51Âþ»­

Some of the region’s top entrepreneurs shared their advice to students at 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­)’s first 51Âþ»­works Entrepreneurship Day.

The event, part of Leicester Business Festival, aimed to inspire and encourage students to find their passion.


Winner of BBC's The Apprentice, James White who runs a successful HR company

“It has been so inspiring,” said Lauren Robinson, a third year Business and Management. “Hearing from people who have been there and done it about their journeys, what they have faced, has given me so much to think about in the way you approach life.”

Himanshu Garg, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said: “This day has been incredible. It has given me confidence to implement my business idea and set goals.”

The day was sponsored by the Sir Thomas White Charity which awards funding to young people with a business idea who want to remain in Leicester.

It was organised by Simon Baines, Enterprise Project Manager, as part of 51Âþ»­’s work to support and encourage students who want to start their own businesses.

The university offers a range of programmes and mentoring to young entrepreneurs including the Pitch2Win competition, business advice, and an enterprise placement year. Graduates can apply for a place on The Crucible, a two-year programme of support and mentoring to help them succeed.

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Simon said: “We want all 51Âþ»­ students and graduates to know that the 51Âþ»­works Enterprise team are here to support and inspire them in developing entrepreneurial skills, whether or not they currently have ambitions to start a business. Our new events like Entrepreneurship Day, Enterprise Podcast LIVE and our forthcoming TEDx are integral to this.

"The calibre of guest speakers Entrepreneurship Day attracted really proves how willing our local business community and partners are to support new entrepreneurs. For people like Chris Davies, Assistant Manager at LCFC to give up their time to take part is phenomenal. I am confident everybody who attended will have taken something positive away from it, and I can’t wait to get started on planning a bigger and better Entrepreneurship Day in 2020.”

Speakers included award-winning hairdresser Barrie Stephen, LCB Depot manager James Burkmar (pictured above), events MD Louise Holland and Apprentice winner James White who shared top tips with a packed audience. Exclusive pre-recorded interviews with Edith Bowman and Ronan Keating, both sharing their own experiences with entrepreneurship were also screened.

51Âþ»­’s Entrepreneurs in Residence outlined the support available and students were able to network with business people from across the city.

Jenny Cross, CEO of Cross Productions, said: “It was one of the best events I’ve had the pleasure of being part of. Sharing these lessons has a huge impact on those who are just starting up.”

• Want to find out more about 51Âþ»­’s support for student and graduate entrepreneurs? Contact sbaines@dmu.ac.uk and follow @51Âþ»­wEnterprise on Twitter.
• External start-ups can find out more about the support available to them from 51Âþ»­ by clicking here.