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Birkbeck/SOAS contribution to Global Entrepreneurship Week reveals value of small-scale enterprise

For seven days each November, Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) celebrates the people and activities that turn ideas into enterprises. During the week, around the world, events large and small enable individuals to network, learn from experts, meet possible collaborators, and “explore their potential as self-starters and innovators” who can “launch start-ups that… drive economic growth and expand human welfare”, as the GEW website explains.

Asami Miyamoto (pictured right) of Asami Language Services takes part in a Speech Mentoring session

Asami Miyamoto (pictured right) of Asami Language Services takes part in a Speech Mentoring session

For GEW 2015, which ran from 16 to 22 November, Birkbeck teamed up with the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) to present a wide range of events. One achievement of this partnership was to draw attention to small-scale enterprise and the possible social value of entrepreneurship – the “human welfare” part of GEW’s description: an important focus, alongside images of high-tech Silicon Valley start-ups attaining vast commercial success, which the word “entrepreneurship” may first bring to mind.

This social role was the focus of a talk by Hugo Sintes Pons, Enterprise Development Programme (EDP) Manager, Oxfam GB, on Monday 16 November in SOAS’s Khalili Lecture Theatre, presented by Birkbeck/SOAS. The subject for the evening was “Solving Inequality: Supporting Entrepreneurs Where It Matters Most”.

Hugo’s Oxfam web entry, says the EDP “promotes and invests in early-stage agricultural enterprises that promote economic opportunities”. Its web page explains the EDP “helps many thousands of people – especially women – to work their way out of poverty”. The programme invests “where others don’t go and where the potential for social impact is highest” by providing “expertise from a board of successful businesspeople” as well as loans and grants to build “sustainable businesses”.

Looking at the EDP, the evening offered a view of top-down assistance (capital and expertise) encouraging bottom-up empowerment. By seeking potential entrepreneurs in communities that lack resources, the programme’s aim was to enable local, small-scale entrepreneurship as a vehicle for the poor and disenfranchised to generate initiatives and some wealth and influence for themselves.

In this approach, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) specifically could benefit. In developing countries, enterprises are often “micro” and informal. SMEs have been labelled the “missing middle” as their financial needs ($5,000 to $2 million) are too large for microfinance lenders, but too small for banks or other investors. Both MEs and SMEs may therefore require forms of support that other institutions cannot offer but that the EDP can draw attention to or consider.

The EDP also sees women specifically as essential to development, and support for their enterprises can help women achieve more influence in otherwise male-dominated societies, and can create wider economic opportunities.

A question-and-answer discussion followed the talk, and the evening also considered ongoing issues facing the EDP and how it was adapting to circumstances and with experience to improve the tactics, strategy and targeting of support.

Issues raised included dealing with low or slow success rates; high costs and challenges for rural enterprises (distance, electricity supply, volatile markets, uncertain climate); difficulties in obtaining business advice; cooperatives versus private limited enterprises; women-friendly versus women-owned businesses; managing relationships with multiple stakeholders, including philanthropists providing time and money; and moving from a market approach towards an enterprise approach.

The event also introduced the audience to the Global Social Entrepreneurship Network (on Twitter @GlobalSEN). Supported by the Cabinet Office, this platform works with social entrepreneurs around the world, pooling their learning, models and expertise.

Overall, the talk was an excellent starting point for GEW 2015 at Birkbeck and SOAS.

GEW Bazaar

Small-scale and social enterprises led by women were also prominent at the Bazaar in the SOAS junior common room on 18 November, a Birkbeck/SOAS version for GEW of an event that SOAS holds roughly once a month.

At the event, SOAS Student Enterprise Officer Issy Schmidt explained that the Bazaar exemplifies the college’s enterprise provision, offering a platform to entrepreneurial students and alumni, and invited external entrepreneurs and small-scale enterprises.

The partnership also found a venue for an event involving a project that perhaps epitomises entrepreneurship’s welfare role: on Tuesday 17 November, Birkbeck’s Clore Management Centre hosted the launch of the book Yeshialem Learns About Fistula, by SOAS student and founder of the Women’s Health Organization International, Habiba Cooper Diallo.

