The Computer Games Journal Ltd Registered Company No

ISSN 2052-773X

The Computer Games Journal Ltd Registered company no. SC 441838

Registered address: 5 Golf Course Rd, Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire, UK (post code PA17 5BH)

journal website: www.computergamesjournal.com journal enquiries: [email protected]

The Computer Games Journal

Volume 2 Edition 3 Martinmas 2013: special edition on entrepreneurship in the games industry

The Computer Games Journal 2(2) Lammas 2013

Volume 2 Edition 3 Martinmas 2013: contents

Editorial

Rise early, word hard, strike oil, maximize your opportunity Tony Maude 3 - 4

Papers

Entrepreneurialism, the games industry and universities Euan Black 5 - 14

I messed up a lot in Year 1…and it was awesome Adam Green 15 - 21

Innovation in business models in the games industry: Free-To-Play or the gaming experience as a service Myriam Davidovici-Nora 22 - 51

A personal reflection by a serial entrepreneur on the failings of the digital media company, TuDocs Ltd John Sutherland 52 - 76

Four interviews with young Scottish students and graduates from a 1990s Scottish university who set up new-start computer games studios Malcolm Sutherland 77 - 102

‘Control-alt-delete’ management: democratisation under the social interaction of the internet Allan Taylor, Charles Malone 103 - 109

The Computer Games Journal 2(2) Lammas 2013

The Computer Games Journal

Editor-in-Chief

Dr John N Sutherland BSc, MSc, EdD, CEng, CISE, CISP, MBCS

Deputy Editors-in-Chief

Dr Tony Maude BSc (Hons), PhD, BD (Hons) Dr Malcolm Sutherland BSc (Hons), PhD

Editorial Board

Prof. Alonzo Addison, University of California Dr Kenny MacAlpine, University of Abertay Dundee Aaron Allport, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Dr Hannah Marston, Deutsche Sporthochschule, Koln Jennifer Ash, User Research, Bungie Alex McGivern, Reality Council Brian Baglow, Revolver PR Stephen McGlinchey, Eurocom Developments Ltd Dawn Beasley, Mission Resourcing Ltd Simon Meek, Tern Digital Pauline Belford, Canterbury Christchurch University Andy Miah, Creative Futures Research Council Euan Black, University of the Highlands and Islands John Nash, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Matt Black, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Walter Patterson, e3Net Kim Blake, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Gary Penn, Denki Ltd Peter Bloomfield; Vertual Ltd Eve Penford-Dennis (freelance game developer) Prof. Paul Bourke, University of Western Australia Dr Mike Reddy, Newport University Dr Fiona Cameron, University of Western Sydney David Renton, West College Scotland Phil Carlisle, Namaste Prof. Skip Rizzo, University of Southern California Dr Gianna Cassidy, Glasgow Caledonian University Derek Robertson, Learning and Teaching Scotland Dr Prathap Chandran, Smartlearn Telcomp Scott Roberts, University of the West of Scotland Pierre Corbeil, retired professor, Quebec Sheila Robinson, Solvebrand Gordon Dow, PowerLunchClub Ltd Karl Royle, University of Wolverhampton Barry Elder, Digital Minds Mario Santana, VSMM Society Laurence Emms, Pixar Lol Scragg, Gamify Consultancy David Farrell, Glasgow Caledonian University Matt Seeney, Gameology Consultancy Dr Antonio Ramires Fernandes, Universidade do Minho Stuart Slater, University of Wolverhampton Ross Forshaw, Linx Online Ltd Martin Williamson Smith, University of the West of Scotland Bill Gallacher, Reid Kerr College Colin Smyth, Blitz Games Studios Alan Gauld, BT Prof. Ian Smythe, Newport University Remi Gillig, Asobo Studio Mazen Sukkar, Headstrong Games Jullian Gold, Short Fuse Ltd Dr Allan Taylor, University of Abertay Dundee Natalie Griffith, formerly at Blitz Games Studios David Thomson, founder of Ludometrics Richard Hackett, formerly at Blitz Games Studios Prof. Jim Terkeurst, University of Winsconsin Muhammad Nouman Hanif, Radius Interactive Prof. Harold Thwaites, Multimedia University Cyberjaya Douglas Henry, former developer at Bigpoint Studios Prof. Olga de Troyer, Vrije Universiteit Brussel Michael Heron, Epitaph Online Chris Viggers, Blitz Games Studios Mark Hobbs, Natural Motion Dr Krzysztof Walczak, Poznan University of Economics Prof. Charalampos Karagiannidis, University of Thessaly Peter Walsh, Vancouver Film School Romana Khan, Caledonian University Shaun Wilson, RMIT University Andrzej Klimczuk, Warsaw School of Economics Chris Wright, Games Analytics Chris van der Kuyl, Brightsolid Anne Wuebbenhorst, Digital Goldfish Prof. Ian Marshall, Coventry University

