Innospace | News & Blogs

The Manchester Apprentice 2012

2012-04-17T09:18:24Z

Do you have what it takes to become the most employable student in Manchester, get noticed by corporates and earn £500?

The Manchester Apprentice offers you that opportunity, being the biggest student business and enterprise competition of its kind taking place in Manchester.
In partnership with Accenture, RBS ESSA, GiveMeTap and couple other nationally known names, Manchester Apprentice is aimed at testing applicants in real business environment.

Over a period of 4 days starting from April the 23rd 20 successful candidates will engage in sales, marketing, pitching and investment challenges, all for a chance to win £500 cash and recognition from some of the most influential people names in the NorthWest, including people from Big 4 consulting firms and banks together with successful entrepreneurs including Alex Epstein from series 6 of The BBC Apprentice and social entrepreneur of the year Edwin Broni-Mensah.

If you think you have what it takes to become the most employable and enterprising student in Manchester and earn £500 APPLY NOW by sending your CV toevents@manchesterentrepreneurs.org.uk by 16th April.

Applicants will be recruited based on quality and in first come first served order, so don’t hesitate to apply NOW.

Check out Trailer of Manchester Apprentice:

To find out more check out the Manchester Apprentice 2012 facebook page

Contact: events@manchesterentrepreneurs.org.uk

Be Your Own Boss - BBC Three

2012-03-19T15:54:09Z

Apply for your slice of Richard Reed’s investment fund, up to £1m available

The application process is open for a limited time so if you’ve got a great business idea apply asap!

Richard Reed, co-founder of innocent Drinks, has up to £1million that he is making available to entrepreneurs with brilliant business ideas.

He wants to give the next generation of Great British entrepreneurs a helping hand in getting started.

To take part in this exciting new BBC Three TV series, you need to be over 18 and have either started a small business or have a great idea.

Twitter: @BYOBoss_BBC3
Facebook

Sunday Times Social Entrepreneur of the Year Competition

2012-03-16T14:22:49Z

It could be a person who runs an educational club, which takes young people off the streets and gives them a constructive and positive hobby or someone helping to provide local healthy food for the community by running communal gardens. In short we want to celebrate amazing and inspiring individuals who are coming up with innovative and enterprising solutions to tackle problems.

The winner of the competition will be featured in an interview in the Sunday Times newspaper, be showcased in a special episode of UK360 on Community Channel, a programme dedicated to sharing the most inspiring local stories from across the UK, will receive a raft of advice from communications professionals at the Sunday Times and be given a grant of £500 to further their work through digital media.

The Community Channel is a national TV station which has been running for over 15 years and is dedicated to untold and inspiring stories from charities and communities across the UK. Media Trust who own the Community Channel are a media charity and work to give people a voice and amplify the work of young people, charities and marginalised communities across the UK. Media Trust’s trustees include Mark Thompson (BBC), Sophie Turner Laing (Sky), Jon Snow and Matt Brittin (Google).

Celebrity ambassadors we have worked with in the past include: Sir Trevor McDonald, Jesse J, Diana Vickers, Dizzee Rascal, Russell Brand, Martha Kearney, Adam Boulton, Jenson Button, Jon Snow and Miquita Oliver.

More details

Manchester Entrepreneurs ‘£10 Challenge’ competition

2012-03-01T11:25:35Z

This is a fine chance for the candidates to display their entrepreneur skills, working under tight time and financial constraints - the challenge allows full flexibility from product choice to delivery, pushing participants to think creatively while working under a highly limited timeframe and resources. This is a fun, fully hands-on experience to take up the challenges faced by entrepreneurs!

THE CHALLENGE:
Working with just £10 as a start-up, the idea is to make as much profit as possible over the span of 48 hours. Naturally, the decision-making on capital investment is the core challenge of this activity, but effective marketing and proper team-management skills/distribution of manpower is also crucial to success.