This children’s book, about a medical condition that can result from childbirth, is of great social rather than commercial value, and publication required considerable entrepreneurial ability from the author. Together, Birkbeck and SOAS played a part in promoting this book, in providing a platform for a project that perhaps represented an aspect of these colleges’ partnership in promoting social enterprise for GEW 2015.

Businesses at the Bazaar included Women Worldwide, founded by director Susan Ma, in October 2014 as a platform to sell products made by women, “supporting these women to earn a living through craft, and not through charity”.

On display were an enticing range of creams, jewellery and other beautifully handcrafted items sourced globally, and Susan saw her company as addressing a need that extends beyond developing countries: “It’s for women all over [the world]… We’ve got women who are refugees here… It’s about trying to create opportunity through trade, and for women to be able to take their own direction in life and make their own choices – and money helps that.”

She also considers a wider economic argument for women’s empowerment: “One projection I have heard is that if we empowered all women in the world today, its economy would increase by $30 trillion.” That’s almost twice US GDP in 2014.

Susan was one of the day’s external participants. An invitation to speak at a careers event led to the Bazaar and involvement in Student Hub internship schemes.

Another enterprise at the Bazaar was the henna stall run by economics students Khadeeja Shahid and Sharmeen Shani. Besides raising money for the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, the two entrepreneurs were helping to extend henna’s cultural reach in London – and generate male as well as female interest in a form of body art reassuringly less permanent than tattooing.

Social anthropology student Tayler Ulmer has brought her family’s baking from back home in Chicago to SOAS, giving others the chance to try it at the Bazaar. Did she see herself as a global entrepreneur? “Sure,” the Bazaar had given her a taste for business….. and for London “I love it here… It’s very diverse – just a great experience… I think I want to live here – as long as I can make my own food!”

Starting a business

For those inspired to turn ideas into business, perhaps by events during GEW, Enterprise Club at Birkbeck on Wednesday 18 November offered some important insights on first steps.

The evening’s facilitator, Ben Leon, founded executive coaching and consulting company Bravo Lima, and has extensive experience in many areas of business, particularly travel.

Points addressed included planning – strategy on one page – and realistic schedules divided into timeframes of six months, three months and one month, with the customer at the centre of the strategy.

Highlighting examples from his own career as well as case studies of other businesses, Ben indirectly discussed what Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, in a Harvard Business Review article, call “creating ‘shared value’ – generating economic value in a way that also produces value for society by addressing its challenges”. Doing this could help start-ups build a virtuous cycle of recommendations and advocates.

Reflecting Birkbeck’s student diversity, international differences were discussed, ranging from policy, regulation, and tax complexities around starting new businesses in France, to attracting international trade to Brazil, and ecommerce in Georgia.

The discussion identified various resources. For business mentoring, Birkbeck has Enterprise Pathways, Mentoring Pathways, and the Work Readiness Programme. Outside Birkbeck there are the Institute of Directors’ 99 Programme and student membership, Meetup, London Small Business Centre and general interest events on Eventbrite.

For business services there are Upwork or Fiverr to find freelancers to work with, firms like Veale Wasbrough Vizards for start-up-specific legal services, Escape the City to seek like-minded people looking to change career, and Worthwhile for those seeking to start a career with social impact.

Concluding, Ben warned that start-ups could be rewarding but hard work. While those concerned with intellectual property rights and protecting ideas would have to take care with what and how to communicate, the speaker outlined the benefits of sharing the burden by taking advice, sharing ideas and meeting others with complementary strengths.

Speed Mentoring: Key Note Speaker

Dr Harveen Chugh (pictured right) leads a Speed Mentoring session

Dr Harveen Chugh (pictured right) leads a Speed Mentoring session

The Speed Mentoring event on 19th November in the Court Room of Senate House, was the perfect opportunity for entrepreneurial students to get some one-to-one expert advice on a whole range of subjects. The Key note speaker was Dr Harveen Chugh, who recently established her own entrepreneurship consultancy business working with universities, start-ups and the government.

