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The Voom Bus will be making stops in Carnoustie, Dundee and Glasgow, bringing free business advice and live pitching competitions to Scotland’s entrepreneur community, where competitors will get the chance to win £5000 and a meet and greet with Sir Richard Branson.

Dates for the tour are as follows:

• Glasgow, Thursday 2 November – The Voom Bus will be based at 217 Buchanan Street from 10am to 5pm, with Voom Pitch taking place at 3pm.
• Carnoustie, Wednesday 8 November – The Voom Bus is joining forces with the Business Angus team at Angus Council for an exclusive Voom Tour preview at the Carnoustie Golf Hotel, from 10am to 2pm.
• Dundee, Thursday 9 November – The Voom Bus will be based at City Square from 10am to 5pm, with Voom Pitch taking place at 3pm.

Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder, said: “The Voom Tour is coming to seek out the brilliant entrepreneurs and ideas from Scotland, and help break down the barriers to business success. The aim is to help them put aside their fears and take the next steps on what could be the most significant journey of their business life.”

The Voom Bus arrives in Scotland as new research from Virgin Media Business shows that around two-fifths of people from Glasgow (38%) and Dundee (42%) think they’ve had a great idea for a new business, but the majority of this group (56% of Glaswegians and 60% of Dundonians) have failed to turn their business idea into reality. The top reasons for not taking any action include not getting funding (for 21% of Glaswegians and 35% of Dundonians), being in the wrong economic climate (18% and 30% respectively) and simply being too scared to take such a big risk (18% and 26% respectively).

Interestingly, around one in three residents of Glasgow and Dundee (29% and 31% respectively) cited Richard Branson as the most inspiring business personality, admitting he is the one who would most motivate them to start their own business.

Peter Kelly, Managing Director, Virgin Media Business, said: “Whether you’ve already started a business and want some help, or need advice to help get a brand new venture off the ground, the Voom Tour is the perfect platform to prepare your business for the big time. We hope to see as many of Scotland’s business community as possible join us in November.”

Welcoming the tour to Angus, Angus Council’s Economic Development spokesperson, Councillor Ron Sturrock said: “Voom is a fantastic platform to help your business, no matter what the size. This event is aimed at new, existing and developing businesses keen to find out what support is available to them nationally and locally with regards to Funding, IT, Marketing, social media, legal and innovation.

“We hope to see as many of Angus’s business community as possible join us at Carnoustie on 8 November. The Carnoustie stop is a precursor for the pitchathon being held in Dundee on 9 November where businesses have the chance to pitch for a £5,000 cash prize to help with their business, the lucky winner also has the opportunity to meet Richard Branson.”

For more information on the Voom Tour, and details on how to register to pitch a great business idea, please visit www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/voom .