Aims of The Computer Games Journal

The focus of The Computer Games Journal is on new and emerging technologies, market trends and other critical issues facing the computer games industry. The journal draws particular attention to research by undergraduate and postgraduate students, and commentary by industry professionals. The intention is to promote and publish information, which is of direct relevance to both computer games entrepreneurs and to students who are intent on developing a career in the industry.

The Computer Games Journal 2(2) Lammas 2013

Editorial: rise early, work hard, strike oil, maximise your opportunity

Tony Maude

(Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Computer Games Journal)

According to the Anglo-American tycoon John Paul Getty the formula for success is simple; rise early, work hard, strike oil. It certainly worked for him; at one time he was the wealthiest private individual in the world. To put Getty‟s formula in more general terms, success is a matter of being ahead of the competition (rise early), staying ahead of the competition (work hard) and having the right product at the right time (strike oil). I could add that success also depends on making the most of opportunity when it arises, which is part of working hard.

How might this translate into a field such as Computer Games? Let us look at each of the steps in turn:

1: Rise Early

Observed from the outside – I am neither a computer games producer, nor a „hardcore‟ games player – the computer games industry is a fascinating hybrid. On one hand it is clearly a creative industry employing artists, designers, authors, story-tellers, musicians, composers and others. On the other hand the industry is also science-dependent, requiring a higher than average understanding of mathematics and physics, together with some fairly advanced language and logic skills. Finding and assembling groups of people with such a disparate range of skills, then keeping them together and committed to a project is no easy matter, but for a games producer it is essential. Being unable to do this guarantees failure, but how is it to be done?

2: Work Hard

If gaining an advantage over the competition is difficult, keeping that advantage is not easy either. It seems that in a rapidly changing technological landscape, the only constant is change. You only need to consider the proliferation of different platforms on which games are now played and the resulting fragmentation of the computer games market to see this. Commit to the wrong technology, even if it might be inherently superior to the alternatives, and you could lose everything – Betamax video recorder, anybody?

Assuming that you have a product that is doing well – we‟ll come to that in a moment – you need to ensure that your product is made available to the greatest possible number of potential purchasers/users. This requires huge flexibility and adaptability. Whilst steps can be taken to make this easier, particularly at the programming stage of game development, it is no simple matter to achieve this aim, especially if – as is likely – you are also trying to develop the sequel to your game. Hard work is unavoidable if a games entrepreneur is to stand any chance of success.

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3: Strike Oil

No matter which way you look at it, computer gaming is a leisure activity and games and games consoles are luxury items. (Whether tablets, smart-phones etc. are luxuries or essential in modern society is a debatable point.) The western world continues to suffer the consequences of the 2008 financial crash. The cost of living continues to rise faster than incomes, and those in work find their leisure time increasingly squeezed by the demands of employers. Under such an economic climate, selling computer games becomes more and more difficult. Developers must produce the right game at the right time and market it in the right way, and the rewards can still be substantial, but is there any way of knowing what the right game will be at any moment in time? Who predicted the success of either Angry Birds™ or Candy Crush™?

This is not a problem unique to the Computer Games industry; all creative industries from music to publishing, from film to fashion suffer from the unpredictability of their markets. There is no guaranteed way to predict how tastes will shift from one year to the next. What is huge today may sink without trace tomorrow. It is not easy to strike metaphorical oil.

One way to increase the chance of striking oil is to be incredibly creative; to take risks with no guarantees of reward. Another American tycoon, John D. Rockefeller put it like this: “If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.” In other words, don‟t copy what everyone else is doing; be original.

But this demand for creativity and originality lies in tension with the final step that I believe is required to succeed, and it is to this that I turn now.

4: Maximise Your Opportunity

When, as a result of rising early and working hard, you have struck oil, it is essential to make the most of your opportunity; to maximise the reward that you receive for your efforts. But how is this to be done?

