Royal Holloway
Entrepreneurs So what’s your idea?
2010-2011 Year In Review
NACUE Venture Creation Catalyst Award Winners 2011
Table of contents 1.
Messages from the Patrons
2.
Messages from the Board
3.
About Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs
An entrepreneur’s mindset must be based on creative ideas in order to be successful. Constant innovation is the attribute which will keep you ahead of the crowd. Well done Luka Blackman-Gibbs for maintaining such a strong and enthusiastic society as Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs and we must remember, and thank, Royal Holloway for all that they do to enable students to recognise and utilise their talents.
4-6. Committee’s Review 7.
From the Founding Patron
At this time the UK needs dynamic, enthusiastic, innovate entrepreneurs so with these qualities and the experience that you will have gleaned from being part of RHE you will achieve your goals and in the process contribute to society as a whole.
Q&A with Louis Mech
8-9. 2010 - 2011 in Pictures
With best wishes for your future success. Sir Alec Reed CBE Founder of the Reed group of companies
10. This Year’s Events
From the Patron
11. The Enterprise Lab
If ever there was a need and an opportunity for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship then it’s right here, right now!
12. Financial Information
With the recession behind us and stated Government policy to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business there is ample scope for budding entrepreneurs to launch that well-researched and unique idea, product or service. Indeed, I believe we should one step further and restore the UK’s reputation as a world class innovation leader which will provide a route to investment, exports and growth.
Royal Holloway
Entrepreneurs So what’s your idea?
Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs is already demonstrating its vital role in encouraging an enterprise culture at the University and I applaud its achievements in its first two years. RHE is the ideal environment for students to nurture, share, test and develop concepts whilst drawing on the University resources and experience of others who have trodden familiar paths! As the new Patron of Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs and a ‘serial entrepreneur’ myself I feel very much at home with the goals and ambitions of the Society and I look forward to seeing the next generation of entrepreneurs reaching their full potential in their chosen field. Surinder Arora Founder and CEO Arora Hotels
“Stay hungry, stay foolish...”
Steve Jobs, Co-Founder & CEO of Apple
1
From the President Taking on the role as President of Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs this year has been both an exhilarating and a rewarding experience. The organisation has grown from strength to strength, now finding itself proudly placed as a well respected and established part of Royal Holloway University. We’ve worked hard to deliver a fantastic programme of events this year, exploring a new approach to help a wider variety of students to see themselves as entrepreneurial and innovative. The weeks this year have been themed, for example Fashion Entrepreneurship week, featuring Charles Tyrwhitt and A Suit That Fits. We also hosted Sports Entrepreneurship week, a Social Entrepreneurship week, and a Tech Entrepreneurship week. We’ve more than doubled our membership and increased the variety of students who attend our events. We’ve also had an incredibly successful year in terms of helping our students to acquire funding for their ideas externally. The hard work and commitment of the committee and support from the college this year, with special thanks to the Careers Service, has led to the continued success of the organisation, culminating in being awarded the 2011 NACUE Venture Creation Catalyst. This award reiterates the fantastic achievement of Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs in fulfilling its aims to encourage, support and inspire every student to take the steps needed to create successful ventures. Thank you again to the committee, patrons and college for the help and support this year, it has been invaluable. Luka Blackman Gibbs
From the Entrepreneurship Careers Adviser Winning the NACUE Venture Catalyst Award has capped another tremendous year for this exciting young organisation. If anything, the need for an entrepreneurial response to our country’s economic difficulties is greater than ever. With graduates facing increasingly uncertain futures, those who can use their intelligence and initiative to carve their own path to success are ever more in demand by society and by employers. Indeed, a 2010 study by the Kauffman Foundation, The Importance of Startups in Job Creation and Job Destruction, demonstrated that over a ten year period the entire net growth in US jobs could be attributed to startup companies. Our young entrepreneurs are leading the way by creating their own jobs. Please demonstrate your support by asking the team how you can get involved.
2
John King
Paulius Satkauskas recieves seed funding from Sir Alec Reed
About Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs is the student enterprise organization of Royal Holloway, University of London. It aims to encourage, support and inspire every student to take the steps needed to create successful ventures, through inspirational events, education, networking and funding opportunities. Benefits to student members include the following:
l l l l l l l l
Weekly Get Inspired! speaker events Networking opportunities with leading entrepreneurs and enterprising peers Workshops designed to enhance practical skills and knowledge bases around enterprise and business Business Clinics which offer one to one mentoring to help students to plan and develop their entrepreneurial ventures Opportunities to win business start up funding throughout the year Competitions with opportunities to win great prizes and develop entrepreneurial skills News and updates about business and enterprise events, workshops and funding opportunities across the country Hotdesking facilities and resources in the Enterprise Lab
3
Vice President of Communications
Project Director
Being involved in Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs for the second time has meant that I have been able to ensure that the success achieved in the society’s inagural year has been maintained. This year, RHE has helped motivate even more students to shape their ideas into great businesses. Being awarded the “NACUE Venture Catalyst Creation” award shows how RHE has gone from stength to strength.
