10 June 2015
Student entrepreneurs being nurtured by Essex Startups 2015
A total of 20 student and graduate teams unveiled their business ideas at two days of workshops supported by industry experts at the launch of the Essex Startups 2015 competition.
Ideas included a pop-up coffee shop for booklovers, a new theatre company to explore big ideas, an online event network for the Chinese market, a personal security app and a new system for controlling your smartphone with just an eye wink.
The teams received advice and support from business mentors including Kim Trotter and Amy Bramwell from Eastern Enterprise Hub, Peter Disney from Wood and Disney at Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, Daren Imbert from Santander, Laurie Pryce from AA Waste Advisory Services and Bridget Tighe from Colchester Community Volunteer Services.
Now the teams will go away to develop their business plans ahead of presenting them at a ‘dragon's den’ style event in the autumn where they could secure £3,000 to support the development of their ideas.
Enterprise Officer Christine Michaelis, from the Employability and Careers Centre, said: “The two day Essex Startup Bootcamp was great! I had so much fun and the students said they all learned a lot. They have made great progress within this short period of time. The mentors enjoyed the event and were impressed with the quality of the participants’ ideas. I can’t wait to work on their business plans with them.”
Essex Startups 2015 is part of an extensive programme of support at Essex to encourage students to develop their own business ideas.
Find out more: www.essex.ac.uk/careers/enterprise/
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