Catapult launches competition to help CEOs scale-up their business
Marketing
The Satellite Applications Catapult is teaming up with the Cambridge Judge Business School’s Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of Cambridge, to offer two places for CEOs of space ‘scale-ups’ to participate in the Business School?s SME Growth Challenge Programme. Each place on the Programme, which commences on 21 September 2017, is fully funded by the Catapult and worth £5,000.
The SME Growth Challenge Programme is ideally suited to ambitious revenue generating small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), whose business is reaching a critical decision point in future growth plans and facing choices between different paths, including new products, new geographies, new markets, or trying to streamline processes and achieve healthier margins.
SMEs that want to grow their business by transitioning from a project-based consultancy model to a scalable product or service offering are encouraged to apply.
The SME Growth Challenge Programme is structured around the needs of the business with six one-day workshops taking place in Cambridge spread across 12 months, and an additional session hosted by the Catapult. The Programme provides access to the latest management thinking, facilitates the sharing of insights about commonly experienced challenges, and offers a range of possible tools to help management select between options and avoid the pitfalls of indecision or ‘spread betting’ on growth strategies.
Stuart Martin, CEO, Satellite Applications Catapult said, “Small firms face significant challenges in scaling up their business and it can be difficult to know the best path to take to achieve success. With the level of growth and opportunity in the space sector, many of the companies we support are experiencing this. Our partnership with the Cambridge Judge Business School will enable CEOs to develop a plan to fit their business needs and be supported to achieve their goals. This is a great opportunity for a space SME to step-change their growth.”
Professor Stylianos Kavadias, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre, Cambridge Judge Business School said, “We are extremely excited to welcome the space sector to our SME Growth Challenge Programme, and we are thankful to our partners at the Catapult for making this happen. Our programme offers the opportunity for CEOs and the top executives of small and medium size enterprises to account for their current strategies, put them to test from a growth ambition standpoint and develop growth opportunities and the respective implementation plans. Essentially, we push the companies? top management teams to lift their heads away from the firefighting daily realities and towards the longer-term growth paths they need to undertake. Growth management is a skill much needed to ensure sustainable growth and we support the participants in developing that skillset.”
To apply for a place candidates need to complete the short application form by Thursday 10 August 2017.
Shortlisted applicants will be phone interviewed by the Cambridge Judge Business School team who together with a panel from the Catapult will select two candidates to join the course.
Successful applicants will then meet with representatives from the Cambridge Judge Business School and the Catapult (usually at the SME’s premises) for one day prior to the course to flesh out in detail the particular challenges and choices facing the company on the path to growth that the course can address.
Further information on the course is available on the Cambridge Judge Business School website.
