Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Enterprise hub will help new businesses get off the ground

L/R, Philip Howard - Chairman of the Launch It trust, David Dorward - Chairman of Launch It Dundee, Shabana Basheer - Enterprise Manager at Launch It, Alison Henderson - CEO of Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce, and Chris van der Kuyl - 4J Studios, at the opening of Launch It, at Kandahar House.
L/R, Philip Howard - Chairman of the Launch It trust, David Dorward - Chairman of Launch It Dundee, Shabana Basheer - Enterprise Manager at Launch It, Alison Henderson - CEO of Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce, and Chris van der Kuyl - 4J Studios, at the opening of Launch It, at Kandahar House.

An enterprise hub which has been described as “transformational for the Dundee entrepreneurial community” has formally opened.

Launch It Dundee, was opened by Chris van der Kuyl, chairman of successful Dundee software firm 4J Studios, and young entrepreneurs at the facility are already hoping to follow in his footsteps.

The charity will provide space and support for up to 20 new businesses, across two floors at the Dundee Enterprise Centre at Meadowside.

Mr van der Kuyl reflected on the changes to the entrepreneurial environment since he opened his own business from a spare room in his parents’ house 27 years ago.

He said: “The entrepreneurial journey is open to anybody and there is far more support for entrepreneurs in Scotland than anywhere else in the world.

“Launch It Dundee will be transformational for Dundee’s entrepreneurial community and a place where companies that otherwise would have no home, will flourish.”

One company who will be using the unit is Darkroom Interactive, a small group of games developers who studied at Abertay University.

Christian Stockholm from the firm said: “Launch It is a very positive step, and allows us to engage with other firms.

“We’re hoping to emulate the success of Chris van der Kuyl.”

The target audience for the unit is 18-30-year-olds who are unemployed, under-employed or struggling to access employment, and provide them access to the space and support required to grow their own business.

The leader of Dundee City Council, John Alexander outlined the demand for entrepreneurial space and support in the city.

He said: “Launch It Dundee is unique in that it does not just provide space, it also provides support to help people get their businesses off the ground.

“There is also work ongoing with the college and universities, and this will complement the other services available.

“I think it is important that people are supported into employment and there is a lot of entrepreneurial spirit in the city.

“For me, the important part is that there is both support and guidance available for the new businesses who are ready to take advantage of the diverse range of opportunities that exist in Dundee.”

jimillar@thecourier.co.uk