During her speech, Harveen suggested that starting an enterprise was down to the passion and desire of the individual, and firmly believes that there is an entrepreneurial personality with specific traits. These traits include creativity, being innovative, a risk-taker and an idea-generator. Entrepreneurial individuals could be motivated by money, ambition, or not having any fear of failure.

She also pointed out that more enterprise support is available now than ever before, with last year seeing a record-breaking 581,713 start-ups in the UK, which meant it ranked 4th most entrepreneurial country in the world, and the most entrepreneurial in Europe.

Harveen drew attention to Accelerators, which can speed up the process of launching businesses and typically take equity for seed funding to help finance the start-up. She highlighted the importance of selecting an Accelerator which has the most relevant network of contacts. She also emphasised the proximity of London’s own Tech City: with so many experienced entrepreneurs so close, it is incredibly helpful to get involved at the silicon roundabout. As she pointed out, it is the third-largest technology start-up cluster in the world after San Francisco and New York City.

Harveen highlighted the importance of being prepared to be able to discuss a new start-up with anyone at any time, as funding can come from anywhere. Harveen also encouraged students to organise sale meetings in order to experience the process and take feedback on focus areas.

She concluded by drawing attention to an important attitude shift, where it is now ‘cool to fail’ in business. Many employers see the passion and courage necessary for establishing a start-up as positive attributes. There are also now more opportunities available for entrepreneurially-minded individuals within organisations to lead and develop projects.

Her final words encouraged her audience to go out, take the risk, and enjoy it!

Speed Mentoring Sessions

Harveen’s speech was then followed by 1-2-1 speed mentoring for students with 11 specialist entrepreneurial mentors, allowing students the opportunity to discuss their enterprise ideas and gain valuable advice and insight into starting their own business.

The mentors were:

  • Dr Harveen Chugh, Entrepreneurship Consultant
  • Natalie Campbell, Founder of ‘A Very Good Company’; Director of ‘Kensington Creates’
  • Vivi Friedgut, Founder of ‘Blackbullion’
  • Asami Miyamoto, Founder of ‘Asami Language Services’
  • Ben Leon, Managing Partner of ‘Bravo Lima’
  • Frederique Prevost, Founder of ‘Aware Square’
  • Nishal Desai, Co-Founder of ‘Imin’
  • Ilma Ibrisevic, Business Development Associate at ‘Balloon Ventures’
  • Naqiyah Sultan, Founder, ‘Kashka’
  • Yasmin Desai, Founder of ‘thestartupgirl.co.uk’
  • Anisah Osman Britton, Founder of ‘Allia.io’

“There was a wonderful buzz in the room for the Enterprise Speed Mentoring event. As a mentor, whilst the 1-to-1s with the students were short and intense, I was impressed with their level of preparedness for the sessions and their engagement.  The incredible richness of diversity of business ideas the students brought to the table was inspiring, and the feedback received was the most rewarding.”

Ben Leon, Managing Partner, Bravo Lima

Tea & Cake Drop In.

This was an opportunity for students to drop in and gain specific one to one advice related to their business ideas or enterprises provided by Claire Renwick, Student Enterprise Manager, SOAS.

Advice included:

  • Branding
  • Funding
  • Marketing
  • Target Market
  • Networking

The event was an opportunity for students at all stages of their enterprise journey to have an honest chat regarding their business idea in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

The way ahead

Together, Birkbeck and SOAS presented a variety of exciting events during GEW 2015. The experience offers an enticing prospect for future collaborations. Please visit Enterprise Pathways for upcoming opportunities.

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Keeping students competitive

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This post was contributed by Charles Shaw, founder of the Birkbeck Economics & Finance Society

Students at the Venture Capital Investment Competition (CM 2016. All rights reserved)

Students at the Venture Capital Investment Competition (Venture Capital Movement or VCM 2016, All Rights Reserved)

The best thing about studying in London, apart from the outstanding education options, is the sheer number of opportunities to expand one’s professional network. This is particularly important for those students seeking careers in finance or professional services, where tens or even hundreds of applicants are often chasing the same job.

