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SCRATCH S T U D E N T S TA R T U P S @ U N I V E R S I T Y O F E X E T E R

SEPT 2026 | VOL. 08

ALUMNI STORIES

CONTENTS

FROM STUDENT FOUNDER TO A CAREER AT OPENAI

DREAM BIGGER, BUILD SMARTER: MEET TOM CHARMAN

FROM EXETER TO FORBES’ FINEST

MEET GRENADE CO-FOUNDER JULIET BARRATT

FULL CIRCLE MOMENT: Y1 X REDBIRD

STUDENT STARTUPS 18

TRANSFORMING MENTAL HEALTH, BUILDING COMMUNITY

LAW STUDENT TO STARTUP FOUNDER: MEET ORIANA

NETWORKING REIMAGINED: INTRODUCING LINKTWOS

GO GREEN: BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE STARTUP

MEET TECH ENTREPRENEUR TOM CHARMAN

EVENTS & COMPETITIONS 28

FIND YOUR CO-FOUNDER

PITCH PERFECT: EXETER’S ELEVATE COMPETITION

SANTANDER ACCELERATE

SKILLS & EMPLOYABILITY 38

FROM GRAND CHALLENGES TO STUDENT STARTUPS

SAMEH’S INTERNSHIP JOURNEY

GRENADE CO-FOUNDER JULIET BARRATT

NETWORKS & SPACES 42

DISCOVER THE EXETER INNOVATION HUB

OPENING DOORS TO BIOTECH

NETWORKS & SPACES IN EXETER & CORNWALL

GRAND CHALLENGES TO STUDENT STARTUPS

University of Exeter Student Startup team Photo: Emily Appleton

WELCOME Welcome to the eighth edition of the Student Startups SCRATCH magazine, which celebrates the entrepreneurial talent, innovation and ambition of students and graduates across the University of Exeter. Every year, we support a diverse community of students and graduates who are tackling realworld challenges, creating innovative products and services, and building ventures that contribute to their communities, industries and society. This magazine showcases some of the remarkable people and ventures we have had the privilege to work with over the past year. In this edition, we catch-up with Exeter alumnus Tom Charman who is busy raising VC investment to scale his latest venture 'Seldon' - the future of product development in the era of frontier AI. Grenade Co-Founder and Honorary Professor Juliet Barratt, shares her top tips for aspiring entrepreneurs. We meet students who are building inclusive communities to support mental health, foster belonging, and encourage meaningful social connection. And we spotlight networks, spaces and communities in Exeter & Penryn, through which to access support and build your professional network. All this and so much more. This really is a bumper edition! We hope you enjoy exploring this edition of Scratch as much as we enjoyed putting it together over the summer. A huge thank you to all who contributed content. 3

what is

STUDENT STARTUPS? The Student Startups Incubator Programme enables student founders to take their ideas from concept to launch. Across three practical phases, you will explore real customer needs, test your assumptions, shape your business model, and discover how to bring your idea to market. Along the way, you'll gain expert support, valuable feedback, access to funding and the confidence to take action. The Student Startups programme is open to all students from all disciplines, and recent graduates (up to 2 years out of university). PHASE 1: STARTUP FOUNDATIONS

Develop the mindset, skills, and confidence needed to think like an entrepreneur, to validate your ideas and shape a compelling value proposition. Develop your idea into a viable venture Learn entrepreneurial skills Pitch for market validation funding

PHASE 2: STARTUP VALIDATION

Test your idea in the real world and build evidence that customers actually want what you're creating. Test your idea with real customers Gather feedback and market insights Grow your network

PHASE 3: STARTUP LAUNCH

3 4

Develop the skills and knowledge required to take your venture to market and build the foundations for sustainable growth. Take your venture to market Attract customers and drive growth Pitch for a Startup Grant FIND PROGRAMME DATES AND APPLY: EXETER.AC.UK/STUDENTSTARTUPS

FROM STUDENT FOUNDER TO A CAREER AT OPENAI meet max greenbury BY EMILY DAVIES Max

Greenbury

graduated

from

the

I’d say there have been two.

