Our Mission

"Focused, caring and consistent support, financial and personal, to enable ex-offenders to become self-employed"

The Need

Each year more than 80,000 prisoners are released from prison but nearly two thirds of them will have re-offended within 2 years. We know that there are many factors contributing to this re-offending that include family, social, educational and work problems. One of the real tragedies from this re-offending is the loss of the ex-offenders' potential contribution to society and the damage to their families and children.

It is easy to understand why re-offending can occur as people often leave prison with no money, no car, no bank account, no job and no references. START-UP hopes to help ex-offenders solve some of these problems by becoming self-employed, giving them a real chance of a fresh start.
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Our Solution
The START-UP® Purpose

To provide focused, caring and consistent support, both financial and personal, that will reduce re-offending by enabling ex-offenders aged 30 years and above, to become self-employed (anyone between 18-30 will be put forward to the Prince's Trust).
To treat ex-offenders as valued clients and to use our best endeavours to help them return to a positive and productive life where they will add value to society. back to top

How START-UP® achieves this

Our model of support is unique in that we work with clients whilst still in prison and continue to support them for two years after their businesses have launched. Our clients are intrinsically involved in the design of their own businesses; we are not interested in imposing our ideas on them, but rather in facilitating their own. The Startup model has been developed with ex-offenders and offenders directly contributing ideas, helping plan services and developing a peer network of support.

Startup provides one to one support for our clients from their time in prison right through until their businesses are successfully in operation up to two years later.

To date we have had contact with over 200 prisoners and ex-offenders, given advice to over 120 and supported 39 ex-offenders to set up their own businesses. Our clients are inspirational. They have often surfaced from immense challenges and yet are already proving that they can start up businesses such as web design, plumbing, gardening, sign writing, personal fitness training and more.

Are able to run businesses in net profit on a sustainable basis
Achieve their personal goals (as agreed with mentors)
Do not re-offend

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WHO ARE WE?

We are a small dynamic team, with backgrounds in business (Rothschild Asset Management, County Natwest and PricewaterhouseCoopers). We have built up a working model of how to support ex-offenders in successful self-employment. The support includes funding, business advice of the highest calibre and a personal one to one relationship with a mentor, fitting around client needs. In our client’s words:

“They are very hands on in their support for you … you don’t feel like a number in their books … they have so much energy” Startup Client, 2005

WHY IS STARTUP NEEDED?

Nearly three in five prisoners are re-convicted within two years of leaving prison. Offending by ex-prisoners costs society at least £11 billion a year.
Employment on release reduces the risk of re-offending by between a third and a half.
Many ex-offenders find it hard to return to work for an employer, for some self employment offers a more feasible route back to work.
Startup was specifically developed to fill a gap in the support on offer for prisoners by focusing on self-employment support for those aged 30+.

Business planning support whilst in prison developing ideas and plans
Entrepreneur Days hosted in prisons, inviting clients to present their ideas to a panel of business experts for advice and potential financial support
A test marketing grant of up to £300, if the business idea needs researching prior to starting the venture. (NEW ADDITION)
Direct Grants and Loans (this financial backing is only ever given in the context of our other support).
Provision of a personal business mentor assigned to each client from their time in prison until after release.
Access to our central database of business information and advice from our panel of senior business advisors (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Grenfell).
Design and printing of promotional material. As our clients open the door to their home on release day their business cards are on the mat.
A network of peer support among clients, facilitated by Startup.

We provide support for prisoners who want to become self employed and who are aged over 30 years. . We have contact with potential clients and support staff in 33 prisons across the country.

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Our Development Strategy

There are 138 prison establishments most of which could benefit from partnership with START-UP*.

Initially, the START-UP¹' program is being focused on the South East. Currently we work with male prisoners from nine prisons across the South East region of England . We are planning to start our first work with women prisoners in 2007 and expand our services regionally.

Our aim is to build a strong local management model that, once established and tested, can be rolled out across the United Kingdom. START-UP" is continuously developing and refining it's simple and effective business and marketing guidance processes for use by our clients. We will be regularly reviewing Mentor experience to establish best practice guidelines.

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Whether you are still in prison or recently released, just write briefly to our Client Co-ordinator with details of:

We shall contact you to discuss your ideas. If your plan is viable we shall arrange for you to meet one of our Client Support Managers. Once your business plan is ready, you will be invited to present your ideas before a panel of Startup judges at one of our Prisoner Entrepreneurship Days. If you are successful you will be told of the level of support Startup will provide. If your offer of support is conditional on meeting criteria set by the panel you will be assigned a Client Support Manager to help you meet these objectives.