As many students are no doubt discovering, an excellent academic record is necessary but not sufficient as employers often want relevant work experience and excellence in an extra-curricular activity. Internships are also rare, making it at times particularly challenging to obtain practical experience and to gain relevant insight in one’s chosen future industry.

With this in mind, Birkbeck’s Economics & Finance Society enters student teams into select competitions, with the hope that preparation for and participation in such contests augments their understanding of financial concepts, and sharpens their technical skills in preparation for the challenges of the job market.

Last month, the Society entered a team in the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC). This event, supported by the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, is designed to simulate the analysis, preparation, and delivery that private equity and investment professionals engage in when evaluating risk-return trade-offs and executing exit options. Taking place over the course of one day, students from multiple disciplines have the opportunity to test their understanding of the praxis of corporate finance against top teams from other universities.

About the competition

Although this marked the first time that the competition took place in London, VCIC enjoys a strong tradition of participation in United States. The original Venture Capital Investment Competition began at UNC Kenan-Flagler in 1998 as an educational event for MBAs to learn about venture funding.

The format has largely remained unchanged. Experienced investors act as judges and students have the opportunity to interact with actual entrepreneurs to analyse capital structure of young firms and decide potential investment opportunities; students work in teams to conduct due diligence, look through topical, complex business problems and present valuation, investment analysis, and relevant proposals concerning syndication, option pools, and anti-dilution measures.

VCIC in London

The event had a strong London flavour to it as a number of the capital’s institutions were represented. Eight teams were participating in total, with students from LBS, LSE, Queen Mary’s, UCL, King’s, Cambridge and Birkbeck. The event received wide coverage in diverse international media, including outlets in United States and Singapore’s The Straits Times reflecting the London’s international workforce and diverse student population. In addition, all of the participating start-ups were London-based technology companies, reflecting the capital’s vibrant network of tech hubs.

The competition was organised under the aegis of UCL School of Management, and served as a both a training ground and a marketplace. On the one hand, future finance professionals were able to learn a great deal about technology commercialization and investment due diligence by working with owners of actual start-up companies. On the other hand, students were able to engage with the full spectrum of entrepreneurial activity, from a company’s planning and execution strategy, to the due diligence process for potential investments. In turn, firms’ owners benefit from students’ management insight and strategic recommendations they otherwise might not obtain.

Although the competition is new to London, it enjoys a strong tradition of participation in United States. Indeed, the event, which originated in North Carolina in the midst of the technology bubble as an opportunity for graduate students to learn about venture funding, is now in its 18th year. As a result of this tradition, the winning team, LSE, was invited to take part in the VCIC International Finals at UNC Kenan-Flagler in North Carolina, United States.

Deepening understanding of financial processes

2 VCM 2016. All rights reservedDuring the competition, students were able to deepen their understanding of the links between potential investors and business owners. Such links include, for example, both the explicit contractual arrangements between entrepreneurs and venture capital providers, and the implicit contract which gives a successful entrepreneur the option to reacquire control from the venture capitalist by using a floatation as a means by which the venture capitalist exits from an investment. Students were also able to gauge the viability of alternative forms of investment such as acquisitions, alliances, and licensing.

The company evaluation case-studies provided up-to-date and real-life corporate finance challenges that offered participants practical experiences in the field of financial services. Overall, the competition was an opportunity to interact with students from other top academic institutions, to immerse in a global business context where competitors are potential partners, and to become familiar with the challenges of managing a company.

The importance of gaining field-based knowledge

Was it a valuable experience for participants? Without a doubt, yes. Students of investment have long been interested in how firms can achieve growth. In this vein, a long tradition of scholarship exists on the various tools that firms can employ to pursue financial growth and corporate development. While there are extensive opportunities available for learning about various means for business development and corporate growth, both at undergraduate and graduate level, there are relatively few opportunities for students to augment the entrepreneurial concepts learned in lectures and seminars with practical field-based knowledge. There are even fewer opportunities to solve realistic business problems with a corporate finance focus under the direct guidance of senior M&A practitioners, industry experts and company directors.