University of Exeter with a BSc in Economics & Finance. While at university, he founded

The first was starting MG Vintage while I was

MG Vintage, a subscription based second

at university. Being a founder teaches you

hand clothing startup. Since graduating, he

extreme ownership very quickly. Particularly

has built a career at the intersection of

at an early stage company where you’re

technology, AI and startups, working at AWS

responsible for everything (sales, finance,

and Google before joining OpenAI. His

marketing, operations etc.) and have to learn

experience spans both sides of the startup

what works in each.

ecosystem,

founder

himself

and

through working closely with founders to

couldn’t

recommend

trying

start

help ambitious technology companies grow.

something as a student highly enough. The opportunity cost is relatively low, so in many

Looking back on your career so far, what

ways you get a free hit to experiment.

have been the most defining moments that

probably learnt more from building the

shaped your professional direction?

company than I did from my degree and it 5

the

chance

travel,

meet

interesting people and experience the highs

carry the same mindset into every company I’ve worked for since.

and lows of entrepreneurship first hand. Over

time,

being

someone

who

It also gave me a lot of founder empathy.

communicates clearly, follows through and

Having sat on the other side of the table, I

can

understand how much founders have riding

colleagues start to trust you with bigger

on their companies. That’s a quality we

responsibilities and eventually they become

actively look for when hiring into the Startup

advocates for you. That’s one of the most

team at OpenAI (most of us are ex-founders

valuable forms of personal brand you can

or have had some experience operating at a

build, being known as someone who gets

startup). Having that empathy helps you

things done, and it will open up future

build genuine relationships with founders

opportunities.

relied

upon

compounds.

Your

and those relationships help you create partnerships

that

genuinely

move

the

needle for them.

Did your experience of start-up MG Vintage as a student help in securing your first graduate role? If so, how? If not, what gave you the

The second was joining AWS. It taught me

edge when trying to secure graduate roles in

the rigour of running a sales process and

such a competitive market?

gave me responsibility for running seven and eight figure deals relatively early in my

Yes, although interestingly, I think it helped

career. I was also fortunate enough to start

as much by showing me which companies

working with some of the first European

I’d want to work for as it did by helping me

companies training foundation models in

get hired.

early 2022, around 9 months before ChatGPT launched, when most people still hadn’t

heard of the term Large Language Model

internships and graduate roles and didn’t get

(LLM). Getting exposure to generative AI

them. My experience was that those firms

that

didn’t place as much value on having started

early,

alongside

some

incredibly

talented founders and colleagues, gave me

applied

for

number

consulting

a company as technology companies did.

the chance to build domain expertise before it became the hottest area in technology. If you could identify one mindset that has contributed most to your success, what would it be? Ownership. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Don’t make promises you aren’t going to keep. Starting

company

taught

that

mentality because, as a founder, ultimately everything comes back to you. I’ve tried to 6

I couldn’t recommend trying to start something as a student highly enough...you get a free hit to experiment.

ALUMNI STORIES

gave

When

the

use the tools and build things anyway. The

experience resonated much more strongly.

interviewed

Amazon,

barrier has never been lower and spiky

Starting a business had forced me to

generalists are very valuable!

demonstrate many of the qualities they were looking for - ownership, curiosity, bias

I studied Economics and Finance and was

for action and the willingness to move

never going to become a great software

quickly without having perfect information.

engineer, but I deliberately spent time learning python, building applications and

So in hindsight, my startup experience

understanding

helped me self-select into an industry and

made

culture that was probably a much better fit

engineers and researchers and ultimately

for me anyway.

gave me a more rounded skill set. Today

technical

much

concepts.

That

credible

with

tools like Codex make it dramatically easier What are you most proud of at this point in

to experiment. Agency and curiosity are

your career?

becoming more and more important and they are traits that employers (particularly in

I’m probably most proud of the people I’ve

tech) are looking for.

worked with who have subsequently been willing to advocate for me.

