Tag: Basecamp Enterprise Team

Last chance to apply for the Ideas stage of the New Enterprise Competition!

Posted on by Careers Service

The Ideas stage for the New Enterprise Competition is open for applications for another week. For the opportunity to test out your idea by pitching to us and to win up to £200 in equity free funding, what have you got to lose? 

 

We caught up with Shabaj, who created the Success Program, a sports journaling app, which was awarded  funding from the Ideas stage of the Competition last year. 

 

In a nutshell, what is your start-up idea and where did the idea come from?

I’m working on a sports journaling app that allows individuals to track their weightlifting performance and provides customers with a quantitative measure of how their training programme is impacting their performance. Having our customers reflect on what they achieved on their last workout allows them to compete against themselves from one workout to the next.  

The aim of the game is progression, but how can you know if you are progressing if you aren’t tracking your results?

I’m not the strongest person in the gym, by far. Often, if I push myself more than I am physically capable of and I get an injury. I got tired of repeating the same mistake and started to record my workouts in a notebook. However, I got fed up with flicking through the pages to find what weights, reps and sets I should do. I also lost more pens in the gym than most students do in three years at university. So I decided to build an app to think and carry less in the gym.

 

Have you always been interested in entrepreneurship? What inspired you to get into it?

I let my curiosity direct where I put my attention- which has its own set of pros and cons! My journey into entrepreneurship is more self-centred than most. From the projects I worked on, I always had a personal connection with problem I was trying to solve. Since I couldn’t find a product or service that met my needs, I would find out how I can create my own solution. If I have that problem, someone else might too.

Picture of Shabaj who founded the Success Program
Shabaj, founder of The Success Program

(more…)

The Start-up Accelerator

Posted on by Careers Service

The Start-up Accelerator is a series of events put on by the Basecamp Enterprise team which are taking part between October and December with the aim of equipping you with an enterprising skillset. This skillset will help you become more employable as well as equipping founders with the start-up knowledge needed for developing their start-up. 

‘’What is an Enterprise skillset?’’ 

You may hear that phrase and think it just applies to those who wish to set up a business. That may not be within your career plans but enterprise skills are still very important. 

Enterprise skills may also be called ‘employability skills’ or ‘soft skills’ and these types of skills are always sought after by employers, yet many candidates overlook their importance. Skills that make up an Enterprise skillset may include the ability to make strategic decisions, working independently and problem solving.   (more…)

The New Enterprise Competition round- up

Posted on by Careers Service

The New Enterprise Competition (NEC) drew to a close last month at our online celebration event where Peequal were crowned the winners of the Growth stage winning £15,000 in funding.  

The UK’s first women’s urinal showcased their first prototype at Bristol Comedy Gardens at the beginning of the month and following the news of their win, have been making headlines across the UK, gaining 60 million views of their business since winning the competition: 

Co-founder Hazel McShane said: ‘’Winning the competition has given us the opportunity to follow our dream for pee-equality. I want to give a massive shout out to the New Enterprise Competition and Basecamp team who have shown us support and encouragement from day one. The funding and recognition has lit the fire beneath PEEQUAL and we are now so excited to get our PEEQUAL urinals out there to free the pee.” (more…)

The Foundership scheme

Posted on by Careers Service

New for Summer 2021! The Foundership scheme is open to students and recent graduates who want to explore their start-up ideas. Formerly the Enternship scheme, the Basecamp Enterprise team have revamped the programme for this year, giving student entrepreneurs the opportunity to explore their options over Summer break. 

The four-week scheme equips founders with £1,000 funding, ringfenced networking and workshop opportunities, and allows you to work from the comfort of your own home. 

Sound like something you may be interested in? Here is what you can get out of the scheme this Summer:

Goal setting-

On submitting an application, we will ask you to set out what you would like to achieve over the four weeks. This could vary between wanting to undertake some research on your target market to building a prototype. Setting out what you intend to do will mean you can hold yourself accountable, it will motivate you to strive to succeed and will help you break down your overarching goals into tangible, achievable chunks. Successful applicants will submit a weekly report to Basecamp outlining what they achieved each week.  (more…)

It’s International Womens Day!

Posted on by Careers Service

Find out Today, the 8 March is International Women’s Day (IWD). The global annual celebration celebrates the social, economic and political achievements of women and simultaneously raises awareness on gender equality.

