UK.gov spunks £500k to create jobs in startup marketing businesses

A basically crap idea

covered with mumbo jumbo to make it sound like it's a good idea.

That's another £1m wasted by the government. The state hardly ever picks the right winners.

*sigh*

Re: Doesn't sound like a lot of money

It's for PR - all they need is a flash lappy, a suit and a phone. Maybe a posh pair of retro glasses, too. Going to the "Collider" site (are they trying to use the LHC?) you get a load of gibberish:

"Startups wishing to apply to Collider12 should be a creative technology that helps the big brands – you will be ‘B2Brand’. You will ideally have an MVP with some proof or traction but the most important factor is the Management Team – why are you the ones to win? Offers will be made to successful applicants by 14th November with the programme beginning on 7th January 2013 with the ‘Collision Phase’. During the ‘Collision Phase’ the 10 startups will be ‘collided’ with the brands and intensively coached through a 13-week phase from being accepted and receiving loan capital from Creative England, plus external investment, through to the ‘Execution Phase’, the delivery on a robust plan and approach from week 14 onwards in order that they meet their goals."

And the sweetener is £50K of equity (i.e. they grab a chunk of shares in the company) and £50K of loan capital (i.e. you have to repay it). And all you're getting in return is a "collision" with a brand and 13-weeks of coaching into doing your job. All very well if the brand decides on a very large marketing campaign with you at its' head, but suspect this is less than likely.

Re: Do we really need...

Well, you have to remember that working as a PR knob is the nearest that our pasty faced, spineless twat of a prime minister has ever got to a real job. So when somebody in cabinet said "let's support creation of some real jobs", the first thought in the cold, hard vacuum of the PM's head was "Yes, let's support some PR jobs.

Had they asked Chucky Osbourne then he'd have suggested that the loans go to towel folding startups. And Millitwat has even less experience of real work than these two, so were he in power, lord knows what they'd support.