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Apply now to SCALE up at residential business school

Published: 01/03/2018

Applications are now open for up to 50 ambitious entrepreneurs eager to grow their business and learn from one of the world’s foremost entrepreneurs.

Professor Bill Aulet, managing director of the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will be in Edinburgh this summer for the residential Can Do SCALE summer school which runs from 18 - 20 June.

An award-winning educator and author, Professor Aulet has taught some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. His teachings stem from his 25-year successful business career, first at IBM and then as a serial entrepreneur, creating hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholder value through his companies.

Launched in 2015, the Can Do SCALE programme, which is delivered in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise, will provide an inspirational, practical and structured approach to developing the skills for business growth.

Drawing on world leading educators and specialists, participants will have the opportunity to take a step back from the daily demands of growing their business to develop a robust strategy for growth combined with a practical action plan.

Professor Bill Aulet, said: “Scotland has so much to offer entrepreneurs. With the Can Do SCALE programme, we provide practical commercial advice giving those businesses with ambition the ability to scale and take it to another level. The programme we’ve devised is based on the best teachings from Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, then contextualised for Scotland with the strong support of FutureX – it’s a level of training which is completely unique.

“Our alumni have gone on to raise ambition, increase turnover and employ more people afterwards.   The chance to step back and reflect with experts and peers in a retreat setting is fundamental to this success. We’re really looking forward to welcoming 2018’s cohort and start working with a new round of go-getting business leaders.”

Jo-Anne Chidley, founder of Beauty Kitchen and Can Do SCALE Alumni (pictured), said: “I found the programme to be a fantastic investment in myself, and my business. With it being residential, you get the headspace to focus on your strategic development and learn from like-minded people at different stages of growth as well as gain invaluable advice from professionals such as Bill. The business decisions we’ve made since completing the programme have undoubtedly been better and more robust than they would have been before Can Do SCALE.”

The programme is being held at the four-star Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club in Edinburgh, on 18 – 20 June, and costs £850. There are 50 places available for businesses with the potential to scale, have a minimum £400k turnover, are on track to reach a minimum £1m turnover, and have the determination to grow by 20%, year on year, over a three-year period.

To attend, businesses must complete a short application form by 2 April through the Can Do SCALE portal, found at: http://scale.scot/.