As a Project Director I organised for RHE to take part in the national Million Makers competition to raise funds for the Princes Trust. This was a very interesting yet challenging experience to ensure that my team came through with our ideas and events. It involved lots of entrepreneurial activities that I think not only benefited me as an individual and committee member, but also the people that I chose to work with. I enjoyed being part of the committee and enjoyed advertising, promoting and listeing to the speakers at the events put on. I found myself continuously being inspired and motivated to learn more about becoming an entrepreneur, and all that comes with it. I hope to continue working with the committee and play an active role within the society for many years to come.
For me personally it was great to see that RHE wasn’t just a one year thing and through the tireless efforts of the Committee, John and of course Luka, the society is set for a bright future. Florian Jensen
Vice President of Operations
Cristina Lopez Stahlie
Project Director
I have thoroughly enjoyed working as part of the RHE team this year. I’ve made some great friends along the way and have developed a wide range of skills for helping me in business. At the beginning of the year, I didn’t have a business idea to work on. Now that I do, I can harvest the skills that I’ve developed over the past 12 months and put them into practice. Becoming the Vice President of Operations and managing a committee of volunteers has enabled me to make quick decisions, engage with people on a personal level and understand what is needed for hosting an awesome event.
My role as Project Director meant that I was responsible for coming up with unique event and competition ideas. I also helped out the team by advertising events, lending a helping on the guest speaker nights, and promoting RHE in general to get more people involved. As a whole, I feel RHE is great as it is a way to spread the entrepreneurial spirit throughout campus, helping to show people that any idea can become a great business if it is approached in the right manner. The weekly talks were a fantastic way to gain ideas and tips on how to successfully achieve this through hearing first hand experiences from entrepreneurs who have gained success themselves. Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed perfroming my role as it has provided me with a channel to express my creativity and helped me to think of some ideas of my own.
Getting involved with RHE was an excellent way to broaden my horizons outside of my studies and engage with something I really enjoyed. Dan Peattie
Commercial Director Operating as non-profit student organisation has only been made possible through the funding of the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) along with the immense support of the Royal Holloway Careers service and the Research & Enterprise department. This year, RHE has worked extremely hard to gain sponsorship and external funding in order to help students make their dreams of setting up a business a reality. I have been responsible for sourcing these new revenue streams which will help RHE to grow and become a sustainable entity. It has been a true pleasure working with the RHE team and I trust that next year’s committee will build upon the foundations already in place. Hortense Decaux
Laura Scott
Project Director Being a Project Director has allowed me to take on a variety of roles. I have organised my own competitions, been a point of contact for anyone wishing to get involved with RHE, and helped the rest of the committee with event promotion and various other projects. I think the best part about the society is the facility it provides for networking with like minded people, who have a passion for turning ideas into reality. In particular, the guest speaker evenings and other events have enabled me to meet a wide range of budding entrepreneurs. Being at the centre of the activity has also made me aware of all the fantastic competitions that RHE run, and was fortunate enough to win £500 to kick start my own business thanks to the mini-grant scheme. Overall, my involvement had been one of the highlights of my University experience, and I storngly believe those not getting involved are missing out! Lauren McIlroy
4
5
Creative Director As the Creative Director I was responsible for creating all the posters and flyers to promote RHE’s events. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of coming up with new and interesting designs on a week-to-week basis. Sometimes I’ve been a little pushed for time, receiving the design brief only a few days before going to print, but with a few late nights, these tight deadlines have always been met. Seeing my work put up around campus has proved thoroughly rewarding, and I was particularly pleased with how effective the lampost ‘suits’ used to promote the Charles Tyrwhitt event were. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the guest speakers throughout the year and have learned a lot from their experiences. The small venues have created a unique atmosphere for the events, and the networking sessions after each event have allowed me to quiz the entrepreneurs and get to know them on a personal level, as well as eat lots of free pizza! For me, the most successful talks were given by Ry Morgan and James Proud, both young entrepreneurs who I felt I could really relate to. Given that Ry only stepped in at the last moment his presentation was particularly impressive, and hearing how James’ business had developed following his talk last year was highly informative. Jack Smale
Q&A Louis Mech CEO of VEO & Winner of the “Dragons Den” Competition Why did you join RHE and what has it done for you this year?
Ideas’ competition. Armed with a bit more money, I could now seriously approach suppliers. To date VEO The reason that I joined the RHE, was has donated 78 pairs of prescription because I had a passion for a business glasses to people in need. Early this however I was not sure how to take year I was invited to be on a panel for the next step. RHE has provided me the guardian.co.uk/socialenterprise with a safe environment to talk about on the issue of ‘Raising Investment my business ideas and, after winning for Social Enterprises’. VEO is finally the RHE Dragons Den, provided becoming a reality, and this year has enough start-up capital to transform allowed me to explore a whole new my idea into reality. side of business. Tell us a little about about your journey with VEO?