THE RULES:
- The competition can accommodate no more than 12 teams
- Each team can have 5 members
- Expenses have to recorded accordingly on the spreadsheets provided, supported by receipts.
- The teams have to arrive at designated venue on time for registration towards the end of the competition, failure to do so will result in disqualification.

THE PRIZES:
In their last challenge, the winning team walked away with £235 in cash – as per Manchester Entrepreneurs tradition, they are offering 50% of the total profit made from this event as the prize for the winning team, while the team with the most innovative business idea will be treated to a pub meal at Revolution.

Don’t miss out on your chance to engage in a worthy challenge and show-off your inner entrepreneur, because who knows who the next Jay-Z might be?!

The event will take place 6-8th of March, 2012. Visit Manchester Entrepreneurs’ facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/312410205484119/ and JOIN thier Facebook group for more details.

Ex-students prosper by passing on money advice

2012-02-29T12:35:20Z

Owen Burek, 24, started savethestudent.com in 2007 while he was still studying at the University of Manchester, but went full-time in 2010 after interest from advertisers such as moneysupermarket.com convinced him it was a viable business.

Read full story

‘Start-ups need more support’ says Easy Sleep Music entrepreneur

2012-02-29T11:00:46Z

A young Manchester entrepreneur made a call for more support and mentoring for start-ups as well as low-interest loans to help fledgling ventures when he was invited to the Houses of Parliament.

Read full story in Manchester Evening News

HMRC begins online advice seminars

2012-02-27T14:26:45Z

The seminars will cover subjects such as business expenses and capital allowances, VAT and general limited company issues. Each live or pre-recorded webinar lasts about 30 minutes. The live sessions are followed by an additional Q & A session at the end and in total last about an hour. You need to register for the webinars in advance. For details of how to take part and the available dates go to: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/press/online-advice.htm

Pitch 2012 seeks the UK’s best small businesses

2012-02-20T15:38:55Z

Now in its fifth year, the competition will host judging days in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A short list of 20 businesses from each region will be put forward to create the ‘Pitch 80′ who will compete for the prize at a two-day conference – ‘The Pitch Live’ – to be held at Liverpool in October 2012.

After this stage, the grand final will take place in London on 16th November during Global Entrepreneurship Week, between the final four contestants, and one extra ‘wildcard’ entrant.

Ross Dickinson, creator of Kibosh, a device which provides a temporary fix for burst pipes, was crowned overall champion of The Pitch in 2011.

He commented: “Being involved in The Pitch 2011 allowed me to make valuable connections with like-minded business people and being crowned the champion was amazing. The prizes have already made a big impact on my company. Yell has given me a fantastic digital marketing package to raise our profile; Studio Diva, one of the other companies which donated a prize, has put together some fantastic packaging for my product, and Karen Darby, the entrepreneur who is mentoring me as a result of my victory, has offered me brilliant business advice. I would highly recommend entering The Pitch 2012 to small business owners.”

You can find out more about the competition and submit entries by visiting www.ThePitchUK.com. Applications must be in by May with judging taking place over the summer.

NACUE National Student Enterprise Conference on 18th and 19th of February in Birmingham

2012-02-02T09:29:45Z

Students will be offered an opportunity to network with entrepreneurs, potential sponsors and investors, and of course other aspiring students interested in business and enterprise.

In addition, Shell LiveWire is also offering an opportunity to pitch for £1000 and PR on the day, which can become a great boost and exposure for someone’s business idea.

Innospace’s own Dan Sodergren is sharing his insights in mobile, digital and social marketing.

more information

Connecting digital start ups between the UK and Netherlands

2012-02-01T12:02:01Z

Amsterdam is emerging as one of the main creative digital centres in Europe, identified by Wired as one of the top 10 tech start up cities and home to companies such as Layar and Booking.com.

The Creative Industries KTN will partner with PICNIC and the UK Science & Innovation Network in order to deliver a unique event in Amsterdam, on 21st and 22nd February 2012, exploring the creative landscape and making active business connections between the UK and Netherlands.