It is hoped, through the continued engagement of London’s business and investment leaders, as well as through our academic network, that we can help prepare our society members for job market success. This competition, and others like it, can help understand how business strategy would flow down to operations and to financial performance of a business. It highlights how competition, contracts and external factors dictate business in terms of pricing and quality. It was also an opportunity to integrate appreciation of demand, pricing, legal factors, finance and accounting, and strategy, towards a common goal of financial performance.

The Birkbeck team consisted of: Dimitrios Bissias (MSc Economics), Ahmed Razzaq (LLM), Hannah Duck (BSc Statistics and Economics), and Ved Vyass Boojihawon (BSc Financial Economics with Accounting).

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Can policy transform regions into entrepreneurship and innovation hubs?

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This post was contributed by Helen Lawton Smith, professor of Entrepreneurship at Birkbeck’s Department of Management. Prof Lawton Smith attended a workshop – ‘Can Policy Transform Regions into Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hubs? Theory, Evidence and Practice’ – hosted by the college’s Centre for Innovation Management Research (CIMR) on Friday 4 December

Angel of the North - Image courtesy of Tom Blackwell under CC via Flickr.com

Angel of the North – Image courtesy of Tom Blackwell under CC via Flickr.com

The latest CIMR workshop brought together both those who design policies and those who analyse the policy making process. It hosted representatives from the north of England, suggested to be comparatively disadvantaged economically, and the prosperous south. International comparisons were offered to provide insight into what works in policy making and what should be avoided.

 

 

The speakers were

  • Professor Roy Sandbach, ‘Innovation North East… building regional prosperity’
  • Dr Elvira Uyarra, ‘Key challenges of ‘smart’ policies for regional transformation’
  • Dr Adrian Healy, ‘From principles to practices in Smart Specialisation: Lessons from European Regions’
  • Professor Bjorn Asheim, ‘Smart Specialisation – an innovation driven strategy for economic diversification’
  • Rupert Waters, ‘Challenges for policy-makers in Buckinghamshire’
  • Professor Jeremy Howells, ‘Innovation intermediaries and innovation: Changing dynamics and future perspectives’
  • Dr Federica Rossi, ‘Evaluating the performance of regional innovation intermediaries: insights from the experience of Tuscany’s “innovation poles”’
  • Dave Waller, ‘’What makes a successful innovation ecosystem: great innovation and technology; great policies; plenty of investment funds; great culture or none of the above: just leave it to the market’
  • Dr Ana Colovic, ‘’Why are cluster policies created and how do they work? A comparison between Austria, France, Japan and Sweden’
  • Dr Rosa Fernandez, Chair of final discussion session

The following five themes were addressed throughout the day:

  1. Is it possible for regions to be transformed into Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hubs?

Policy makers everywhere are under pressure to transform lagging regions into leading centres of entrepreneurship, while continuing to support already successful areas of innovation. Roy Sandbach opened the workshop, drawing on the North East Strategic Economic Plan of 2013. The Plan encouraged the North East to ‘become an exemplar for open innovation and Smart Specialisation’, through innovation which would create economic value, social good or both. The Plan hoped to create the conditions and networked solutions to transform the region.

Other speakers argued that the role of policy is to develop new paths for policy, extend existing ones, and create an entrepreneurial state embedded in the economy. Jeremy Howells suggested that the role of policy makers is primarily to change the behaviour of firms, in order to convince them that it is in their interests to innovate.

Adrian Healy spoke on the political reality of delivering Smart Specialisation, using experience from a seven country FP7 Smart Specialisation Project. He argued that innovative and entrepreneurial regions develop independently of politics. Healy cited evidence from academic studies that 80% of economic growth is demand-led, so that only around 20% of structural change could be addressed by policies. He also suggested that policy can sometimes follow practice, such as when private sector developments are imitated by policies which provide supporting infrastructures. In addition, he argued that public procurement can have a crucial role in stimulating entrepreneurship. An example he gave of this was the North East subsea programme, which was not part of the regional development strategy.