One way is to embark on the production of a number of sequels to your game. This is the Hollywood model – and it results in Shrek IITM, Shrek IIITM and Shrek IVTM, none of which is quite as enjoyable as the original film. In Computer Games it means Tomb RaiderTM is followed by Tomb Raider 2TM, in which Lara Croft bends over; Doom is followed by numerous clones and copies, Command and ConquerTM spawns a seemingly endless series of sequels etc. This model is appropriate for titles such as the FIFA franchise; football players move from club to club, develop new skills, and eventually decline and retire, but I wonder, how many first person shoot-„em-ups the games market can readily absorb? And while this model is viable for large, established computer games companies (maybe even essential given the demands of shareholders and banks, and the need to try to maintain employment for the workforce), is it achievable or even appropriate to the typical small games company?

A further challenge to this model is the shift away from a pay-to-play model of distribution towards a play-to-pay model. Many of the most successful games today are free-to-play, or at least available as low-cost apps. With this trend in the market, how is maximum monetization achievable?

It is questions like these that are addressed by the papers in this edition of the Computer Games Journal, which focuses on issues surrounding entrepreneurship in the Computer Games industry. We hope you find it helpful.

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Entrepreneurialism, the games industry and universities

Euan Black

Address: UHI Management School, The University of the Highlands and Islands, Layman Road, Inverness, Highlands (UK) e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The article is a personal and reflective piece related in part to the games industry and to the role of universities in supporting the development of entrepreneurial behaviour and activity. The games industry, as many others, is undergoing considerable change, with new business models and new and distinct niches emerging rapidly. The response from large commercial organisations may not always be the quickest for the new and emerging distinct customer groups, and smaller, more creative, entrepreneurial businesses might have an increased role and impact in the sector.

The games industry is particularly important to the UK and there are opportunities on a global scale. Given the current government drive to improve the economic performance of Scotland, where international growth and development will be critical, this sector might be particularly important to our national economy.

The creative and innovative talent is here in Scotland, and there are two questions: (i) what is the best way to tap into the available talent, in an effort to support effective businesses; and, (ii) secondly, how can universities better support students to develop the employability skills and attributes they will need?

This article utilises the entrepreneurial model developed by Timmons (1999) to reflect on the criticality of the team to supporting new ventures / businesses. Individuals interested in the gaming sector may be more likely to engage with others with similar interests and programmes at universities that have such a strong technical element may limit the formal interactions students have in a productive or educational way with others. Supporting the development of more diverse teams has potential to help the sector grow in ever more innovative ways to meet the needs of a broader consumer market.

Keywords: games industry, talent, universities, education, programming

Article Information

Received: October 2013 Accepted: October 2013 Available: online December 2013

All trademarks acknowledged

1: Introduction

First of all, I need to be open and honest at the outset that I am not a big gamer. There was a time when I played video games, but as a father of three young boys, I rarely get the chance to play on our consoles or even on my smartphone. I guess at best I am a casual gamer these days and even in my youth (if I‟m honest), I was not heavily into games. I do however have a strong interest in technology and particularly technology for the mass market.

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I am from Dundee, the home of Sir Clive Sinclair‟s revolution, and where I got my first computer - a ZX81 model - when I was 12. Although a huge number of ZX81 computers were sold, I think it was the Spectrum computer, which - around Dundee and among my friends ñ kick-started a thirst for computer gaming. I never updated to the Spectrum though. Instead, I opted for the Oric Atmos 48K model. Indeed, there were many alternatives for gamers who did not choose the Spectrum.1,2

I have had many computers through the years (most of them Apple brands); other computers and consoles included Microsoft Windows, the Nintendo Wii, and, more recently, an Xbox. I have watched the development of the computer games industry as an outsider, and I see the current period as one when the industry is again in the process of re-defining itself and developing significant new business models.

My interest lies on the business side, such as the opportunities for the video games industry, and what the changing dynamics might mean for my industry, which is the further and higher education sector. My role as an academic is to develop not only the technical skills and competences of graduates, but also their employability skills. Employability is becoming ever more critical to university curricula, and is a challenge given the re-shaping and changes to the economy. The further education sector needs to think a little more creatively and innovatively, and develop activities that draw out the right balance of skills and attributes, and so provide flexible and responsive graduates who can have an impact in the workplace or who can create their own workplaces.