The event will mark the first in a series of collaborations between CIKTN and PICNIC throughout the year and will build on political contacts between the UK and Netherlands to drive economic connections, and which saw the Dutch Prime Minister visit London and Manchester with a group of digital businesses late last year.

Over the course of two days (pm 21st, am 22nd) attendees will hear case study presentations from high profile digital entrepreneurs, gain insight on two dynamic European marketplaces and participate in panel discussions contrasting the experiences of UK and Dutch digital start ups and exploring the landscape of European capital finance. On the evening of the 21st there will be a dinner hosted by the British Ambassador with a keynote presentation on future trends.

Importantly over the two days there will be a chance to network with like-minded digital businesses and instigate opportunities for commercial collaboration.

Who should attend:

The event will focus on start up media businesses with a concentration on digital technologies – whether communications, applications or services and ranging from social media to the distribution of digital content to software as a service.

The first 14 UK digital start ups to register their interest will receive a bursary of up to £250.00 towards the cost of travel and accommodation.

Event detail:

Date: 21st & 22nd February 2012

Time: 21st - 1400 > 1700 plus evening networking dinner hosted at British Ambassador’s Residence
22nd – 0930 > 1300

Location: De Waag
Nieuwmarkt 4
1012 CR, Amsterdam

Cost: FREE

Support: Bursaries of up to £250.00 to cover travel and accommodation costs are available to the first 14 digital start ups to apply (companies must less than 2 years old and able to articulate their potential in the European market).

Application: To register your interest in attending please apply here – places are limited. Final closing date will be 17th February 2012 but applying earlier will ensure your details are circulated amongst the Dutch attendees in order to set up one-to-one meetings.

For more information contact:

Mark Leaver CIKTN Producer mark@markleaver.net

Liesbeth Bouwhuis SIN Benelux liesbeth.buowhuis@fco.gov.uk

Student Facebook Contest University Face Off back for 2nd Year

2012-01-18T11:36:10Z

With a chance to win a yet-to-be released Apple iPad 3, word is spreading fast. Within the first few days, thousands of students had already taken part.

The innovative platform runs on Facebook and also integrates with Twitter, making it an extremely viral game running for 10 weeks.

The idea is to find the ‘most supported’ university voted for by UK students. It was the brainchild of Innospace tenants Grip Media, who also run the UK’s largest student money website www.SavetheStudent.org. As tuition fees are set to increase three-fold this year, the aim is to rekindle positive sentiment towards British universities by harnessing the power of social media and community spirit.

The experimental first round generated well over 2.5 million hits and 11,000 players, ending in a dramatic finale which saw Aberystwyth University take the title. Many student unions and universities themselves got on board, welcoming the support and realising the wider benefits of the fun competition.

For 2012, organisations including http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.com Fireb,ox and Vodafone have got on board to benefit from the high student activity and engagement. The competition runs until 31st march 2012 when the winning university is announced and 3 lucky students win big money prizes.

The success of University Face Off has inspired the team of Manchester graduates to continue developing the Facebook contest application, with the view to licensing.

More information
Facebook page

Lloyds TSB Enterprise Awards

2012-01-17T16:50:59Z

Lloyds TSB are welcoming applications from successful businesses that have been started by university students or recent graduates (within the last 5 years)

In a nutshell there are thousands of pounds available for businesses in local heats and at national level along with a great opportunity for successful businesses to network, receive publicity and mentoring from senior Commercial Managers.

More information

Nominations need to be in by the 30th Jan via the registration form on the above link.

Prime Minister applauds Hiring-Hub

2012-01-11T09:42:37Z

The Local Business Accelerators programme will see small and medium-sized firms boosted through free advertising and mentoring.

The M.E.N was one of 500 newspapers that took part in the scheme, organised by the Newspaper Society. Hundreds of entries were received from businesses across Greater Manchester, which were whittled down to three winners following a rigorous judging process.

