of the CONNECT model:

Recommendation 9.5
Drawing on the success of the CONNECT scheme in San Diego, RDAs [Regional Development Agencies] should support services for high-technology entrepreneurs around our world-class universities similar to the CONNECT service within the BSSP [Business Support Simplification Program] framework.

Connect assists technology-based companies and entrepreneurs in refining their business and financial strategies through a group mentoring process. It assists with the development of business plans and business presentations, and provides a forum in which the entrepreneurs can present their refined business model before a group of business, marketing and management experts. The scheme’s success steams from its holistic approach, the range of expertise it provides and the fact that “none of us are as smart as all of us”.