Entrepreneurial students and graduates from the University of Chester have been successful in securing start-up funding to set up in business, courtesy of Santander Universities UK, after taking part in an Accelerate event.

Accelerate forms part of the university’s Venture Programme, which aims to support budding entrepreneurs.

The programme is part of the consortium-led Cheshire and Warrington Business Growth Programme project which, supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), equips students and graduates with the skills and knowledge to start up a business and develop their entrepreneurial capacity under three themes.

Venture gives students the opportunity to ‘Create’ a business idea and ‘Collaborate’ with business professionals to ‘Accelerate’ it into reality.

Accessible to students from all disciplines and levels of study, Venture consists of a unique blend of content from entrepreneurs, industry partners, professional services and mentors to support individuals.

The Accelerate initiative launched in late 2016, offering workshops held weekly over the course of the academic year.

Accelerate is designed to equip students and graduates with the necessary tools to start their business and the programme has welcomed a mix of business owners, mentors, business and industry experts to help prepare participants for start-up.

Mike Scott, of Mike Scott Associates, helped the entrepreneurs to ‘establish their uniqueness’ and identify their ‘unique selling point’.

Hems de Winter, founder of Hems de Winter Consulting, offered his insight into the development of a marketing plan and marketing strategy for new businesses.

Sarah Bailey from NatWest discussed the importance of relationship management in business when working with partners, clients and suppliers.

Sarah also led a business planning clinic to offer insight into what investors look for in a business plan, how to structure it and the concept of risk. Her colleague, Jake Brown, presented financial planning models and funding options available to new business start-ups.

Henry Sidsaph, a PhD researcher at the university, explored the importance of sustainability in business.

Helena Astbury, head of the Development and Alumni Relations Office at the university, introduced the concept of crowdfunding and used her extensive experience to coach the group on how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Robin Gill, from Storrar Cowdry, presented the Top Ten Mistakes Start-ups Make from a legal perspective.

Katy Carlisle, founder of The Wheel Exists, offered insight into how to design a website and how to get noticed online. Katy also talked about business branding and how vital it is to consider this from the start.

Shirley Jones, of The Write Word, told students how they can write a killer press release and boost their business with zero marketing budget, in addition to preparing the group for radio and TV interviews.

Kate Cruse, of Forresters, answered the question What’s in a Name?, covering the importance of trademarks.

Andrew Greenyer, of Raise the Roof Marketing, covered the dos and don’ts of using social media for your business and introduced social media management tools.

Ed Barnes, of DTM Legal, covered all aspects of intellectual property and protecting a business.

Sheila Large, of Synchronicity, worked intensively with participants to prepare them to pitch their idea and led a workshop on the importance of business responsibility.

Chris Sharkey, business consultant, offered tips for effective networking and introduced the concept of the Elevator pitch.

Prior to the Pitch 2018 event, applicants were asked to submit a 500 word business summary and to create a 60 second video pitch.

The submissions were judged internally, to provide a shortlist of eight businesses.

During the Pitch event itself, the participants were invited to workshops, master classes and a keynote speech around the theme My First Year in Business.

During the final day, shortlisted participants were invited to pitch for start-up funding and a number of business support prizes.

Judged by Mike Skinner, RTC North; John Farrell, Ellis and Co; Paul Birch, Santander, and Louise Hope, Flashy Photography; participants were asked to deliver a five minute pitch outlining their business idea and model.

Following the pitches, five businesses were successful in receiving cash-funding, courtesy of Santander.

Yam Kovatch, a final year photography student, was awarded £1,000 for Yam Kovatch Photography; a fashion and editorial studio-based photography business. Yam was also awarded a £400 Careers and Employability Enterprise Grant and one-to-one business coaching.

Stephen Noon and Jordan Oddie, final year business studies students, were awarded £250 to progress the research and development of NextGym. NextGym aims to be the first self-sustaining eco-gym in the North West of England using advanced human-energy generating equipment to power all aspects of the gym. They were also awarded a professional logo design and one-to-one business coaching.

Sarah The Dog Carer, a biology graduate, was awarded £3,000 to grow her successful Farndon based dog walking business to eventually cover all aspects of dog care including training, grooming and boarding. Sarah was also awarded an £800 Careers and Employability Enterprise Grant, an iPad, a professional photography package and a branded merchandise bundle.

Emerson Bispo, who is studying for his Master’s in dance, was awarded £250 for his company, Amazing Performing Arts, who offer dance performances around the globe with the vision to launch a dance academy to support emerging performers. Emerson was also awarded a professional logo design.

Beth Henwood, a final year geography and international development studies student, was awarded £500 for her social enterprise Love Every Day, which aims to address the taboo around menstruation in Uganda, to tackle period poverty and to educate and empower women in Uganda to create and sell re-useable sanitary ware. Beth was also awarded an £800 Careers and Employability Enterprise Grant, an iPad and a 60 second promotional video.