Launch48 Leicester

Fri 21st Nov – Sun 23rd Nov 2014

Have you been thinking about starting a business?  Have you got ideas for apps bubbling away, but not sure which one to work on, who to work on it with, or what the best next step is?

Come to Leicester Launch48, a high-energy weekend event that brings together ideas-driven people from different backgrounds to pitch, build and launch a startup in 48 hours.  The weekend is crammed with a series of mini learning tutorials, mentoring from leading entrepreneurs & investors, a suite of tools to help validate and develop your ideas, minute by minute support from our facilitator, and lots of pizza and beer.

Find out more and book your ticket:

www.launch48.com/leicester

TRANSFORMING YOU AND YOUR ENTERPRISE – webinars

The Cambridge Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship

Upcoming webinars

Are you an aspiring entrepreneur? Do you have a great idea for a business? At Cambridge, we aim to nurture the best entrepreneurial minds and enable you to transform your ideas into real action and new enterprises. The Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, is currently hosting a webinar series to provide answers to some key questions around starting and building businesses. The webinars are also designed to help those interested in our Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship. If you’re interested in participating, please register by clicking on the links provided and completing the online form.

How good is your venture idea?

Apr 8 10:00-11:00 (GMT+1)

Presented by: Dr Shai Vyakarnam

Register: Please complete the form to register your interest

Should you be starting a business on the basis of your current idea? You may have been thinking about starting a business or taking an idea that will help you grow your company. The question is whether you should risk your money and time on the idea? Is it big enough? Is there a market for it? These are pretty central questions that you have to ask yourself and indeed there are other questions that become clear only when you start thinking about what you need to know that you do not know! This webinar will help you decide if your idea is good enough and also if this is the one you want to bring with you as the enterprise project onto the Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship (PGDE).

Find out more about the PGDE »

How can you get experience and wisdom to support you in your venture?

Apr 10 15:00-16:00 (GMT+1)

Presented by: Dr Shai Vyakarnam

Register: Please complete the form to register your interest  

One of the most important sources of support for entrepreneurs is to get honest, neutral advice and support for you and your venture. While your family and friends can provide you with deep moral support they do not always have the business know-how and market expertise to give you real feedback. This is a role for mentors. So where can you get such a person and what do they actually do? One of the unique elements of the Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship (in addition to class room learning and on-line content and discussions) is the pool of mentors who support you throughout the year. It is up to you to make the most of the mentoring but how will you do that? This webinar introduces you to mentoring and how it works on the Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship programme (PGDE).

Find out more about the PGDE »

The Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship programme provides an entrepreneurial toolkit that builds business knowledge and a practical set of skills to increase confidence and the potential for success while seeking to avoid common mistakes.

Tim Hin Wai Lui, co-founder Flitter cab and PGDE alumnus said, “Although I could handle the technical aspect of the idea, I had neither the expertise nor the experience of running a business. The Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship has provided me with many insights, relevant knowledge and business skills – from forming a team and gathering necessary resources to managing a company – that have helped me bring this idea forward … and make more informed decisions regarding the direction of my company.”

Dr Hermann Hauser CBE, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd said, “This is another superb Cambridge initiative designed to develop entrepreneurial thinking and build the right skills needed to increase the chances of success. I am often asked whether entrepreneurs can be made. It’s a bit like making a concert pianist. If you’re tone deaf you’re never going to make it; but having a piano also helps. The Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship is like having a Boesendorfer Grand.”

Please note that further information about the course, selection criteria, application process and fees can be found on our web site »

STUDENT BUSINESS COMPETITION 2014

Do you have a GREAT business idea?

£350 prize and a 3 month summer internship

Submit a written business plan detailing all the information in 3 pages

  • Present your innovative business idea to an expert seasoned business professional panel.
  • The winner will have the chance to watch their plans develop into a real business.
  • The more convincing, commercially realistic and credible the plan, the more likely it is to win…

Application form on Molewood Consulting website before 30/04/2014

www.molewoodconsulting.com

Welcome to the China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge!

  • Do you have an idea for a business venture involving the UK and China?
  • Do you want a share of the £5,000 in cash prizes?
  • Do you want expert advice and comments on your business idea?
  • Do you want to build your international network of contacts?

Then join the China UK Entrepreneurship Challenge 2014!