Marketing Director My role has offered much variety, from getting involved with the organising upcoming events to supporting the president with marketing and promotion. Attending the weekly meetings has allowed me to share ideas that aim to keep the society in touch with what students are looking for in a entrepreneurship society. Looking back at this year, I have had a very insightful experience into what makes a successful entrepreneur. Getting a chance to talk to many successful entrepreneurs who turned just an idea into a profitable business has given all of our members a sense of hope and motivation to pursue their own business start-ups. Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs provides a great platform for like-minded students to come together, who and the passion and desire to persue a wide range of business interests and make them succeed. Baharat Luhar
6
Firstly, I should probably explain that VEO is a social enterprise glasses company. Every time someone purchases a pair of VEO glasses, VEO donates a pair of prescription glasses to a person in need. VEO aims to utilise peoples’ purchasing power to benefit the greater good. It has been a bit of a whirlwind year for VEO. After Winning the RHE Dragons Den I was then able to order the first batch of prototypes. This then allowed me to sell our first few pairs of VEO sunglasses to friends and family. Due to the strong positive feedback, I then decided to order more sunglasses. However, on a student budget raising the capital was challenging; as a result I decided to enter several other business competitions to raise startup capital though prize money. VEO was short listed for the University of Oxford Emerge Social Venture Lab and won the West Focus ‘Bright
So what’s next? I have been accepted onto a great program called the ‘New Entrepreneurs Foundation’. This program was set up by several of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson. The idea is to allow young budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to shadow and learn from some of the best UK startups and SME’s. The NEF believes this expose will provide the young entrepreneurs with a greater chance of business success in the future. I am very excited to take this new opportunity to work on expanding VEO and my own personal business education. Why do you think the entrepreneur route is right for you? I like that entrepreneurship provides you with the opportunity to manifest your own destiny and explore often unconventional routes. I haven’t seen any corporate jobs that provide freedom like that.
What has been your favourite moment so far? Getting to meet Richard Branson was a major high point. He was an incredibly down to earth guy that just loves any new fun business idea, he is very inspirational. What’s your biggest inspiration to succeed? I am very competitive, and sometimes quite hard on myself. This forces me to stay resilient and keep going. I am also very fortunate to love what I do and be able to help others in the process. What advice would you give to people thinking of starting an entrepreneurial project? Just do it! You have very little to lose and everything to gain. The learning experience is beyond compare.
7
r
s
r e n n i
W
ve o f o
0 0 ,0 ing
2 nd u 5 f ÂŁ seed in
Over
0e0 1a,t0 tende s 6
7
8
9
This Year’s Events...
Business Incubation
Enterprise Lab Supported by the Research & Enterprise department at the College, Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs has established the Enterprise Lab which operates as a hatchery and resource centre for student businesses. With hotdesking and business facilities, a modest library and a comfy break-out space, it’s the perfect place for students to collaborate and plan or just get down to doing some hard graft. The Enterprise Lab is located in the Orchard Building and students can apply for access by getting in touch with Luka Blackman-Gibbs (president@ royalhollowayentrepreneurs.com).
10
11
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Henry Ford, Founder of The Ford Motor Company
Financial information Budget
HEIF4 Training (£750)
Actual
Training (£1,503.30)
HEIF4 Travel & Subs
Travel & Subs
(£750)
(£964.36)
Hospitality
HEIF4 Hospitality
(£1,038.47)
(£2,000)
Publicity (£864.80)
HEIF4 Publicity
Staff
(£1,500)
(£11,485)
Staff (£11,485)
Total
Total
£16,485
£15,855.93
Income HEIF4 HEIF5 Sponsorship
2009/10 £14,175 £0 £0
2010/11 £16,485 £0 £0
2011/12 £0 £14,485 £6,300
Total
£14,175
£16,485
£20,785
Staff Publicity Hospitality Training Travel Other
2009/10 £9,990 £1,065 £1,855 £570 £695 £0
2010/11 £11,485 £1500 £2000 £750 £750 £0
2011/12 £11,485 £750 £750 £750 £750 £5,000
Total
£14,175
£16,485
£19,485
Expenditure Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs wishes to thank the following: The Careers Service Staff @ Royal Holloway, University of London for their continued support and advice NACUE (the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs) for the invaluable training they provide Aurora Hotels for providing funding to ensure the future success of the society The Prince’s Trust for their assistance with the society throughout the year
12
Il Pompodoro for supplying us with Pizza at our networking events!
Post Orchard Building Royal Holloway, University of London Egham Surrey TW20 0EX Produced by JackSmale.com
Web royalhollowayentrepreneurs.com Facebook facebook.com/royalhollowayentrepreneurs Twitter @RHEntrepreneurs