Enterprise News

AUTUMN/WINTER 2014 ISSUE 6

Greg Clark MP meets our enterprising students Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, The Minister of State James Geary is another enterprising student for Universities, Science and Cities, visited who met with the MP. James is a Chemistry Keele earlier this Autumn to sign a major £83 & Politics Graduate, who set up Gears’ Oil million Growth Deal with Local Authority and Limited during January 2014 whilst on Business Leaders across Staffordshire and SPEED Plus. His company manufactures Stoke-on-Trent. rapeseed oil, with the waste being turned into biodiesel, animal feed pellets and As part of the visit, the Minister met with our firelighters…the whole carbon cycle! James very own SPEED Plus students, who have set was recently awarded a highly prestigious up their own businesses with the help of the Babson Award by Santander Universities - SPEED Plus business start-up programme. read more about this on pg 2.

Josh Drumm-Roberts (pictured above) Jack Holden and Natasha Rhodes are both studied Maths and Marketing and is now a undergraduates who are working hard to re- Director along with business partner Chris establish ENACTUS Keele here on campus. Maiden of QuickTicks Ltd, a company ENACTUS is a non-profit global organization providing innovative, fast, easy and secure of 65,500 students, businesses and online ticketing for events. They also provide academics in 1600 universities world-wide. marketing strategies, ticket sales channels The aim is quite simply, to change lives by and venue gating systems along with real- helping to solve social problems with the use time event statistics. Both Josh and Chris of business advice and training. started on the SPEED Plus business start-up programme in October 2012 and already have a sales turnover in excess of £100K. Josh and Chris also won the Keele Santander Awards of Entrepreneurship in March 2014 and each won an iPad!

Cath Edwards and Susanne Finlay- Bearblock are both Postgraduate students with an MSc in Environmental Sustainability & Green Technology. They started their journey on the SPEED Plus programme in October 2013 and together set up their business, 3 Green Rs, an environmental sustainability consultancy providing mentoring, professional development and workshops for schools across Staffordshire and Cheshire. They presented the Minister with a handmade Bug Hotel which he gladly took home to his family! ENTERPRISE NEWS | Issue 6 2

James goes stateside

Keele University was one of only two News and World Report as the number one universities in the UK to be awarded a place in the world for entrepreneurship education, on the prestigious Santander Babson College as one of just 30 young entrepreneurs from Entrepreneurship Programme earlier this around the world chosen for the scholarship. summer. James Geary graduated from Keele During his time in Boston, James learned University in 2013 with a degree in Chemistry from experts about marketing practices, & Politics. He then set up Gears’ Oils , a business planning as well about vital business

company that makes rapeseed oil, biodiesel, strategies. Photo: Joanne Leake (Student Enterprise Coordinator), firelighters and pellets from oil seed rape. Josie Humphries (Santander Branch Manager), James

James said “The course was the opportunity Geary (Gears’ Oils) and Jane Clark (Santander Regional As a young entrepreneur and part of the Relationship Director) of a lifetime. From the moment that our flight SPEED Plus business start-up programme, an landed, I was learning and meeting new initiative to support young entrepreneurs set people with exciting ideas to share. Being MORE ABOUT THE SANTANDER up by a collaboration of part of an active class made the whole course SCHOLARSHIP universities, James was put forward for the unique and unforgettable for the whole two The Santander Universities Global Division has scholarship by Dee Frankish, Student weeks. Now I have returned, I will use this collaborated with universities for 17 years and was Enterprise Manager here at Keele. knowledge – especially the lessons on set up to support the higher education and research alternative business models, to augment my system. In partnership with Babson College, James spent two weeks this summer at business, consider new ways to expand and Santander sponsors these two week, intensive Babson College in Boston, named by U.S. courses, to teach a wide range of business skills to grow. I’m really excited about what the next five years will bring” young entrepreneurs.

Our 4th Cohort of SPEED Plus businesses As one cohort started this summer. With a slight change to the programme, we started with a 2-day

ends another induction event in June, where they learned about the programme and also benefitted one begins from a creative/branding workshop delivered by creative agency Red2Design

Our 3rd cohort of SPEED Plus students started of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Guy Weir of Jacksons Accountants supported each of in January 2014 and successfully completed their time on the SPEED Plus project this our new business during induction to

summer. register with HMRC or Incorporate with Companies House. We also had 2 guest

We worked with 17 individuals and 13 speakers, who give their views and a ‘my journey’ account of their time on the companies, to help them develop their Cohort 3 business dreams into real businesses. Here’s programme; Kath Warrilow of Cupcake a quick run-down of the businesses we Yourself and Kane Forrester of KaneAtron rd supported during the 3 Cohort: Ltd.

 Martha Birks: Martha Lee Photography Although our 4th cohort is the smallest we’ve had, with just 8 businesses and 9  Charlotte Booker: Holy Moo  Adrian Bloor/Jez Nicholls: Crave Coffee individuals, it’s perfectly formed, with a range of exciting new businesses and  Cath Edwards/Susanne Finlay-Bearblock: passionate individuals and we very much 3GreenRs look forward to supporting them all.  Peter Fijol: VIVA IT Solutions  James Geary: Gears’ Oil Ltd  Zishan Aziz/Zeb Khan: Protein Chef Ltd  David Holdway: Dragonfly Aerial Images  Tom Edensor: Edouble Designs Ltd  William Gee: Board Buds  Damien Husnu: All Gain No Pain  Matt Heathcote: Holistic Refinement  Davina Patel: Dash Nails Uk Ltd  Krzysztof Pazowski: Chinese Metasoft  Jacob Kordan: Your Music Job Ltd  Aaron Regan: Total Freelance  Daniel Pearse: Holistic Merchants Cohort 4  Suzanne Leech/Matt Fox: The Winding  Christine Sherratt: Christine Sherratt River Liqueur Company Ltd  Sahdeea Sultana: Sultana Designs  Ella Austin/Sarah Date: Costumes UNI’d

ENTERPRISE NEWS | Issue 6 3

SPEED Plus – 1 Summer, 2 Award Nominations!

