Eight Weeks To Turn Bright Ideas Into Winning Business

NOW is time for the real work to begin. Last week, 50 Scottish university students completed a week-long entrepreneurial "boot camp", where they were fed on a strict diet of brainstorming and tests of their motivational skills and business planning. By the end of the week, 12 teams had developed business ideas that they pitched to a Dragons' Den-style panel made up of members of the Entreprenurial Exchange.

At the end of the programme James Barlow, chief executive of Scottish Institute for Enterprise, said: "The feedback we've had from members of the exchange has been very positive and the students have been raving. It has been great."The 12 teams will spend the next eight weeks developing their business plans. On 8 September the teams will reconvene. Barlow expects at least two or three sound business ideas that the students will take forward. "They will either pull their ideas together and move forwards quickly or they will realise it is perhaps not the right idea and then have eight weeks to come up with a new one," Barlow said. "Part of the challenge over the next eight weeks is to bring in other people who can help make their venture a reality."

One team has put their money on launching a bra-fitting service. Stephanie Taylor, Holly McKay and Joanne Ballantyne are working on developing a brand and logo as well as working out the practicalities of arranging groups of women at homes or offices to properly fit and try on bras.The idea came from Taylor, 20, an Edinburgh University chemistry student, who felt the service available in the high street was aimed more at her gran.

Brian Williamson, a serial entrepreneur and founder of business development consultancy Tiger Eye, was one of the "dragons" offering feeback and advice. Unlike his counterparts on television, he took a much more gentle, supportive approach, offering feedback via e-mail so as not to alienate teams. But he admits he has seen some odd proposals in his time."I've come across everything from the waterproof teabag to the inflatable dartboard," Williamson said, adding that he was impressed by the students' acumen and enthusiasm. "I always think if you see something in a youngster you want to give them any help you can. Encouragement costs nothing."

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Among the teams' ideas:

• Mobile bra fitting boutiqueJoanne Ballantyne, Stephanie Taylor and Holly McKay are looking to take a personal and professional bra-fitting and retail service to women's homes and workplaces.

• Target Text- Thomas MacThomas, Cordelia O'Hare, Geraldine O'Kane, Ry Morgan and Stephen Flavahan are developing a "permission-based" SMS and MMS advertising business focused on promotions to students that enables the user to be paid for receiving targeted ads.

• Rainbow Foundation Angela McLaughlin and Struan Campbell will develop a social enterprise that aims to use its profits to provide psychological counselling to young people.

• Flat-pack gardens Elizabeth Habgood and Nicole Petrak will develop a "garden-in-a-tile", where the tile, pre-loaded with soil, nutrients and seeds of your choice is simply laid and watered. This would cover bedding plants, herbs and vegetables. They aim to meet garden centre entrepreneur and Entrepreneurial Exchange member Sir Tom Hunter.