Sheffield could be pilot to help the ‘missing million’

Michael Hayman said the E20 group of entrepreneurs – which met for the first time at MADE – will be a “testbed for ideas” for getting unemployed 16-24 year-olds into meaningful jobs.

The inaugural summit at Chatsworth covered apprenticeships, mentoring, access to finance, enterprise education and get-up-and-go spirit.

“Some of the ideas were so good,” said Mr Hayman. “There is strong interest from within the city council to position Sheffield as a national pilot for the ideas that emanate from the E20.”

John Mothersole, chief executive of the council, is understood to support the plan and has asked officers to look into it. The plan would be subject to political approval.

E20 delegates include Will Butler-Adams, managing director of Brompton Bicycle, Luke Johnson, chairman of Risk Capital Partners, Will King, CEO of King of Shaves, Rupert Lee-Browne, CEO of Caxton FX, Doug Richard, founder of School for Startups, and David Richards, co-founder and CEO of WANdisco.

Lord Young of Graffham, the Prime Minister’s enterprise adviser, chaired the meeting, which was hosted by the Duke of Devonshire.

Festival organisers said that 4,000 people attended MADE events over three days. Many were college students and aspiring entrepreneurs as well as more established business people.

The festival was the subject of more than 4,500 Tweets reaching an online audience of nearly two million people.

Highlights included a keynote speech from the Duke of York, who heralded the importance of leadership and teamwork to success in business.

Speaking to an audience of 2,300 in City Hall on Thursday, Prince Andrew said: “What an extraordinary event. It is something that has grown over the last three years out of all recognition.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable, who also spoke on Thursday, said the gathering “reflects the enormous strength and growth of the smaller business and entrepreneur community in very, very difficult economic conditions”.

Peter Jones, the telecoms tycoon and star of Dragons’ Den, told the Yorkshire Post that he could not think of a larger event of its kind in the UK.

“There are so many reasons why this is good,” he said.

Mr Jones, who was mobbed by young fans when he arrived at City Hall, added: “It’s good for Sheffield and the region and it’s good for business and enterprise.”

He told the audience about the importance of enterprise education in the UK and called on parents and teachers to help create a “British dream” for young people to aspire to. He has invested “millions” in his group of 36 enterprise academies, he said.

Mr Hayman said feedback from the third MADE festival has been “utterly phenomenal” with “not a single negative comment”.

“Somehow we captured the spirit of the Olympics at MADE this year, creating this totally positive sense of excitement,” he added.

Festival speakers included Wayne Hemingway, the fashion designer, Lord Bilimoria, chairman of Cobra Beer, Kanya King, founder of the MOBO music awards, Charles Morgan, chairman of Morgan Motor Company, Robin Rowland, founder of Yo! Sushi restaurant chain, and James Lohan, co-founder of Mr and Mrs Smith luxury travel firm.

The Yorkshire Post hosted a fringe event with Martin Penny, the co-founder and former CEO of global haircare brand GHD, Nick Glynne, the founder and CEO of Buy It Direct, Chris Hopkins, the founder and managing director of Ploughcroft Renewables, and Natasha Whiddon, a lawyer turned entrepreneur.

The panel debate emphasised the importance of getting up early, listening to gut instinct and seizing the moment.

Speaking about the definition of success, Mr Glynne said: “It’s not about money – money flows – it’s about good business practice.”

@bernardginns