How to get into: Start-ups and SMEs

Are you innovative, self-driven and interested in working in a close-knit work environment? Then working in a start-up or SME might be the right career move for you!

On 28 February, the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law invited University of Bristol alumni to talk about their experiences in start-ups and SMEs, as part of the ‘How to get into…’ event series.

Read on for our speakers’ top tips for those interested in pursuing a career in the sector, as well as an overview of the sector and some useful links.

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Aman: My IKEEP experience with a tech start-up

The IKEEP (Intrapreneurial Knowledge Exchange Enterprise Pathway) programme, run by world-leading business incubator SETsquared, offers free online training in entrepreneurship and business skills.

Some students then take on a project with an innovative SME. We caught up with epidemiology postgrad Aman Jat after he finished his IKEEP placement with medical tech start-up Microsol.

Aman Jat at the beach in Cornwall

Aman, can you tell us more about the project you were working on? 

Microsol is a science start-up focused on delivering AI-enabled software products for predicting aerosol properties in respiratory drug delivery. Microsol directly contribute to the advancement of respiratory therapeutics, which is beneficial to society and the economy.

The aim of our project was to plan Microsol’s public launch. A key objective was to develop a marketing campaign, find prospective investors from data and expand their network, as well as enhance their web presence.

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How to get into: business intelligence, data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

It’s no surprise that career opportunities within the business intelligence, data, and AI sectors have grown massively in recent years.

Data is everywhere, so data analytics is critical in helping businesses improve all types of decision outcomes.

Technology is constantly unearthing new ways to be innovative and efficient, making it an equally exciting and challenging area to work within.

On 14 March 2023, we were joined by three speakers who shared their experiences of internship, leadership, and entrepreneurship within these evolving areas of the technological industry, and how students from a range of academic backgrounds can go into them.

Our speakers were:

Teik Keat Tee
Finance Business Intelligence Intern  

Sam Haynes
Head of Risk Analytics  

Helen Tanner
Director at Data Cubed 


Here are our top 7 takeaways from the event:

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Jumpstart: land a role in a top start-up.

Get Hired, our flagship spring career fair is taking place on Wednesday 3 May, from 12:30 pm to 4 pm at Bristol Beacon, Trenchard Street (near Bristol Hippodrome).

On the run-up to Get Hired, we will be hosting a series of employer-led sessions to help you prepare for, and make the most out of, the fair. So if you are unsure what to do at a careers fair, or want some tips on how to research the attending employers, and what questions to ask; head to mycareer to explore our Prepare to Get Hired sessions.

Jumpstart, whose mission is to make startups a valuable career path for everyone, are one of the organisations presenting a Prepare to Get Hired skill session. We recently caught up with Jumpstart’s co-founder Kabir, to hear about his experience as an entrepreneur. 

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Get supported as a female founder with the Growth Support Programme

Back in March 2019, HM Treasury and Alison Rose published the ‘Rose Review’. The goal of the Rose Review was to tap the huge unrealised economic potential of women entrepreneurs by making the UK one of the best countries in the world for women to start and grow a new business. 

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The Growth Support Programme: a springboard to success

The New Enterprise Competition’s (NEC) award-winning Growth Support Programme (GSP) is open for applications.

The NEC is a year-long programme that offers you the chance to build your dream business, taking it from an idea scrawled onto a pub napkin, all the way up to a sustainable, successful, and profitable business.

What does it all mean?

After the initial Ideas and subsequent Development Stage, the final Growth Stage begins. It’s the highest point of the competition, where you will be competing for up to £20,000 in funding for your business.

Logo: The word "Growth" in green letters
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Calling all future founders! The Development Stage is open.

The Development Stage of the New Enterprise Competition (NEC) opens on 28 November for applications until 27 January.

The New Enterprise Competition is the University of Bristol’s flagship start-up competition and will soon be entering its 20th year. The Development Stage is where we can help you turn your start-up idea into a more realised business.

The word development

If you have a business idea and would like to take it to the next level then you should absolutely apply now on MyCareer. Read on to find out exactly why should apply for the Development Stage!

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Happy Global Entrepreneurship week!

It’s Global Entrepreneurship Week this week, which means people all over the world are coming together to celebrate start-ups and new business ideas.

Here at Basecamp, we have a lot of exciting events and opportunities coming up this academic year, to help you get a leg up for your start-up. Read on for more info, as well as some insights from former students who have worked with us and turned their start-up dreams into reality. You can also visit the Global Entrepreneurship website where they have more information, as well as events running all week, online and in-person, all over the world. 


How we can support you

 

A picture of Rose Tan, a female student, smiling

PlayThru is an amazing education tool, designed to bring the fun and innovation of video gaming into a learning environment.

Its creator, Bristol graduate Rose Tan (pictured left), worked closely with us here at Basecamp, and shares her thoughts below: 

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What is the Ideation fund and why should you apply?

The Ideation fund is a 7-week experimental learning programme, (running between the 2 November- 14 December), which provides applicants with specialist training, support and funding for founders who want to explore and test out an early-stage start-up idea. This programme is sponsored by The Bristol Grid.

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Meet our New Enterprise Competition winners! 

The New Enterprise Competition drew to a close this year at our celebration event. Route Zero were crowned the winners of the Growth stage, winning £10,000 plus 12-months incubation at SETSquared.  

RouteZero logog, a lime green arrow that links to a z

RouteZero was founded by Computer Science graduate Albie-Baker Smith and his co-founder Dan Brown with a mission of stopping catastrophic climate change through their platform which helps individuals and organisations switch out high-emission travel for greener journeys.

A picture of Albie, founder of RouteZero

“The UK has just experienced its hottest temperatures on record, and winning the competition provides us with the opportunity to attack one of the UK’s highest emission sources: travel.  We’d like to say a massive thank you to the New Enterprise Competition and the University of Bristol for catalysing RouteZero’s potential.  The investment allows us to accelerate our work with customers and deliver them journeys that are Green, Anywhere, Anyway.”

 

Albie and Dan- RouteZero

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