Start-Up Network Success
09 August 2010
LJMU Business Development Centre’s Student Enterprise Team is ‘matchmaking’ the 2010 Fellows with established business owners through its Start-Up Network initiative. This forms part of the bespoke package of business support that Student Enterprise provides on the Enterprise Fellowship Programme.
The 2010 cohort of new graduate businesses consists of a diverse mix of ideas ranging from artists and designers in the creative industries to social enterprises and a business in the construction industry. The Start-Up Network is a fast-growing group of established businesses and start-up businesses that connect through LJMU in a variety of ways.
Dominique Aspey, who manages the Network, has explored the range of new business ideas to establish the relationships that the Fellows should make and has canvassed support for these ideas through the strong links that have been developed with the local business community. Dominique commented, “We are immensely grateful to the businesses who have voluntarily given their time to meet with our Fellows, to listen to their ideas and then share their expertise and valuable information such as useful business contact lists, which can be very difficult for new businesses to get hold of. We know we have a great network of support, but this focused exercise of matching new business ideas to key people has reconfirmed that we have fantastic links with local business.”
Lynne Robertson, Entrepreneurship Champion and business adviser to the Fellows said “This is the first year we’ve looked at ways of actively linking our new graduate businesses to the network and we’re already seeing the benefits. New businesses are often lacking in the confidence needed to network effectively and pursue new contacts, so we’ve been able to speed that process up and introduce them to people relevant to their business needs. This has been a hugely positive process, with the graduate businesses receiving invaluable advice at a critical stage of their development. The process also strengthens the links between the Student Enterprise Team and the local business community, and gives our member businesses the chance to work closely with the crop of new talent emerging from LJMU.”
For further information about the work of the Student Enterprise Team or to find out more about the Start-Up Network, please contact Dominique Aspey in the Business Development Centre on 0151 231 8062 or email d.aspey@ljmu.ac.uk