In my view, there is a lot of fragmentation within the games industry as different approaches are emerging, as more people take advantage of different market opportunities and, within that, greater opportunities for smaller, flexible and entrepreneurial business. Creativity is inherent in the development of games. For example, I feel amazed at the creativity in games such as Granny Smith, or Plants v Zombies, or Minecraft, and the way they draw my children into a strange and often very compelling environment. I think this creativity and innovation can be applied to the business side, in an effort to find ever more creative ways to identify and serve a particular market profitably.

2: The Games Industry

The video games industry is clearly a key industry for the UK and Scotland. TIGA, a trade association representing the games industry, examined research conducted by PWC (Price Waterhouse Cooper), and suggested that the games industry adds over £1bn to the UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and supports more than 9,000 highly skilled jobs with more than 80% of them outside London. A less flattering view of the sector in Scotland was given by the Arts and Creative Industries in Scotland, which suggested the sector employs 200 people, and that the gross value added to the Scottish economy by the industry is zero. The Scottish Government Report (2009) reported that (to use a slightly different grouping) the games, software and electronic publishing sector is one of the more valuable creative industry sub-sectors, with Gross Value Added (GVA) per employee across the broader sector at £72,000. The government does recognise some of the challenges in the groupings and its measurement of the sector. However, the evidence does suggest there is significant value in the games and connected industry sectors within and beyond Scotland. The developments driving the video games industry forward are a critical focus of this paper.3-6

Data provided through the Key Sector Database indicates some interesting trends in the size of business. According to the data for the computer games, software and electronic publishing sector: the number of small firms (1 to 49 employees) grew from 970 in 2006, to 1240 in 2010; for medium sized firms (50-249 employees), the numbers were 50 in 2006, and 60 in 2010; and, for large sized firms (250+ employees), there were 40 in 2006, and 35 in 2010.7

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Helping the video games industry progress forward is an important aim in the broader Government Economic Strategy. Video games have an important role within the creative industries. The UK games industry has more international opportunities than many other sectors. Growth and innovation are clearly on the agenda.

3: A changing industry?

It seems to me from the outside that the games industry is undergoing considerable change. There is increasing fragmentation in the market, and new niches, platforms and opportunities emerge almost every day.

In my opinion, one of the key evolving niches is the casual gaming market. Looking back, I see the gaming market as traditionally based on consoles, with games having high development costs and the cost per game being relatively high. Whilst such games were not necessarily a luxury item, they were developed for people who we could consider to be avid gamers. Gamers were developing products for other gamers ñ they understood their interest and the market and with that strong connection had a good understanding of the product that was needed. For many years, the games consoles market was broadly stable, and allowed for significant investment in the development of new games for a particular niche.

This once-steady market was disrupted by the evolution of the smartphone and tablet, and the rise of the apps market. Game developers began to target „casual‟ gamers who do not pay £40 for a game, but are happy to pay a much smaller token, e.g. 69 pence.

As an aside, I will mention that my three sons play games on Wii, Xbox and iOS devices. The purchase of a new console game is one that requires a bit of negotiation on their part. Within reason, buying an iOS game is simpler (although my main concern is not the cost of the game, but the revenue models within the game). There seems to be a lot more trial and error with the iOS apps, and that alone provides opportunities for new and creative approaches that may be more challenging in the console gaming market.

A further feature is the growth in the mobile gaming industry. Mobile phones provide access to a significant market for casual gamers and for games developers that can apply their creative thinking in different directions. The mobile market is significant, with spending on apps for Google and Apple now estimated to be 4 times that for gaming-optimised devices. The market in July 2013 was estimated at being worth over $1 Billion - a rise of more than 5% during the past year - and with one product alone providing over $400,000 of that revenue.8,9

The rise of the mobile downloads market has had a major impact on the overall games industry. In the United States, the sale of video games declined from $10.1 billion in 2009, to $6.7 billion in 2012. Sales for other delivery methods (including mobile) rose from $5.4 billion to $7.7 billion in that time. In terms of the total market, the video game segment has declined, from just over 62% of the market in 2009, to around 45% in 2012.10

This was a significant shift. It was not simply the shift away from the more traditional video gaming industry towards mobile. The rise in the mobile downloads market presented some distinct challenges. One of the key issues of working in the mobile sector is the fragmentation of that sector. Whilst iOS has some degree of stability (given the constrained number of devices it operates on), the fragmentation of Android (with some 12,000 different devices), the development of the Windows mobile (e.g. the Nokia LumeaTM), and the collapse of the Blackberry company suggest that picking the

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right product and market is critical. Paradoxically, it may also be true that the fragmentation opens up an opportunity to pilot and test mobile games; to develop them in a low-risk, low-cost manner; and to build something that has much broader market potential.11

It seems to me that different devices have different market appeal, and thus different niches appear within the different framework. It is important to choose the best device and market ñ but how does a games developer respond to this changing and uncertain landscape?

