The story of Unique Connections

Dr Beverley Samways has more than 20 years of professional and research experience in the care sector supporting young people with severe learning disabilities, sensory loss and autism. She is the founder-director of the social enterprise Unique Connections, which exists to improve the lives of individuals with learning disabilities who self-injure or are distressed.

Bev recently completed a Churchill Fellowship, spending five weeks in the US exploring trauma-informed approaches to supporting people with learning disabilities. Her report, focusing on how trauma-informed practice can help build resilience back into the UK care sector, can be found here.

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From idea to reality – the resilience of starting Exekias Games

Sam is the co-founder of Exekias Games, a board games company making historical games that encourage interest and curiosity in the ancient world. They started the business with course mates, from a university project that inspired their first game, ‘Escape From Pompeii’, which will be launching on Kickstarter in May 2025.

I applied for the first stage of the New Enterprise Competition, Ideation, back in late 2023 on the recommendation of a friend, not really knowing what I was in for. At the time, the idea of ‘Escape From Pompeii’ becoming a real board game that I could share with other people was unlikely, if not impossible. But over the course of the next few months, I was inspired by the confidence and ambition of the speakers and other entrepreneurs to consider it could be a reality.

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Start-up stories: Floom Creative

Floom Creative is a sustainable and ethical brand marketing agency specialising in nurturing organisations with values rooted in environmental and ethical consciousness.

The Floom Creative logo, which shows that they are a Certified B Corporation.

Harvey, one of Floom’s directors, tells us his story of graduating from the University of Bristol and how his degree inspired him to create Floom as a vehicle for businesses to share their sustainability stories authentically and impactfully.

Can you tell us a bit about your start-up?

Our team offers a unique blend of experience, combining my in-depth sustainability knowledge from completing an MSc in Environmental Policy at Bristol University in 2022, with fellow Director, Fin’s expertise in video production and documentary making.

We specialise in creating narratives for brands that have their values rooted in environmental and ethical consciousness.

In September 2024, Floom became B Corp Certified, a significant milestone reflecting our dedication to meeting high social and environmental performance standards.

A photo of Harvey, standing outside in the sunshine with trees in the background.

Our collaborative approach ensures businesses can access the best of both worlds: striking visuals and data-driven marketing that maximise a brand’s reach and impact.

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Founder’s keepers – advice from a working start-up

The New Enterprise Competition 2023 has come to an end. We caught up with finalist Ben Wainwright who comes loaded with lived experience from the world of start up.


Tell us about yourself and what sparked your interest in entrepreneurship.

Remap founder Ben Wainwright.

My name is Ben Wainwright and I am a co-founder and CTO of Remap Mental Fitness.

At Remap, we teach working professionals and global brands how to train their mind to improve how they think, feel and perform.

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The Growth Stage: Entrepreneurial reflections and why you should enter

The Growth Stage of the New Enterprise Competition (NEC) is just around the corner, with applications open until Friday 5 May.

It’s an incredible opportunity for any new business, with a prize of up to £20,000 of funding.

A headshot of Beverley Samways.

We caught up with Beverley Samways, one of the runners-up from last year’s finale, who shares some of her insights on the NEC, and her thoughts on what it means to be an entrepreneur!

Beverley’s company, Unique Connections, provides innovative programmes and services to empower young people with disabilities and support them to help them thrive in their communities.

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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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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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