Creative Businesses Thriving in the Perth FGIC Accelerator – powered by Elevator

Laughter, tears, pivots, light bulb moments and also lots of fun and friendships formed along the way too.

Today we hear from Caryn Gibson, Elevator Accelerator Manager – Perth.

You might know that in February of this year Elevator launched their latest Accelerator geared towards supporting and driving creative and design businesses in and around the Perth area in Scotland. This Accelerator is a collaboration with Perth and Kinross Council and is part of a wider project; The Famous Grouse Ideas Centre.

The last few months have been an amazing adventure for the Accelerator Cohort and myself and I wanted to give all of the friends of Elevator an update on the journey so far since we have just passed the halfway mark…(time really does fly when you are having fun!).

The past 7 weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind! We have settled into our temporary home at the AK Bell Library in Central Perth and the Cohort have all been working extremely hard, soaking up all of the guidance and support provided to them and I personally, feel extremely privileged to work with such a dedicated group of individuals.

The Cohort have all joined forces and have formed a strong unit that is supporting, encouraging and motivating each other through the Programme.
It is truly special to watch a community forming and I believe we are at the start of something very special within the Famous Grouse Ideas Centre.

The journey to date has introduced the Cohort to the extremely supportive ecosystem of business support that exists across Perth and the wider Perthshire region. This has taken the Accelerator Founders through stages of discovery and development whilst using visual, customer-led tools and techniques.

There have been tears, laughter, pivots, light bulb moments and also lots of fun and friendships formed along the way too.

We have been lucky enough to have been trained by some really fantastic organisations on topics such as; Design Led Thinking, Engineering Innovation, cashflow forecasting and pricing your products, recruitment and selection, Digital Marketing and we even managed to sneak in some acting classes and confidence building techniques to ensure that whilst the businesses develop so do the people driving it.
The mentors have been so generous with their time, knowledge and connections and the Cohort are just delighted with the support and guidance they receive.

To watch the journey unfold, meet the supporters of the programme and keep up to date with details of the next programme which will kick off later in the year, follow our Twitter page:

@tfgicentre

I asked the Cohort for some feedback to date, here is what they had to say;

‘I am getting amazing guidance, support and inspiration from my time on the Accelerator Programme, not only from the awesome team but also my fantastic team members’ – Freefall Design

‘I’m gaining the confidence, language and tools to sell and market my business powerfully and successfully’ – Kranog

"The Accelerator has totally invigorated me to move my business forward with confidence. I can't praise the programme enough, and we're only just at the halfway mark!" – PK Perspective

‘We’re distilling every aspect of our business through Elevator’s Accelerator, learning new tools and taking on expert advice to create a distinctive blend of services for our client-focused creative business #distillingdistinctivedesign ‘ – Malting House Design Studios

Famous Grouse Ideas Centre, Project Manager, Finlay Kerr said:
It has been great to watch this Cohort bond as a team and develop as individual businesses. We can now start to picture them in new studios or offices at Creative Exchange which will be completed and ready to house creative individuals and businesses from summer 2019. The Famous Grouse Ideas Centre – an innovation lab for creative industries, will be located within the former gym hall at the former primary school, providing business incubation space and project and will, of course, be the home for future Cohorts of The Creative Accelerator.

Other great work is being carried out on the sister programmes of The Creative Accelerator, the Incubator and Creative Pipeline. So no matter the stage or scale of your creative practice or business there is dedicated support available. www.thefamousegrouseideascentre.co.uk

Anis Mourad, Innovation & Enterprise Services: Wider Innovation, Scottish Enterprise said:

“From my point of view, the Accelerator has further reinforced my belief that there is exceptional talent in the Creative Sector, the talent that as an ecosystem we need to help nurture to their full potential.

The openness, enthusiasm and desire to innovate and grow is prevalent through every participant in the Cohort, regardless of the age, stage, size or shape of their business. This makes it an absolute pleasure as an adviser, as you feel that with every interaction you’re able to truly help the businesses.”

If you would like to participate in any of Elevator Accelerators across Scotland please register your interest today.

If you have any questions about our Accelerator please contact Elevator Accelerator Operations Manager, Simon Fraser on Simon@elevatoruk.com or call 07870595008.