James Reed: UK needs entrepreneurs desperately. So I’m gonna fund them
My father founded Reed in 1960 with just £75. My new fund will help create the next generation of entrepreneurs Britain so desperately needs, says James Reed
Why I’m backing Britain’s entrepreneurs
British entrepreneurs are remarkably resilient. We have a strong culture of innovation and a long history of building successful businesses from scratch. But if we are serious about economic growth, we need to be much more serious about supporting the people who actually create jobs: our entrepreneurs.
Too often at the moment, the entrepreneurial community feels overlooked or worse put upon. The Government says growth is its top priority, but businesses continue to face rising costs, higher taxes and increasing caution around hiring. The cost of employing someone on minimum wage in Britain is now approaching £30,000 a year once taxes and other costs are included. That is a significant barrier for small firms trying to grow.
At the same time, as Alan Milburn’s review for the Government highlights, approaching one million young people aged 18 to 24 are not in employment, education or training. That should concern all of us. Entry-level jobs are becoming harder to find, traditional career paths are disappearing and AI is quickly reshaping the labour market.
We need to think differently about how we prepare young people for work and business creation. Financial education should play a far bigger role in schools. More young people should be encouraged towards vocational and entrepreneurial routes. And culturally, we need to become more comfortable with risk and failure. In America, failed businesses are often seen as valuable experiences. In Britain, we can still be far too cautious.
That is one reason why I am launching the All About Business Entrepreneurs Fund.
Inspired by my father, Sir Alec Reed, who founded Reed in 1960 aged just 26 with £75, the fund will support 66 young entrepreneurs with £20,000 grants, mentorship and a national platform to help grow their businesses.
In the first year, at least six entrepreneurs aged 18 to 26 will receive funding and mentoring support. Applicants must already have a business trading with at least one paying customer, because this is about backing people who have already taken the first step.
Britain has enormous entrepreneurial potential. But talent alone is not enough. If we want growth, opportunity and job creation, we must enthusiastically back the people willing to build businesses and create the future.
- Applications for the All About Business Entrepreneurs Fund are open until July 7 at www.reed.com/entrepreneurs
Are you ‘lower-value human capital’?
Who would want to hear their children or themselves described as “lower-value human capital”, as 7,800 axed workers were recently by Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters? Lots of people, particularly in the next generation, are feeling threatened by the march of AI. Reed’s data shows that graduate jobs are under a lot of pressure, and especially in sectors like finance and the law.
In this situation, businesses need to proceed with more care and responsibility towards their workforces. AI may not turn out to be the panacea it is cracked up to be. None of us wants to end up in a world where the majority of us has no job and no purpose in life. It is interesting that in China, the courts and government have ruled that firms cannot use AI as a legal pretext for mass layoffs or to simply terminate contracts to cut costs.
Put people back behind checkouts
On a recent visit to Japan, I noticed that retail outlets I went into tended to have a lot more people working in them than you would now find in the UK, where many stores have gone down the road of self-service checkouts or, increasingly, AI assistants. The Japanese way of doing things seems preferable to me, both in terms of job creation but also service quality. Companies that employ people in shops should be supported, not taxed to the hilt.
Employment tribunal is being kept busy
Recent changes to employment law are already putting pressure on the UK’s busy tribunal system. Under the Employment Rights Act, the time limit to bring most claims – including unfair dismissal – is extended to six months, up from the previous three-month limit. The result, inevitably, will be more cases – some of which, I have heard, are currently being scheduled as far ahead as 2030.
My current TV pick
I am watching a French drama series called The Line on ITVX. It’s an epic World War II tale of resistance, loyalty and betrayal, set in a small French village where residents try to survive the brutal realities of Nazi rule. In each episode, one character invariably finds themselves put in an almost impossible situation. Highly recommended.
James Reed is the chairman and CEO of Reed