Tag Archives: Pioneer

Pioneer students talk lean business with successful bootstrapped entrepreneurs

Birkbeck’s aspiring entrepreneurs attended the third event in this year’s Pioneer programme, to learn how to grow a business with minimal resources from those who’ve done it.

On Saturday 12 January, Birkbeck’s Pioneer programme continued with over 120 students attending a morning of interactive talks from two successful entrepreneurs on lean business. Having gained tips and advice around innovation and ideation in session one, followed by different types of entrepreneurship in session two, students started to get actions in place to move their business ideas forward.

First up, Carlos Saba, Co-Founder of The Happy Start-up School took students on a journey to finding purpose in their business ideas, after a quick meditation session to get us all focused. Mindfulness and happiness are two areas that weaved their way throughout Carlos’ talk and it was clear that students related to this approach when thinking of their business ventures ahead of them.

Students were set a challenge to think about their ‘Happy Value Statement’, a tool included in the organisation’s Stop Dreaming Start Doing e-course, which is about “communicating what you do in the terms of solving people’s problems or making their lives better.” Carlos reiterated the importance of being more customer focused to help students get a clearer idea of the real value they are offering.

Part two of the session welcomed Julie Creffield, Founder of global fitness movement Too Fat to Run and award-winning blogger, author and life coach, to share her start-up story in successfully bootstrapping her business. Julie’s session provided a great follow on from Carlos, giving students practical examples and advice on getting their business started and beyond with minimal resources.

The big message of the day was to Think Bigger; aiming higher than you initially thought of and setting the bar beyond what you think is possible. Julie works with organisations globally to think bigger, behave better and make more of an impact and this message spurred students to take action after the workshop, ready to push forward with their ventures.

The Pioneer programme, in partnership with Santander Universities, takes students on a journey to develop their business ideas and their entrepreneurial skills. The monthly workshops continue in February with a hands-on pitching workshop.

Share

Pioneer Programme supporting entrepreneurial students at Birkbeck kicks off with a bang

Students on the Pioneer programme began the journey to develop their entrepreneurial skills with an inspiring session on Innovation and left feeling energised and motivated for the year ahead.

On Saturday 17 November, nearly 200 Birkbeck students started their journey on the Pioneer programme, a 7-part course that develops their entrepreneurial skills and knowledge and culminates with a Pitch and Celebration Evening in June 2019.

The programme, in partnership with Santander Universities, began with an inspiring and energetic session on Innovation from serial innovator and entrepreneur Julie Holmes, who motivated the students to pursue their ideas and turn them into reality. In between science-experiment style fireworks and top tips for starting a business, Julie kicked off the Pioneer programme with a bang and prepared the audience for a brilliant programme ahead.

Students also heard from Ambi Mistry at Creative Entrepreneurs, a movement that brings together the resources, roles models and networks creative people need to turn their ideas into successful businesses. Ambi delivered an invaluable networking session to encourage students to collaborate and think outside the box when it comes to making connections for their business ideas.

Jenna Davies, Programme Manager for Pioneer said, “Pioneer offers a fantastic platform for students who have a business idea or who are keen to develop entrepreneurial skills. Julie and Ambi have started this year’s programme in incredible fashion; the students were genuinely buzzing when they left the building.”

Baldeep Hothi, Programme Coordinator added, “The students will benefit immensely from Pioneer and it’s clear that they have already gained so much from this first session. Santander’s support has made this happen and we can’t wait to continue the journey in the coming months.”

Pioneer continues in December followed by a monthly workshop on a range of topics including Lean Business, Start-up Marketing, Funding, Pitching and more.

Further information:

Share