Never a more difficult time for entrepreneurs, says BrewDog founder
Share:
BrewDog founder James Watt has said there “has never been a more difficult time to start a business in the UK”, blaming the Chancellor’s Budget for making it tougher for entrepreneurs. It came as the Scottish businessman, whose comments about work-life balance have stoked controversy in recent weeks, announced plans for a new reality show with the largest cash prize in UK TV history.
Mr Watt is seeking entrepreneurs to take part in House Of Unicorns, in which they will have a chance of winning £2 million to help grow their businesses. The entrepreneur, who co-founded craft beer giant BrewDog in Aberdeenshire in 2007, will invest £1 million of his own cash into the winning business, with another £1 million from Founders Capital, Europe’s largest founder investor community.
Mr Watt is teaming up with Sony and Whisper Productions to make the new programme, having previously invested in a raft of businesses through his The Next Unicorn online show. Founders, entrepreneurs and business leaders will be put through their paces over the course of six weeks to compete for the chance to claim the £2 million prize.
Mr Watt said the plan for the show stemmed from frustrations over the current array of business investment shows, such as Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice. He said: “I’ve always been so disillusioned and, frankly, fed up with the tired format of reality TV business shows relying on worn-out tropes and stale stereotypes of entrepreneurs for comedy value, which are well past their sell-by date.”.
