Are successful entrepreneurs born, or can they be made?

Are successful entrepreneurs born, or can they be made? That question always prompts debate whenever the subject of  business start-ups is discussed.

There is no doubt that every successful business start-up needs a helping hand at some stage. Some entrepreneurs are "natural born", but others can create successful  businesses with the right early-stage help.

A would-be entrepreneur will have the drive and vision to start a business, but somewhere along the line he or she will need backing to fulfil their dream. Very often that help may be in finding the right premises, employees or financial backing.

New companies must be able to develop their product or service, identify routes to market, and find new customers.   Few businesses will have all the skills required to achieve all that on their own.

Six years ago when Hillington Park Innovation Centre opened its doors, we recognised that this element of professional support was a key ingredient to a successful incubator.

More than 100 companies have set up operations at Hillington Park during that period, and now we have launched a second centre at Alba Innovation in Livingston, as well as planning an extension to our high-quality base at Hillington.

What is the key to our success ? Without doubt, our companies benefit from first-class office facilities, a positive business culture and working in a good business location. But the key "magic ingredient" is the advice and support we provide to them along the way.

My colleague Brendan Waters and his team of advisers do a great job assisting our fledgling companies.

That support may take the form of  an intensive review of the business proposition or preparing a highly-detailed case for new investors. In some cases, it may be simply a case of "being there" to help entrepreneurs through the vital early stages..

Our own research underlines that our business advisory service underpins the success of the "innovation centre" concept and is seen as our key strength by our client companies.

Lightweight Medical, one of our early graduates, knows the strength of getting off to a good start. Already, the company is an multi award winning speculative design business, developing healthcare products to improve patient care by solving real clinical need.

Neil Farish, of Lightweight Medical, launched with the help of the PSYBT, comments:

"The centre is more than an office property - it's all about the people.

"We came to them as an early stage start-up with issues to resolve and they helped sort us out really quickly.

"The people are brilliant and provided exactly what we needed - they took a risk with us and it really worked out. We had excellent support from staff and advisers, and without them we wouldn't be where we are today."

Sanjay Patel, founder of KeyPoint, who moved into Hillington Park less than 18 months ago and recently raised the first part of a  £5m investment package to develop its revolutionary texting software, knows the value of operating from our centre.

"The Innovation Centre staff are all very helpful and go out of their way to help.   We really feel the HPIC staff are very well integrated into the Keypoint team.  The accommodation and facilities are also excellent - we have taken on a significant amount of office space to support our growing staff numbers and the Innovation Centre has been very accommodating to ensure our requirements are always met."

There is no escaping the fact that high-growth companies need specialist support, especially in their early days. Our dedicated team is augmented by a team of professional advisors in law, accountancy and other key areas of advice.

Together that has made our first few years a great success, and makes the prospects for the next few years all the more exciting as we help build the companies who will drive Scotland's economic growth.

Tom Ogilvie is chief executive of Innovation Centres (Scotland)