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Anyone starting a business in the South West can access free expert coaching worth £1,000 from the highly acclaimed School for Startups team to help get their new company off the ground.

Thanks to funding provided through the Plymouth and South West Peninsula City Deal, the intensive 6 week accelerator course delivered by by visionary entrepreneur Doug Richard – an original Dragon from BBC’s Dragon’s Den - is being made available to people in the South West free of charge.

Dozens of budding businesses have already been launched in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset after the first round of workshops was held earlier this year, and now dates have been announced for the second cycle taking place during September and October in Plymouth, Exeter, Barnstaple and Taunton.

Applications are open now at www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/southwest

Doug Richard is hosting free information events to further explain the School for Startups programme, provide key tips on starting and funding a business, and offer an opportunity to meet the team at all four venues on September 9th and 10th.

School for Startups founder, CEO and former BBC Dragon, Doug Richard, said: “We had such a tremendous response to the first cycle of the School for Startups South West programme that we’re excited to get going with round two, and help hundreds more new businesses get off the ground.

“All too often, new businesses fail because people don’t have the right support or know-how and that’s why we’ve designed this course specifically to offer that. All you need is an idea and the drive, and within six weeks we can dramatically increase your chances of success. The brilliant feedback from the first round is a clear testament to this.”

Mirek Wilewski, who attended workshops in Plymouth earlier this summer, said: “I learnt more in one hour of this course than I did in a whole year of my business degree.”

Torquay-based Melinda De Smidt said: “The course gave me the tools to turn my idea into reality – it showed me all I don’t know, and how to go about learning it.”

Jo Symons from Plymouth added: “Without doing this, I would have wasted the next year or two of my life. I recommend it to anyone looking to start up a new business.”

School for Startups aims to start 250 new businesses in the region this year, and the

intensive programme – which would usually cost budding entrepreneurs over £1,000 to attend -  is being offered entirely free of charge this year thanks to the City Deal and its £6million business support programme funded by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF).

Entrepreneurs can book a free place at one of the information events by visiting www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/southwest/events/

Free information events with Doug Richard are happening at:

> Plymouth on Sep 9th from 4pm-5.30pm

> Exeter on Sep 10th from 9am-10.30am

> Barnstaple on Sep 10th from 1pm-2.30pm

> Taunton on Sep 10th from 5pm-6.30pm

The taster events will explain more about the six-week intensive School for Startups programme, which will be delivered between September 30th and October 31st in Plymouth, Exeter, Barnstaple and Taunton.

The immersive course will include three full days of interactive business training from world-class teachers, access to six weeks of round the clock support and a personal business advisor, and the chance to network with a group of new and talented fellow entrepreneurs.

To apply for a place on the six-week course, visit www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/southwest/