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Reality TV 'inspires start-up businesses'

The popularity of business reality TV programmes is producing a generation of "armchair entrepreneurs" in the UK, it has been claimed.

According to new research by NatWest, TV shows such as Dragons' Den and The Apprentice have led to a significant growth in the number of Britons wanting to start their own business, with 17 million people now harbouring the ambition.

The bank's survey found that 30 per cent of these wannabe entrepreneurs plan to make their dream become a reality, while 19 per cent of the young businesspeople who set up their own company in the last five years said they were inspired to do so by reality TV.

However, chief executive of NatWest business banking Steve Pateman sounded a note of caution, saying: "While it's encouraging that TV programmes can inspire an army of armchair entrepreneurs into action, they only really scratch the surface of what it takes to run a successful business."

He added that careful financial planning is essential if a new business is to be successful, with many young entrepreneurs likely to use personal loans to provide finance for their fledging ventures.

Simon Ambrose, a 27-year-old Cambridge graduate, became the latest winner of The Apprentice last month, landing a £100,000 job with Sir Alan Sugar.

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12/07/2007 17:13:11

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