Dave Waller also shared his own experience of local innovation policy and practice in England. He demonstrated the dissonance between local politics and economic theory, using an example from Oxfordshire. The result was wasted resources, duplication and fragmentation. Waller suggested more international benchmark evidence was required, building on work such as mapping research and innovation in Amsterdam.

The first theme was not without controversy therefore, and Sandbach concluded with a lesson for the Northern Powerhouse; ‘We must drive the Powerhouse as an economic vision fuelled by innovation rather than as a political item with insular, local devolution debates at the heart.’

  1. How important is analysis, international comparison and evaluation in developing appropriate policies?

In order to make effective policies, all the speakers agreed that policy makers need to be exceptionally focused on analysis. This might include analysing the national and regional context, the area’s potential for innovation, current programmes, global benchmarking, networks, entrepreneurial activity, university strengths or local corporate innovation strategies.

The workshop heard about geographical disparities, which result in varied difficulties for policy-makers in different regions. A major problem in the North East, for example, is that it has the lowest Business R&D expenditure in the UK and business formation rates have fallen by 10% in the past year. The North East is ranked lowest of 12 regions, and 89th in Europe on Attitude, Ability, Aspiration analysis, and thus presents a particular set of challenges. By contrast, London is ranked second on the 2014 Santander Enterprise Index. Analysis must also relate to the theoretical underpinnings of policy.

That there is a dialogue between academic practitioners and policy makers was very clear. Policy practitioners draw on academic theories (often developed by economic geographers) such as the theory of ‘anchor firms’. Anchor firms are different bases of analytic, symbolic and synthetic knowledge. Elvira Uyrrara argued that analysis should also relate to the formulation of programmes, including their scale of delivery and their tools for measuring and evaluating. She highlighted the diverse set of concepts that underpin Smart Specialisation and argued that the theoretical underpinnings are still in progress.

  1. What is the significance of Leadership, Engagement and Collaboration within and across regions?

There was a general consensus after Roy Sandbach’s presentation that the basis of an effective strategy relies on the set-up of a sound and inclusive governance structure. Entrepreneurial strategy requires a shared vision about the future of the region and the thorough integration of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

A contested issue, however, was whether Roy Sandbach was right to suggest that business leadership would always be the driving force in regional transformation, Bjorn Asheim argued that in some contexts, the public sector or universities can be directive. In some areas, it was claimed that local entrepreneurs were disinterested in the policy-making process, such as the SMEs in the North East.

In Europe, Smart Specialisation (SMART) is the single largest attempt at an orchestrated, supranational Innovation and Entrepreneurship strategy, which requires leadership, engagement and collaboration. Dave Waller, having faced the challenges of regional innovation strategies for Smart Specialisation, argued that SMART should be about addressing structural weaknesses and facilitating conversations between the right people.

SMART relies on networking, and the support of regional stakeholders. Elvira Uyrra pointed out that SMART has been criticised for not having a fully developed theoretical framework and for being too vague in terms of its target and mix of policies.

The points resonated with Jeremy Howells and Federica Rossi’s presentations on innovation intermediaries. Howells argued that intermediaries are a conceptual lens through which to view the dynamics and evolution of systems of innovation, and are of major policy significance as catalysts within a system.

Federica Rossi also identified intermediaries as important for changing the behaviour of firms and thus indirectly changing the capacity of regions to innovate. Using the case of Tuscany’s innovation poles, which aimed to provide a range of knowledge intensive business services and to strengthen the regional innovation system, she highlighted critical problems in evaluating interventions. These included a lack of sector differentiation, inadequate indicators and missing activities.