Both Dee and Jo work closely with a range Earlier this year the Student Enterprise Team of over 30 organisations across the region, was delighted to learn that the SPEED Plus which provide a range of services such as Project had been nominated, and shortlisted training, accountancy, legal and general for, not one but two prestigious awards! business support and advice.

The SPEED Plus project was submitted to the Dee Frankish, Student Enterprise Manager National Enterprise Educators’ Awards said “ We work with so many fantastic

(NEEA) in the HE Enterprise Champions organisations across the region which, category and SPEED Plus teams across all five provide enormous help and support for our universities were delighted to learn that they budding entrepreneurs and we were both were one of three shortlisted finalists! absolutely delighted to be a finalist in the Collaborative Partnership category”. Dee Frankish and Joanne Leake, who make up the Student Enterprise Team here at Keele, Although we weren’t lucky enough to bring were also thrilled to be one of the three home the awards, it was a huge accolade finalists for the Collaborative Partnership just to be a finalist amongst such strong

Award – in the Recognising Our Finest competition and only goes to highlight Awards 2014, which was organised by the what great enterprise opportunities are run ABOUT SPEED PLUS Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce earlier here at Keele by the Student Enterprise this autumn. The Finest Awards is a significant Team! SPEED Plus is a 6 month, part-time business event in the local business calendar, start-up project for budding entrepreneurs. It is highlighting the strength and thriving designed to offer university staff, students and networking activity of the region's alumni, plus graduates from other universities professional services sector. who are returning to the West Midlands region, the opportunity to develop their hobby or business idea into a real-life business. The project is a £4.2m collaboration and is part- funded by the European Regional Development Fund. It is run at the University of Wolverhampton, Birmingham City University, University, and . The project started in July 2012 and aims to create 600 new businesses in the West Midlands by 2015, providing a much needed boost to our local economy. www.keele.ac.uk/speedplus

ENTERPRISE NEWS | Issue 6 4

SPEED Plus Regional Awards

This September, our lead partner, Wolverhampton The day ended with the presentation of awards to University, hosted a SPEED Plus Networking & select SPEED Plus businesses from each university. Showcase Event for all past and current SPEED Keele’s award winners were: Plus businesses at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. SPEED Plus Journey Award This award is for the beneficiary or Partnership It was an opportunity for everyone to get together who has shown the most development and growth to show how the SPEED Plus project has helped to in terms of their personal journey whilst on the support their business and what achievements and SPEED Plus project. They have overcome obstacles have been overcome during their adversity to accomplish a personal goal of starting journey to self-employment. and running their own successful business with our assistance. Guest speakers included David Hyner - a renowned professional speaker and director of Keele Winner: Cath Edwards & Susanne Finlay- Stretch Development Ltd, a research based Bearblock of 3GreenRs (pictured) www.keele.ac.uk/speedplus training provider to the corporate and education sectors and home of professional speakers for SPEED Plus Ambassador Award events. At Stretch Development David has spent Keele University Student 13 years holding face to face interviews with some The SPEED Plus Ambassador award is given to the Enterprise of the world’s highest achievers and most effective individual(s) who live and breathe SPEED Plus. people from the world of sport, music, arts, politics They are proud to be part of the project and and enterprise. This research has enabled David to actively go above and beyond to promote not just understand how people achieve at the highest their own business but also the good of the @EnterpriseKeele

possible level and fulfil their potential to the project. They embody the ethos and the true spirit maximum. of SPEED Plus.

Rachel Bridge was the second speaker at the event Keele Winner: Kane Forrester of KaneAtron Ltd and has written five best-selling books about entrepreneurs, including How to Make a Million SPEED Plus 6th Gear Award Before Lunch and How to Start a Business without This award is in recognition of the company that any Money. She is the former Enterprise Editor of has grown and developed the fastest throughout Cath & Susanne (3GreenRs) receiving their SPEED and now writes about small and the time we have worked with them. This Plus Journey Award. medium sized businesses for The Telegraph. development can be in any of the following key Rachel took a one-woman show about areas: revenue; size; reputation; technical entrepreneurs to the Edinburgh Fringe festival and development. has an MA degree in Economics from Cambridge University. Keele Winner: Josh Drumm-Roberts & Chris Maiden of QuickTicks Ltd

We may also be able to offer some funding Interested in to help you to kick-start your business! starting your We can also put you in touch with a variety @EnterpriseKeele of business experts who can be your very own business consultant to help coach and own business? guide you along the way. Keele University We’re currently closed for applications, If you have a hobby, a talent or just a however we are in the process of finalising Student Enterprise really great idea and would like to turn plans for business start-up opportunities in it into a real business, then the 2015, so please keep checking out our Student Enterprise Team can help. webpage and social media feeds for details. www.keele.ac.uk/studententerprise We can provide training with a range We’ll also be sending out emails to all of local experts to teach you all you need to know about running your own undergraduates, postgraduates and business, from financial accounting staff…so keep checking your inbox! and planning to ecommerce and marketing.