Business Hacking Day

BUSINESS HACK DAY

On Friday 11 March, the Scholars spent the day at the Food Enterprise Park just outside Norwich to visit four businesses to participate in a business hack at each.

Each business presented the Scholars with an introduction to their company and the challenge they were facing that they would like their help in resolving. The Scholars were tasked as a team to understand, relate and analyse the real-life challenges and to prepare a pitch for each business offering a way forward.

EACH BUSINESS VISIT LASTED 90 MINUTES AND INCLUDED THREE CORE ELEMENTS:

1. Business overview and challenge presentation – which included sufficient background from the business owner or a member of the senior management, to provide the Scholars with a basic understanding and a

‘feel’ for the business. Details of the challenge were presented and there were opportunities to ask questions relevant to the challenge.

2. Hacking – the team then had to agree on a recommendation to the business for how it should respond and move forward with its challenge.

3. Pitching – the Scholars had just two minutes to pitch their recommendation to each business. THE FOUR BUSINESSES THEY VISITED WERE:

1. AF Group - the largest member-owned farm buying group in the UK with a turnover of over £250m.

2. Fischer Farms - creating a revolution in farming with its scalable, nextgeneration, ‘Vertical Farms’.

3. Condimentum – mustard and mint growers have joined forces to create

Condimentum and form a chain from seed to harvest to processing.

4. The Goat Shed Farm Shop - a farm shop stocking the very best of

Norfolk’s artisan producers, founded by Nuffield Scholar Sam Steggles.

At the end of the day the Scholars were given feedback on their pitches which proved to be an enlightening and rewarding experience for all.