2. Curate your information diet. There is an enormous amount of noise,

Job titles and individual deals are obviously

particularly in AI, and nobody can keep up

nice

with everything, even people working at

milestones,

colleagues,

but

having

managers,

former

customers

and

frontier AI labs. Find a relatively small

founders willing to put their name behind

number of high signal people, podcasts and

you feels much more meaningful. Referrals

blogs to follow for the areas you care about

and recommendations are ultimately a

rather than trying to consume everything.

reflection of the trust you’ve built with people over time.

3. Invest in your network and your personal brand early.

I think if you finish a job with a group of

Go to meet-ups, hackathons and events and

people who would genuinely want to work

surround yourself with ambitious people

with

doing interesting things. And think about

you

again,

you’ve

probably

done

something right.

your personal brand in the broadest sense, not just what you post on LinkedIn or X, but

What advice would you give to current

what people who work with you believe

students looking to build a career in the

you’re good at. Are you seen as reliable,

innovation

commercial, deeply technical? Are you the

start-up

ecosystem

post-

person your friends go to with questions

graduation?

about GTM (go-to-market) or a particular 1. Lean into your natural strengths, but don’t

engineering domain?

box yourself into being either “technical” or “non-technical”.

If you consistently help people and become

If you study computer science, learn how to

known

speak

their

opportunities tend to compound in ways

problems and develop commercial instincts.

you can’t predict at the beginning of your

Equally, if your background is non-technical,

career.

customers,

understand

for

something

valuable,

DREAM BIGGER, BUILD SMARTER: MEET TECH ENTREPRENEUR TOM CHARMAN BY EMILY DAVIES Tom Charman is a University of Exeter

build an actual company. At that point, the

graduate, entrepreneur and data scientist

idea of going and getting a conventional job

based in San Francisco. His entrepreneurial

became increasingly difficult to imagine.

journey began while studying at Exeter, where he became actively involved in the

Your first ventures began long before Seldon.

student

startup

co-

What were the biggest lessons you learned

founding

travel

startup

from those early startups, and how have they

ecosystem.

After

technology

KOMPAS, he went on to build and lead several

technology

expertise behavioural

ventures,

artificial

modelling

influenced your approach today?

developing intelligence,

and

product

innovation. Today, he is the co-founder of

Being right about the future isn't enough. Timing, distribution, and execution matter just as much.

Seldon, an AI startup helping companies simulate user behaviour and make better

I've built companies where I think the

product decisions before launching new

underlying thesis was right, but we were too

features.

early, approached the market in the wrong way, or simply didn't execute well enough.

What

first

sparked

your

interest

entrepreneurship, and was there a particular

Those experiences are painful, but they're incredibly useful.

moment when you realised you wanted to build companies rather than work for one? I don't think there was one lightbulb moment where I decided I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I was always building things and trying things, and Exeter gave me an environment where I could take that a bit more seriously. I got very involved in the entrepreneurship community, and what I loved was being surrounded by people who were willing to turn an idea into something real. We started building KOMPAS while we were students and suddenly found ourselves raising money, hiring people and trying to 8

You don't need to begin by "starting a company". Build something. Put it in front of five people. See if anybody cares. If they do, put it in front of fifty.

We'd

to the thing you've built. Founders naturally

suddenly

built

fall in love with their product. Customers

overnight. I had to sit at home and tell

don't care about your product - they care

people I'd worked alongside, cared about,

about whether you solve a problem for

and felt responsible for that they no longer

them.

had jobs - and because it was COVID, I had

the

company world

together,

changed

and

almost

to do it all over video calls. With Seldon, we're much more obsessive about that. We spend a huge amount of

It was brutal. As a founder, you get used to

time with customers, watching how they

uncertainty affecting you personally. What's

use the technology and understanding

much harder is when decisions you're

where it creates genuine value rather than

making affect the livelihoods of people who

where we think it should create value.

trusted you enough to join your company.

