PASSPORT TO ENTERPRISE
Ben Mervis and Robert Koenig are former King’s students who have been granted Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Visas with their food-focused ventures. Tier 1 visas allow graduates to extend their stay in the UK by starting a business. Read about their entrepreneurial journeys.
Ben Mervis Founder of Fare Magazine
WHAT IS FARE MAGAZINE?
Fare is a travel magazine for foodies that explores the heart of a city’s culture through 200 pages of artwork, essays, interviews and localised fiction that taps into the culture of a given place.
WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION? WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY?
There have been loads! I didn’t know anything about journalism or publishing before embarking on this. It is my first endeavour as an editor and a publisher… so that has clearly been a big learning curve. I managed everything on the fly really. I’m still making it up as I go along – doing what I think is best and then learning from when I make mistakes. Challenges occur everywhere, naturally, from content generation, to printing, to distribution, sales, and social media. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?
That everyone is making things up as they go, just like you. It’s a nice confidence booster when you realise that. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR VISA APPLICATION PROCESS?
I’m from Philadelphia initially but came to Glasgow, Scotland, on my study abroad year and fell in love with the place. I’ve now lived in the UK for six or seven out of the last nine years. As an international 44 Start! Issue four 2018–19
entrepreneur, obtaining a visa is an inevitable obstacle to face. However, do not be discouraged by it. I personally found the process straightforward compared to other visa applications!
Just sitting in my lounge, drinking cup after cup of tea! WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Visit www.faremag.com Instagram: @faremag Twitter: @FareMagazine