Another key challenge is the business model to be followed. The standard business model would see the business selling the game for a significant fee. Increasingly, developers are finding more innovative ways to generate income, for example from ad-supported games, or through in-app purchases. Even where a fee element remains, the pricing model is much more fluid and flexible due to the cost base.12

One further thought I will raise at this time relates to what a game developer is or could be. The opportunities of the mobiles market embrace much more than writing games. In developing gaming apps for mobile devices, there are opportunities to apply the skill set to the development of a wider range of apps. Increasingly, organisations are looking to develop specialist or tailored apps. There are opportunities in health and education, and in many other areas. I cannot make an accurate guess as to where all this is going. There appears to be an interaction of a wide range of factors that have a significant impact on the games industry, creating considerable uncertainty, and therefore an opportunity for developers to keep moving forward.

The opportunity within the games industry is the significant shift away from larger businesses developing high-cost games, to smaller, more flexible, more market-aware operations targeting different niches. In many ways this is akin to the broader market for graduates within the creative industries.

The evidence from the broader creative industries sector is that graduates within that sector follow a different career pathway with graduates more likely to be self-employed. A longitudinal study indicated that around of quarter of creative graduates were self-employed or working on portfolio careers as compared to 10.8% of Scotland‟s total population.13

Smaller, more entrepreneurial businesses might provide a basis for the changing gaming sector, and this may change the list of skills expected of graduates seeking opportunities in the sector. There is some evidence emerging from research into key sectors in Scotland (unfortunately not yet published), that in the creative industries sector, the size of firms is not „small‟ but „micro‟, and they are often one- person or two-person operations. Here lies another danger - the skill set of the business is small, and perhaps not as able to respond creatively to market opportunities.

There is much talk about how we (and by „we‟, I mean the further education sector i.e. the sector in which I work) support the development of new businesses. There is much discussion about the role of the entrepreneur, and quite rightly so. However, I seek to broaden that argument in this paper.

If the games industry is headed down a route of becoming a sector dominated by smaller businesses, then there is a strong rationale that universities and colleges need to work with individuals interested in this sector in supporting their entrepreneurial ability, and perhaps strengthening and broadening their networks with people in industry, so that with a more teamwork-focussed approach, graduates can respond more creatively to the market opportunity.

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I do not doubt the sense of this, but I do think there may be alternative support measures that education providers could take to support new business development.

4: How should universities respond?

I work for Scotland‟s newest university, and I work in a very distinctive region. Our economic base (aside from public sector organisations) is composed primarily of micro and small businesses, and we face significant challenges in terms of our regional economy. There are opportunities with significant key Scottish and world sectors such as renewable energy, food and drink, and the creative industries.

All universities are being tasked by the government to improve and enhance the skills of their graduates, in order to make them more employable. The government is very concentrated on the need to support and strengthen economic growth and makes the strong and clear connection to the value of a highly skilled workforce.14

A key area of employability is enterprise skills. The development and creation of new business opportunities does require a distinctive skill set to be successful. There are many methods that have been developed. However, increasingly, there is a focus on the development of skills within the particular programme of study (in this paper, the enterprise skills within the context of the gaming industry). I recently attended an event, where colleagues from Babson were talking about new business ventures utilising the following model by Timmons (1999): 15

I think this model has a lot to offer with its simplicity and its focus on the team as being critical to supporting the business venture. The business venture, which stems from an opportunity and which requires resources (not just money) to make it work, is balanced on the strength of the team involved. I think this notion of the team is incredibly and increasingly important, and that one of the challenges is to build stronger and more diverse teams to support the development of the business.

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Within this article I have suggested that there are increasing opportunities for creative business propositions within the gaming industry, and I think the resource needs are becoming more flexible and cheaper for those looking to get involved. Perhaps the main challenge is this notion of the team.

By developing enterprise skills within programmes, we must encourage graduates to think about the opportunity by creating a business for themselves. That is clearly a worthwhile task in itself, but perhaps the opportunity we need to consider is how we might combine a greater range of diverse people into the entrepreneurial mix, in the hope that from that mix even more innovative businesses may emerge.

