Earlier this week we had the honour of talking to Vicky Gosling, CEO of the 2016 Invictus Games and one of the co-founders of the Invictus concept alongside HRH The Duke of Sussex. A former Group Captain in the RAF, Vicky is in Australia this week as strategic adviser to the UK team for this year’s Invictus Games in Sydney.
Vicky’s dedication to the veterans’ cause goes well beyond the sporting arena – Vicky is military ambassador for the Sage Foundation, an initiative of the tech giant that creates entrepreneurial opportunities in local communities, and works on schemes that provide mentorship and training to veterans to help them start their own businesses.
ISB: What attributes make returning veterans successful small-business owners?
VG: The determination and resilience of veterans make them ideally suited to the start-up scene. The ability to navigate a battlefield and not being phased by unexpected, potentially dangerous situations prepares them for navigating the many challenges that often come in the early days of setting up and running a business.
Leadership is also key in steering a start-up, and veterans are very mission-focused, being able to not only think of their feet but also pic king the right team to work with and trusting that team to do the right thing, something their lives depended upon when on active deployment.
ISB: How do you go about providing them with the business acumen they need to succeed?
VG: In Australia our scheme is run by Sage in partnership with the Prince’s Trust to provide a year-lomg program to help veterans transition to being business owners. The scheme kicks off with a “run your own business” week-long residential workshop that identifies the skillsets the veterans need to become entrepreneurs and provides them with the basics.
The Trust then matches the veterans with one of the SME or corporate partners of the program most suited to that veteran’s line of business, and provides the funding for the selected org to provide ongoing training and mentorship. The veterans can come to them for advice at any time through the year and get help with specific challenges or “roadbumps” they encounter in their business’s start-up phase. The veterans also get to attend various events and boot camps that give them expertise in the different aspects required in the running of a developing business.
ISB: How is the scheme funded?
VG: The Prince’s Trust Australia funds the entire program via patrons and sponsor.
ISB: And how successful has it been to date?
VG: Four annual programs have been completed in Australia, providing training and expertise to 86 veterans.
ISB: And where do you see the scheme developing in the years ahead?
VG: This is one of a number of such schemes Sage support globally, and we are continually taking the learnings from different countries to enhance the offering. In the UK the scheme is run by the Ex-Forces organisation and has been going for five years – in that time they have provided support to 1282 veterans, and 93 per cent of the businesses founded those ex-service people, both men and women, have launched successfully.
The Prince’s Trust are in discussions with Ex-Forces about sharing their learnings from their own schemes on a more regular basis and developing more formal partnership.
