Cumbernauld woman starts business after taking part in Dragons’ Den star’s academy

Natalie Morrison (24) was selected for the Peter Jones Academy at Stow College last September, and she is now about to launch her own online company, Business Connection Scotland.

She had been working in retail for the past six years until she heard an advert for the new Peter Jones Academy on the radio.

Within a couple of weeks, Natalie had applied, been interviewed by lecturers and won a place on the course that would change her life.

Natalie has been working towards achieving the BTEC level 3 diploma in enterprise and entrepreneurship.

As part of the programme, all students are required to create their own business venture taking it from the ideas stage to a business plan to actually getting it off the ground and managing it.

And Natalie came up Business Connection Scotland, she explained: “The idea is to connect new and existing businesses in Scotland with the information and advice they need to grow.

“We will allow start-ups to connect with successful business people who are willing to share their story so that others can learn from the successes and challenges that they have faced.

“We aim to deliver this through our website where start-ups can ask people in business questions or gain access to the most useful business information online, covering how to apply for grants to networking events in Glasgow.

“Start-ups can also choose to sign up to our affordable personal guidance service; tailored to the needs of their business and giving them access to courses to grow their business. We want to help grow Scotland’s entrepreneurial base.”

For more information and to find out how to apply for the course please call Stow College on 0844 249 8585