Here, we profile the three Greater Manchester winners, who have won an advertising package with MEN Media, as well as a half-day coaching session from the Business Growth Fund, a scheme set up by Britain’s biggest banks to make equity investments in companies with growth potential.

They will also be put forward to a national final for the chance to secure a year of mentoring from Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden.

Mr Cameron said: “Congratulations to all the winners of the Local Business Accelerators scheme. It’s brilliant that so many promising young companies, from such a wide range of sectors, are benefiting from this excellent initiative.”

*Read about the Local Business Accelerators success stories:

Hiring-Hub aims for £1.4m turnover

Hiring-Hub

Innospace’s Virgin Pioneer

2012-01-10T11:40:00Z

He jetted out to meet Richard Branson in person at the flagship Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the trip he was able to discuss his ideas with Richard himself. He also made some great connections with a wide range of other entrepreneurs.
Amman also dropped in for Richard Branson’s latest book launch, partying in a flashy Johannesburg rooftop bar, promoting Virgin’s ‘Screw Business as usual’ concept. He received personal advice from the CEO of Virgin Money and will now pursue leads to make his EasySleepMusic available on Virgin Atlantic flights.
Amman said ‘The trip was inspiring as I was able to meet one of my idols and create some huge opportunities that will take my crazy journey to the next level’.
A7 Records’ success to date:
• 6 Million Views on YouTube, 25k views a day and a YouTube Partner
• featured in the BBC, Daily Mail, Manchester Evening News, Asian Leader and many more
• featured on Groupon UK, Dubai and South Africa
• changing the lives of 3rd world artist and also consumers as we create music with a solution
• now expanded to two more brands, youtube.com/relaxingrecords and youtube.com/relaxmydog

Happy New Year from Innospace - Manchester Metropolitan University’s business start-up centre

2012-01-03T09:25:49Z

At the start of 2011 two Innospace businesses, Social technology specialists, Modern English and Common Mode, teamed up to form a live-streamed TV channel, Beam In TV, using Common Mode’s home-grown technology. One of the first music events streamed to TV was DJ David Guetta’s 24 hour digital party.

Later in the year, Innospace-based inventor Russell Clifton of Ruk-Bug (pictured above), secured significant investment to prototype his uniquely portable and storable child’s pushchair.
Successful School of Computing graduate, Nadeem Rachid, of Go Augmented, is one of the many MMU students and former students to have set up businesses this year. He has now been ranked as one of Europe’s top two Augmented Reality developers.
Innospace companies have played an important role in boosting graduate employability. The online outdoor equipment retailer, Loving Outdoors, currently employs five MMU graduates and is growing rapidly. On-line letting agent, Make ur Move, has recently employed an MMU graduate as its Sales Director. And events company, InEvent , are using Event Management students to help them plan and deliver various events and holidays including the MMU graduation ball and post-graduation celebration in Ibiza and Majorca.
Some of our companies have linked with MMU departments to develop new products with MMU staff and students. Among these, Modern English have been working with MMU’s School of Computing to form ‘Modern English Labs at MMU’ – an R&D collaboration where students develop new products for one of the world’s premier facebook developers.
Another highlight for Innospace was the visit during May from Alan Lewis CBE, Business Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party and a regular in Britain’s rich list, who met with some of our Innospace businesses.
Then during the summer, we set up the Graduate i-pass with Liverpool Science Park and the Riverside Innovation Centre in Chester to help entrepreneurs from across the North West to work collaboratively in several locations. And Manchester Entrepreneurs, the new MMU student enterprise society, adopted Innospace as their home.
In the autumn, we launched our pro bono law scheme to help our businesses with free legal support through MMU’s Law School and Gateley LLP.
It’s been a fantastic year in Innospace with many highlights and success stories, and we’re looking forward to even greater success in 2012.
Richard Deighton, Innospace Manager