I presume that many of the students on games degree programmes are really interested in games, and/or possess a strong set of technical and creative skills to apply to the development of games and other mobile apps. Enthusiasm and technical expertise are essential for business development. In addition, there is the need for a broader set of skills, with commercial knowledge, finance, strategic thinking, psychology, marketing (etc.), which are all important in building a successful business. Given the uncertain environment of the games industry, there is an increased need to think about that broader skills base.

I know graduates will interact with other contacts from their university, but I do think there is an opportunity for universities to explore the enterprise support they provide at a collective level. A lot of the entrepreneurial support is based on a reactive model, i.e. waiting for an idea to emerge. Universities support students with knowledge and capability, and where ideas emerge, they can provide more specialist support. I recognise that the skill set developed will have a broader value and can be used in larger or smaller organisations, but the creation of any new business is partly down to chance. You cannot force people into creating a new business, but perhaps there is more you can to do to provoke or push a few more students into thinking about and exploring the opportunities of a new company and products.

A more proactive approach might be to start building up a network or team, rather than simply wait for an opportunity. The entrepreneur can decide to seek out a team, which can meet that opportunity. The entrepreneur is likely to look for people he/she knows; friends or family or other people, and thus deepen the strength of the network. In building a business from the team up, there is perhaps the chance that the opportunity is stronger, and there is greater potential to move the idea forward.

5: So how might this be delivered?

Universities provide a great environment for people to interact with one another. Developing relationships is a key part of the overall university experience. The university tends to play no active role in this process, and individuals are left to their own devices to forge new relationships and friendships. In the current environment these relationships may of course be relevant where individuals look to develop new business ventures, drawing in people they know with a skill set which in turn may be valuable. With luck, the individual driving the business will be able to pull in the right mix of skills to help the business become successful.

The risk in this model is the diversity of the relationships, and the full range of skills which are needed. Given the broad uncertainties in the games market, there is a role for universities to fortify students with an entrepreneurial skill set. A potential way forward may be to bring together multi-disciplinary teams of individuals throughout the University, who will explore business opportunities in a proactive way. Teams could include groups of gaming and technical students, psychologists, and financers seeking to identify a commercial opportunity that they could take forward. Any such model would face

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challenges in terms of timescale and planning, i.e. creating space in the academic calendar. Could a multi-disciplinary team project be included at/near the end of a degree programme, and lead to a separate additional award? A programme could run over a three-month period, and could substantially increase graduate employability.

The project could consist of small groups of 5 or 6 students from diverse backgrounds (in terms of interests and degree subjects, as well as social backgrounds). Every group will be asked to identify a commercial or business opportunity, and where such opportunities emerge, the groups could be assisted with short-term funding to drive the business idea forward.

I am sure that not every team will produce a promising business idea, and that not every good business idea could be turned into a profitable business. Nevertheless, I do think that this group project concept might lead to new and different opportunities. The students will explore and learn about the team dynamics in new venture creation, and they will also learn that whilst waiting for a business idea is an option, actively looking for one (particularly as part of a creative group) may be much more effective.

New, strong business ideas emerging from these group projects could be integrated into developments such as the Entrepreneurial Spark programme (or ESpark). This entrepreneurial accelerator programme for new business ventures, particularly those with high growth potential, could support the new businesses as they progress forward. The programme may provide opportunities for funding, networking and broader collective problem-solving. These combined processes might help support the development of more businesses with high growth potential, and reduce the timescale for the businesses becoming financially viable.16

The initiative at ESpark is an interesting one and is part of the long-sought-after solution to drive new venture start-ups, and to support and encourage high growth enterprises. Jim Duffy, the CEO of ESpark, made the claim that, “Universities and research organisations write papers on entrepreneurship constantly...but when we look at Scotland‟s most successful entrepreneurs, they just got on with the job of „entrepreneuring‟.” This is an interesting argument, and whilst it is not one I would fully endorse, I believe Duffy is correct in that universities could become more pro-active in helping students become business creators.17

I think universities do have a critical role to play. The problem is that many of their initiatives are difficult to measure in the short term, and - given some of the changes in the economy ñ I believe they need to operate more creatively and effectively. This will include taking risks - educated risks, of course - but risks nonetheless. Students setting up their own businesses need the space and the support for this.

According to the Simmons model, it is clear that the team is the critical part of the enterprise dynamic. I‟ve worked with a number of SMEs: some successful, and some less successful. In my experiences, I know that the team element is very i