This week, there are lots of incentives and events taking place nationally and internationally which celebrate women overcoming challenges and creating an impact- however big or small- on today’s society. Although many are taking place today or over the next week, these events should act as a springboard for change over the next 12 months. This years theme is #Choosetochallenge . Here are some ways you can challenge yourselves this International Women’s Day.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

Challenge diversity within business

(more…)

Reasons why you should apply to the New Enterprise Competition- Development stage

Posted on by Careers Service

The Development stage of the New Enterprise Competition (NEC) is open for applications until next Monday 1 March.

Considering applying for the chance of winning up to £1,000? Here are the top 4 reasons why you should take your ideas to the next level and submit an application:

Funding

The competition awards winners with up to £1,000 to go towards developing your start-up and the prize money can go towards anything. Whether it be developing a prototype, building a website, or purchasing tools and materials – whatever you need to take your ideas and turn them into a reality.

‘’The competition funding will allow our community workshop space to become a reality. We considered running a Crowdfunder, but funding from the NEC takes the pressure off and means that we have enough funds to purchase essential items that will be difficult to Crowdfund for.

We are excited that this funding will mean that all elements of our enterprise can start, and that we can start working towards developing products that can allow us to become financially self-sustaining.’’ – Precious Plastic Herzeele- 2020 winners

Develop your skills

(more…)

The New Enterprise Competition- Development stage

Posted on by Careers Service

The world of employment has changed significantly over the last 12 months due to the pandemic. What has felt like months of uncertainty over what the future holds, the prospect of diving into the deep– end and starting your own business might seem daunting.  

However, working for yourself and launching a start-up in 2021 can be a great opportunity. Particularly if your enterprise fills a gap in the market, is well researched and it is something you’re passionate about. 

The New Enterprise Competition – Development stage is now open for applications.  This stage of the competition awards up to £1,000 to 10 start-ups. Funds can be used towards developing student and graduate start-ups. Historically winners have ranged between social enterprises combating food waste, to sustainable clothing businesses and much more. 

We spoke to one of last year’s winners, Fix My Crack- which some of you may know by their previous name Brisfix, to find out what winning this stage in the competition meant to them and how they found the process.  (more…)

It’s Global Entrepreneurship Week!

Posted on by Careers Service

This week, 16 to 20 November marks Global Entrepreneurship Week. The campaign began in 2008 with an emphasis on inspiring young people to make their mark. It has quickly grown into a week which inspires entrepreneurs, students, researchers and more to collaborate and advance economic growth and innovation.

The Basecamp Enterprise team are getting involved by offering a jam-packed week of events where industry experts share top tips, networking opportunities and the launch of Natwest 10k challenge.

Global Entrepreneurship Week

Although there are several events happening across the world this week which focus on business and entrepreneurship, the Basecamp Enterprise team run workshops, events and start-up support all year round to keep you feeling motivated and inspired.

(more…)

HYBR- New Enterprise Competition alumni

Posted on by Careers Service

As well as coming back to class ready for the new academic year, it’s also a time for moving into new houses and getting to know new housemates. The student rental market has a bad rep, and runners up from last year’s New Enterprise Competition aim to tackle this: Meet HYBR. We spoke with their founder, Hannah to find out what they’ve been up to. 

Describe your business to us in a nutshell.

HYBR is an online marketplace for student accommodation that connects students directly to landlords, cutting out the traditional letting agent. Our mission is to provide an affordable landlord solution and support first-time renters throughout their rental journey. 

Where did the idea of HYBR come from?

University is some of the best years of young adults’ lives and one hugely exciting aspect of this is moving in with friends. My co-founder and I reflected on our positive rental experiences with Airbnb, and we realised renting a house is a part of the excitement of moving away. So why did it need to be a different story with student rentals?   (more…)

The New Enterprise Competition Ideas stage- Now open!

Posted on by Careers Service

The New Enterprise Competition, the University of Bristol’s flagship start-up competition hosted by the Basecamp Enterprise team, is soon to be entering it’s 20th year. 

Comprising  three stages: Ideas, Development and Growth, every year we award £35,000 plus pro-bono support over the stages to support start-up businesses, charities and social enterprises.  

The Ideas stage of the competition is now open for applications! 

via GIPHY

Why apply for the Ideas stage? 

The competition is designed to inspire and encourage you to develop your business and think about your long-term career plans.  

Over the years, applicants’ ventures have varied between sustainable clothing businesses to security software, from apps to enhance mental wellbeing to vegan snacks. Whether you have started to think about a product or service that could solve a problem over the summer, or you have a business venture you have been working on for the last few months, no idea is too small or too big for this stage.  

(more…)