The Entrepreneurs Network

Entrepreneurs, investors and others in our ecosystem are starting to get jittery about the upcoming Budget. It’s only natural. A new party is in power, and, while some assurances have been made, there are concerns that we will be blindsided by something unexpected. You can have your say. You have until the 10th September to provide a written submission to HM Treasury ahead of the 30th October Budget. https://lnkd.in/egveetFJ

For entrepreneurs, it’s not just the potential cuts to Entrepreneurs’ Relief (well, what’s left of it), or tax rises more broadly, but a whole plethora of hangovers from previous governments that still need fixing. https://lnkd.in/e3jBhsyK

If I were the Chancellor I would do two things with BADR. First, I would change the rules so that it’s not available to those who are using it to disguise income tax. If you’re not a proper entrepreneur and taking proper risk, you shouldn’t be able to claim it. Second, I would make BADR unlimited. Entrepreneurs who are building and selling companies for millions have an outsized impact on all our lives, and we should want as many of them in the UK as possible. https://lnkd.in/e9SgaGBQ

30% of working age individuals (well almost) either intend to start a business within the next three years, are actively trying to start a business, or already running their own business https://lnkd.in/ea_iVvnf

An extract from our latest newsletter: “My Government will establish Skills England which will have a new partnership with employers at its heart, and my Ministers will reform the apprenticeship levy.” Businesses will be brought in to try to ensure that we have “the highly trained workforce that England needs.” The key challenge here will be ensuring that the employers promised to sit at the heart of the partnership are not limited to our current crop of large corporates. Of course they should be in the room, but sooner or later they will be the relics of our economy as they get displaced by innovation. To that end, we need to ensure that the entrepreneurs and innovators are involved. This isn’t the same as big tech – though they should be in the room too. On the second point, we’ve long argued for the replacement of the apprenticeship levy with a skills levy – most recently with Enterprise Nation in Access All Areas: People. It’s good to see things potentially moving in this direction. https://lnkd.in/eAnYbRG6

Protectionism, even if not explicitly badged as such, is one of those ideas that often sounds like common sense for many people. There’s a reason why, centuries after economists first exposed its folly, politicians of all stripes are attracted to it. But something making for a good sound bite doesn’t necessarily mean it makes for good policy. It’s heartening to see our leaders so focused on the pursuit of growth – but that focus can’t be a substitute for rational decision making. https://lnkd.in/erWM5sdr

In his first speech as Prime Minister, Keir Starmer acknowledged that now is the time for action: “Our work is urgent, and we begin it today.” So here are three action points aligned with Labour’s manifesto promises. https://lnkd.in/eebdXrDa

We’re advertising for three roles: a researcher; someone to run our events and head of our Female Founders Forum; and we’ve launched an internship programme. Please share far and wide. We obviously hope that people stay forever, but anyone joining will be following in some impressive footsteps. Our alumni have gone on to advise Prime Ministers, become a senior editor on a national newspaper, work within government, and much else besides. https://lnkd.in/e_fbgb4H

Last week we launched Empowering the Future: a punchy briefing paper setting out ten policies that the next government should adopt to help inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. https://lnkd.in/dggxBPR8

Whoever the next Prime Minister is, he needs to prioritise tearing down the ‘for sale’ signs that seem to be on so many of our Breakthrough Businesses. This small but mighty group of companies are critical employers and taxpayers, and ought to be targeting the future growth we need to revitalise the economy.  For the past few months, our Private Business Commission, chaired by Steve Rigby, has been investigating the most effective policies to support them. The conclusions of our research are published today, in Backing Breakthrough Businesses. You can read The Times’s write-up of our latest report via the link in the comments, including interviews with our Commissioners Steve Rigby, Sam Smith, and Chris Hulatt.