About BLP

Who we are

Business Launchpad (BLP) supports young people living in London with barriers to enterprise to start and run their businesses. We offer resources for all stages of entrepreneurship coaching young people from the very early stages of considering a business idea, to those who have already started. 

BLP strive to provide practical Business Basics and Social Enterprise programmes, whether you need help refining your business idea or accelerating your business.

Values

Our holistic approach to enterprise encompasses our five leading values;

    • accountability, 
    • grow & learn, 
    • motivate & inspire, 
    • collaborate and 
    • young people at the heart of everything we do.

Along with our BLP partners, our trained business coaches are passionate about creating leaders of the future by helping thousands of young people who are not in employment, education or training, build their businesses.

Is there a cost?

All BLP services are completely free for young people aged 16-30 living in London!

Our Journey

How did we start?

In 1988, the Wandsworth Youth Enterprise Centre was set up as a training facility to aid the high unemployment in the Wandsworth Borough. Funded by rental income from sites in the Tooting area, WYEC developed into Business Launchpad.

Trident Business Centre in Tooting became our home and also our primary source of funding. The rental income from the centre has allowed us to honour our commitment to giving young people essential skills and advice to develop enterprise and leadership skills, as well as providing places to operate and test their business ideas. The work we do with small businesses has earned the Social Enterprise Mark and support from partners and leaders in the technology, finance and media industry.

GO TO FREE BUSINESS SUPPORT
About us - Group talking at BLP

BLP Support

Your Journey


Your journey through enterprise doesn’t have to be lonely, with BLP you have access to our growing community of industry-led experts and network of young entrepreneurs at all stages of business. Stay motivated by sharing stories, learning from each other and collaborating on ideas; both within your local community and city-wide.

 

We aim to help young people who are already in business, help those getting started and inform young people who are not yet aware of the routes into entrepreneurship. We engage with our clients in a range of ways:

•   Business focused Workshops and Events

•   One-to-one coaching

•   Business Accelerator Programmes

•   Dragon’s Den style Pitch Events

•   Test-trading stalls

•   Free events space

•   Office and Workspaces

•   Partnership and supply chain opportunities

Throughout the year, we host masterclasses teaching fundamental business modelling and management for Entrepreneurs. Our Business Basics Workshop is an intensive class covering idea generation and business strategy. Other BLP workshops and projects look at specific business concepts, all delivered by industry specialists. It offers an opportunity to learn about different aspects of business in-depth and understand how they apply to your journey.

“Mentor”, “tutor”, and one of our favourites “the plug”, there are a few ways to describe the role of a BLP Business Coach.

Coaches bridge the gap between our entrepreneurs and our resources. Helping you to refine your business idea, strategise, set goals, make your ideas reality and keep you informed of opportunities to develop your project further. We also create a collaborative network to grow and learn together.

Co-working and office spaces

Across five locations, we have co-working and office spaces suitable for businesses with varied needs; however, we’re more than just office space. Our network of business facilities offer affordable prices, help young entrepreneurs and start-ups keep running costs low. BLP clients are offered discounted rental rates at all of our sites to help maximise earning potential.

FIND BLP SITE NEAR YOU

MEET THE BLP TEAM

Stuart Thomason

CEO

Your Motto?

TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE

What are your aspirations for BLP?

For BLP to respond to the local needs of  young people in London, recognised their entrepreneurial potential and supporting them to overcome the barriers they face.

Miranda Stirling

Operations Manager

What inspires you at BLP?

Anyone brave enough to start their own business, run with their creative ideas and turn them into a reality inspires me. I love knowing my work at Business Launchpad directly supports young entrepreneurs to reach their goals and dreams, and the positive impact this has on communities as a whole.

Natasha Best

Centre Relations officer

What is your aspiration for your work at BLP?

My aspiration at Business Launchpad is to be impactful. I want to make a difference. What we say or do can change someone’s entire day. 

Your Motto?

THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING IS LOVE

Wiktoria Blazynska

business administrator

What inspires you at BLP?

People! We are amazing creatures and have so much good in us. We need to collaborate more, share more knowledge, accept different opinions and help each other!

What advice would you give a young person?

Take time to understand yourself and build a relationship with ‘you’ first.

Hasmita Chavda

Project development manager

What’s your favourite quote?

I’VE LEARNED THAT PEOPLE WILL FORGET WHAT YOU SAID, PEOPLE WILL FORGET WHAT YOU DID, BUT PEOPLE WILL NEVER FORGET HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

Maya Angelou

Caesar Gordon

social innovation & programmes manager

Your motto?

TEST AND LEARN

What’re your aspirations at BLP?

Making interesting and impactful stuff. 

What inspires you?

BLP Clients………… Every single one.

OUR TRUSTEES

The board of Business Launchpad consists of a committee of dedicated trustees, without whom our positive work would not be possible.

Olu Olanrewaju

Chair

David Adam Gordon

Judith Roscoe

Akta Raja

David Thomas Abbott

Amma Mensah

William Sceats

James Richard Wall