The China-UK Entrepreneurship Competition aims to encourage new business ventures between China and the United Kingdom and is intended to simulate the real-world process of entrepreneurs soliciting start-up funds from early-stage investors and venture capital firms. The competition is part of the PMI2 (Prime Minister Initiative II) Connect project, supported by British Council and the Confucius Institute programme funded by Hanban.

The competition is open to university teams – students and post docs – both in the UK and China. Teams will be selected to participate in this competition for:

  • £5,000 cash prizes
  • An investment opportunity of £250,000 for the best business plans

Initial registration, proposal submission and selection deadline is 5pm Monday 14th April 2014

The Loughborough University Think Big Business Ideas Competition

THINK BIG 2014 – simple ideas can make a BIG difference

Do you have a great idea then don’t forget to enter the Think Big Competition!

Our Business Ideas Competition can help you turn your great idea into an even greater business whether you’re just starting out, already trading or just dreaming big!!

With cash prizes and free advice there is no better time to Think Big!

The competition is open to ALL students – Undergraduates, Postgraduates and also Graduates from 2013

The Application Deadline is on 28th February 2014

Find out more at : www.lboro.ac.uk/think-big

 

The Real Alchemist Startup Weekend

Save the date! 28th – 30th June 2013

Apply: Please complete the online form to book your place » A modest fee is payable. £75 standard/ £50 student

Do you have an idea for a potential business venture? Would you like the chance to transform your vision into reality? Would you like to be part of a new start-up?

The Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL) is offering budding entrepreneurs and creative minds the chance to practise real alchemy at Cambridge Judge Business School from 28th to 30th June. This high-octane startup weekend will be a melting pot of ideas, talent, mentors and investors leading to the creation of new venture opportunities. It is designed to motivate and enable you to transform your ideas into reality whether you have a technology, social or creative enterprise.

Continue reading

Enterprise workshops next term

Financial Management Workshop- 17 April 2013- 1:30pm-3:30pm
Jim Hewitt from Decimus Training and Consulting will talk you through the nitty-gritty of financial management & how to look after your books, keeping track of your orders and invoices. 
Book Now>> 

Planning your business Workshop- 24 April 2013- 1:30pm-3:30pm
Graham Gardiner from Aspiren will be running this practical workshop looking at where you want to take your business and what you will need to do to get there. Book Now>>

Nigel Botterill Forum- 24 April 2013- 6:30pm-8pm
One of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs (starting 8 seperate million pound businesses) & CEO of Entrepreneur’s Circle will focus on the practical day-to-day things that separate the best from the rest. Book Now>>

Branding on a shoestring Workshop24th April 2013- 1:30pm-3:30pm
Graduate company, a dozen eggs have helped lots of start-ups devise great branding on no-budget. They will guide you through successful brand development on a shoestring.
Book now>>

Pretty Polly’s Eugene Culhane Forum- 1st May 2013- 6:30pm-8pm
This forum will give an insight into Pretty Polly’s incredible company journey. Which has made them one of the most popular tights in the world, worn by some of todays fashion icons. Book now>>

Selling and negotiating Workshop- 8th May 2013- 1:30pm-3:30pm
Jo Haigh will be sharing top tips on how to sell and negotiate. These are great skills to have even if you don’t have your own business. Book now>>

Enterprisers 2013

What is Enterprisers?

Enterprisers is a four-day residential course aimed at ambitious and energetic individuals looking to unlock their entrepreneurial potential. It is fun, action-oriented, practical and based on experiential learning, i.e. learning by doing. Enterprisers equips students with the skills to spot enterprising opportunities, develop self-efficacy and to apply more entrepreneurial ways of thinking to any research or project through a process of knowledge, activity and reflection.

“By the end of the week, a number of potential ideas had evolved which may well form the core of future business initiatives.” William Farr (University of Cambridge)

Key benefits:

  • Unlocking creativity and a ‘can-do attitude’
  • Inspiring and stimulating new ideas for an enterprise or enterprising projects
  • Unleashing creativity
  • Learning practical approaches to creative thinking and identifying opportunities
  • Developing basic business know-how
  • Developing local and global networks

Further information about the programme is available on the CfEL web site at http://www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/enterprisers/index.html

There is a programme brochure available to download at http://www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/enterprisers/forms/form_requestbrochure.html