The Beermat Entrepreneur puts three elements at the heart of the start-up; an elevator pitch endorsing the business concept, an experienced mentor to advise, consult and guide and four cornerstone individuals from technical, delivery, finance and sales backgrounds to complete the entrepreneur's team. "Business has already ceased to be about spreadsheets and software, and has entered the world of personal judgement and emotions", Southon and West argue. The connections and intuition a mentor can bring will repay the start-up a thousand times over while the cornerstones' specialist knowledge will form the core of the management team and drive the business forward. Taking in leadership, management, recruitment, PR, sales, marketing and finance along the route from Seedling Enterprise to Mighty Oak, Southon and West cover every issue the potential entrepreneur needs to understand about the challenges ahead. The Beermat Entrepreneur is an opinionated, inspiring and practical companion for new business adventurers. --Iain Campbell

Book Description
"I recommend this to any aspiring entrepreneur."
Charles Dunstone, Founder, Carphone Warehouse
So, you're sitting in the pub with friends or colleagues and you have a brilliant idea. This time it's really brilliant. It's the foundation of a potentially very large and successful business.
Do you just go home and leave the scrawled-on beermat in the pub? Or is this it - time to really make it happen? Problem is, you've no idea where to start. Who do you need to talk to? How do you find the cash to back the idea? How many people do you need to work with to the idea off the ground? And how on earth do you find them?
Mike Southon has been there, and in The Beermat Entrepreneur he tells you exactly how to convert those jotted notes into a big and successful business. Step-by-step, with no jargon, no complex theory and no visits to arrogant pinstriped venture capitalists who aren't really interested in just 'an idea.'
The Beermat Entrepreneur is a practical guide to starting and building a business. You begin with a bright idea, sketched out on a beer mat in the pub one evening. You end with a major company employing hundreds of people and a bank balance to match.
Available in book form or in audio book (CD or cassette), featuring the authors recorded live in front of an audience of businesspeople.

"…you can only benefit from reading this book. You'll gain valuable advice and knowledge from people who have seen it, done it and bought the T-shirt."
The Evening Standard

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