Meet the new Business & IP Centre Sussex Ambassador

Starting up? Award-winning local business leader and new BIPC Sussex Ambassador, Claire Mason, explains how the Centre can help

BIPC Sussex is delighted to announce that Claire Mason, Founder and CEO of Brighton-based global thought leadership consultancy, Man Bites Dog, has been appointed as Ambassador for the Centre.

As BIPC Ambassador, Claire will help inspire and guide users of the Centre by sharing her own advice and business experiences and will also be advising on how the Centre can develop and expand by raising the profile of its work across Sussex.

We took the opportunity and asked Claire a few questions about her ambassador role, her thoughts on the BIPC and her own entrepreneurial journey.

How do you feel about your ambassador role?

I am excited and honoured to help raise the profile of the new Business & IP Centre Sussex and its terrific team. This is an incredible resource for entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs in our region which offers information services, business support and opportunities to learn from other entrepreneurs. The BIPC was first established by the British Library in 2006 and has since been expanded across a network of public libraries. I’m delighted that entrepreneurs in Sussex will now have access to this invaluable resource to supercharge their success. 

Why is it important for you to support the BIPC?

I am passionate about the role of entrepreneurs in creating a more prosperous society. SMEs are the growth engine of our economy – making up 99% of our business base. In Sussex we benefit from so many purpose-led, innovative SMEs that create meaningful work for our local community and develop characterful products and services. I am keen to support the BIPC in its mission to give start-ups the strongest start and help our many SMEs to innovate and grow. 

A whole new generation of small businesses was created during the pandemic, with new company registrations up 40% between 2020 and 2021, and Brighton & Hove boasting the highest number of newly registered companies in the region. The BIPC can help them set themselves up for success. Indeed, the track record of the BIPC network is that start-ups who get BIPC support are twice as likely to succeed beyond three years.

In this region we’re great at starting businesses but it’s challenging for those businesses to grow – the BIPC also provides vital support in helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses to build stronger and more resilient companies that create more employment opportunities.  

What are the key benefits of the BIPC for local start-ups, SMEs, economy?

The BIPC is a hub where entrepreneurs can come together to learn, network and access free and low-cost information and support to protect and commercialise a business idea. 

The Centre can help aspiring entrepreneurs develop and stress test a business idea from that first spark of inspiration and support established entrepreneurs to step up to the next level of growth. It’s common for SMEs to get stuck on their growth journey and the BIPC can help them unlock the big levers of growth, like new markets and digital enablement. 

The BIPC is an unparalleled resource of business and intellectual property information and expertise – there is simply nothing like it. The BIPC service includes free access to high-quality UK and global market intelligence, customer insights and company data combined with intellectual property advice and guidance, support, mentoring and training plus inspiring talks and networking events featuring role model entrepreneurs. 

BIPC Sussex also has a ‘human library’ of business experts (lawyers, marketers, accountants and business advisors) offering one-to-one sessions and a regular series of practical webinars and workshops on various business-related themes. It can be lonely running your own business and the Centre gives entrepreneurs a place to meet and support each other in the company of people who really understand your business challenges and can share their learnings. 

Do you think libraries are a great place to have a business centre?

The regional centre of BIPC Sussex is based in Jubilee Library in Brighton, right in the heart of our community. It’s a fantastic space to meet, work and network, but what’s really special about the BIPC is its accessibility in the broadest sense of the word. It also has a BIPC local at Crawley Library and more locals in select Sussex libraries to come in the near future.

Impact assessments show that by delivering business support through our libraries, the British Library’s Network of Business & IP Centres is reaching people who are underrepresented in business: on average, over half of those who use a BIPC to set up a business are women, a third are from under-represented ethnic backgrounds and nearly two-fifths had a disability. 

Democratising entrepreneurship is vital for our community and our economy. As a woman entrepreneur I really care about closing these entrepreneurship gaps. There is enormous untapped potential in diverse communities with just 5.1%  of UK SMEs led by ethnic minority entrepreneurs. Men and women with a disability have higher levels of self-employment , and while this is in part necessity entrepreneurship due to the disability employment gap, this also presents a great opportunity to help these entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Currently just 1 in 3 UK entrepreneurs is female: a gender gap equivalent to 1.1 million missing businesses. If women started businesses at the same rate as men, we could add £250bn of additional value to the UK economy every year.

Having business centres in libraries means that the BIPC network is highly scalable and offers excellent value for money, capitalising on the existing public library infrastructure and knowledge resource, with the potential to bring business and innovation support to every high street to support a strong economic recovery. 

Why do you think start-ups need reliable business information?

Starting a business is a huge risk – you have to make decisions about your product or service, your market and how to run your business when you’re doing everything for the very first time. Information helps you mitigate those risks and avoid costly mistakes by doing your research before you take the plunge. The BIPC offers vital information with people to guide you and offer support. 

How did you start your business?

I think there’s a perception that you need to raise capital to start a business, but in many cases you can just sit at your kitchen table and start, which is what I did.

I saw an opportunity in the growing knowledge economy for a marketing communications consultancy that specialised in building intelligent brands for companies in financial and professional services and technology. Today Man Bites Dog works with exciting global business brands to help them lead change on issues from sustainability and global trade to digital transformation and the future of work and we have just collected our 80th global award.  

What would you do differently now? What have you learnt?

One thing we got really right was being born global. Too many businesses start local and then move in stages through regional, national and international, reinventing their business each time. We have always done global work for very large global clients. I think it’s important to start confidently as you mean to go on.

Something I might do differently is consider how we could be more scalable by building more digital technology into our business model. 

What’s been your proudest moment in business?

It used to be when the company I started with a £200 overdraft on my kitchen table won the New Consultancy of the Year award or when the United Nations endorsed our work on the Sustainable Development Goals. Now it’s the day the Man Bites Dog team were reunited in our office after pandemic lockdowns. Through this really difficult period for everyone, our team have shown each other such kindness and support and achieved incredible things – I am so lucky to have such a fantastic team.

How important is Intellectual Property (IP) in your business? Is it important for start-up businesses?

Without IP, do you have a business? It’s so important to protect your intellectual property – whether it’s your company name or your products, services and processes. In a knowledge economy, your IP is your value. We have so many innovative businesses in our region, it’s critical they protect their IP and it’s remarkably simple when you have someone on hand to show you how.

What’s the best piece of business advice you can give to start-ups?

I am going to offer two pieces of advice. 

Firstly, just do it. As my husband said when I started up, “The worst that can happen is that if it doesn’t work out you will have to get another job.”

Secondly, start right. Use the BIPC to do your research, get advice and learn from the mistakes of other entrepreneurs who are keen to share their knowledge and support you. 

Find out more about Claire Mason and Man Bites Dog at www.manbitesdog.com

Find out more about the BIPC at www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/bipc or email bipc@brighton-hove.gov.uk.