  1. What are the social and economic priorities of regional transformation?

Although innovation and job creation are obvious priorities of regional transformation, Bjorn Asheim highlighted other areas of focus, such as gender, migration and diversity. Adrian Healey also spoke about gender profiles of different sectors, as some are predominately male, and others dominated by women. It was concluded that equality of opportunity certainly needs to form part of any policy-making agenda.

Ana Colovic highlighted national differences in approaches to the design and implementation of cluster policies. She questioned whether cluster policies need to be designed if innovation is going well independently. In addition, she noted some of the challenges for policy makers in reality, such as considering whether all the policy tools available and variety of implementing agencies are made clear to actors. Colovic concluded by thinking about the contrasting budgets allocated in different countries for innovation strategies, and questioned what the appropriate level of budget would be to meet both local and national priorities.

  1. What would success look like?

Rosa Fernandez told the workshop that for Roy Sandbach, success would mean 60,000 new jobs created in the North East – but where would they come from? Dave Waller recognised success more in stronger leadership and governance, the development of useful tool kits, better spatial, temporal and more granular mapping of economic activity, and the application of Smart Specialisation principles to all aspects of EU programming.

Adrian Healey, on the other hand, measures success in terms of the gains made from shared governance, shared leadership, common objectives, overcoming fragmentation and getting beyond existing structures. He argued that success would rely on changing the mind-set of local authorities, as the only part of the system not fully connected is the public sector.

The biggest challenge for regions is to build capacity. However, as Henry Etzkowitz argued, the sheer scale of Silicon Valley’s financial and talent resources makes it difficult for Europe to compete. Maybe it need not all be bad news however, as the UK and Europe could yet be a Land of Opportunity.

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Game-changer: Sport Business Centre hosts launch of Play-Offs book

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This post was contributed by Nick Eisen, Business Engagement Reporter, Birkbeck School of Business, Economics and Informatics

The Agony & The Ecstasy, A Comprehensive History Of The English Football League Play-Offs (book cover)

The Agony & The Ecstasy, A Comprehensive History Of The English Football League Play-Offs (book cover)

Birkbeck Sport Business Centre‘s public seminar series struck a more literary note in presenting the launch of author and journalist Richard Foster’s book, The Agony & The Ecstasy, A Comprehensive History Of The English Football League Play-Offs, at the British Medical Association on Monday 16 November.

As Foster explains in his book (the first to be written on the Play-Offs), the competition was introduced “as a system for deciding the last promotion slot for the three lower divisions of the Football League in the 1986/87 season”.

The richest sporting match in the world

When the competition began, it could be regarded as resembling one of its own participant underdog teams – unfancied and not expected to go far. But, as the author said, underdogs have defeated giants, providing some of the Play-Offs’ most memorable moments. Similarly, perhaps to a much greater degree, the competition itself has had an impact beyond all initial expectations.

The Play-Offs began as an interim attempt to reinvigorate a game in decline: attendances were falling and 1985 had seen several disasters, including the tragedy at Heysel Stadium, where dozens died and hundreds were injured when a wall collapsed.

In their first season, the Play-Offs received no television coverage. Now every match is televised live. In 1987 the monetary return on winning promotion to the top division was about £500,000. Now, winning is estimated to be worth more than £130 million. That figure could exceed £200 million when the 2016/2017 English Premier League television deal begins. The Football League Championship Play-Offs Final is the richest single sporting match in the world.

Room for improvement

With humour, energy and able backing from his support team, Foster communicated his expertise and passion for the Play-Offs to a large and appreciative audience, and brought to life his favourite memories from three decades of the competition.

As a staunch advocate for the Play-Offs, Foster nevertheless saw room for improvement and has acknowledged the competition’s critics, including those who have questioned its fairness as a way of deciding promotions.

An audience member also asked about the difficulties posed by the Premiership’s delayed-payments process for newly promoted clubs lacking the immediate cash resources of established rivals, and Foster pondered the possibilities of weighting payments towards poorer newcomers.

On balance, however, the author favoured the Play-Offs: his book describes the competition’s drama and spectacle re-engaging fans and clubs at a dismal time in the 1980s, and continuing to do so today.

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