Many students have ideas but never take the

It changed my perspective on leadership

leap. What gave you the confidence to turn

quite significantly. You realise that resilience

ideas into real businesses?

isn't just about your ability to keep going when things are difficult. It's also about

I'm not sure it was confidence.

being willing to make incredibly painful decisions when the circumstances demand

I think there's a misconception that people

them,

who

decisions, and then finding a way forward.

start

eliminated

companies the

have

uncertainty

somehow

before

taking

responsibility

for

those

they

begin. Usually, they haven't. They just start

I don't think experiences like that need to

anyway.

be reframed as somehow being positive. It was awful, and I'd never want to repeat it.

You don't need to begin by "starting a

But it gave me a much deeper appreciation

company". Build something. Put it in front of

for the responsibility you take on when you

five people. See if anybody cares. If they do,

build a company and ask people to come

put it in front of fifty.

and build it with you.

The first version of almost everything I've built has been fairly terrible. That's fine. The important thing is creating a feedback loop with the real world as quickly as possible. Confidence tends to arrive after you've started, not before. Entrepreneurship is rarely a straight line. What has been the most challenging period in your career, and what did it teach you about resilience? The hardest thing I've ever had to do professionally was lay off my entire team in the middle of COVID.

Exeter taught me to start with what I had. San Francisco has taught me to think much bigger about where it could go.

ALUMNI STORIES

I've also learned not to become too attached

What problem did you see in the market

trust, what they ignore, what they do next.

that led you to co-found Seldon, and why did

And that idea extends much further than

you believe it was the right moment to

product

tackle it?

applying the same underlying technology to

research.

We're

increasingly

software testing, cybersecurity and more Software is still largely built backwards.

complex decision environments in defence.

We design something, build it, ship it, and

You've moved from Exeter to the global

then observe what humans do with it. We

technology ecosystem of San Francisco.

run user research, A/B tests, analytics, QA,

What have been the biggest differences

security testing - all trying to understand the

between those startup environments, and

consequences of decisions we've already

what have you learned from each?

made. The biggest difference is probably the The question behind Seldon was: what if you could

understand

some

default level of ambition.

those

consequences before you shipped anything?

In San Francisco, you can tell someone you're trying to build a company that could

We're building technology that can simulate

fundamentally change an industry and

human behaviour. You can give Seldon a

they'll normally ask how you're going to do it

product, an interface or an environment and

rather than why you think you're qualified to

have populations of simulated users interact

try.

with it - where they get confused, what they 10

That sounds like a small cultural difference,

people

studying

but it's incredibly powerful.

science,

psychology,

engineering,

computer

economics,

design,

biology, and dozens of other subjects. Some There's also an extraordinary density here.

of those people could become your co-

Investors,

founders, employees, customers, or investors.

founders,

researchers

and

engineers are all within a relatively small geographical

area.

You

can

have

And a

conversation over coffee that completely

don't

optimise

too

early

look

successful. Some of the most useful things I've done looked like failures at the time.

changes the direction of your company. If I could tell 20-year-old Tom one thing, it But Exeter gave me something equally

would probably be to think bigger - but take

important: the ability to start without any of

the first step much sooner.

that. When you reflect on your journey from Exeter We weren't in Silicon Valley. We didn't have a

student entrepreneur to leading a high-

huge network. We were students trying to

growth AI company, what achievement are

work things out. That forces you to be

you most proud of and why?

resourceful. Probably the people I've been able to bring I think the combination is valuable. Exeter

together.

taught me to start with what I had. San Francisco has taught me to think much

Companies change. Products change. Some

bigger about where it could go.

things work and some don't. I've become much less interested in individual milestones

For current Exeter students who dream of

as I've got older.

building a successful startup one day, what advice would you give them, and what do

What I'm proudest of with Seldon is looking

you wish you had known when you were

around the room and seeing incredibly

starting out?

talented people - engineers, researchers, scientists and operators - who could work

Start now.

almost

anywhere,

choosing

spend

meaningful part of their lives trying to build Don't spend two years learning how to

this with us.

become an entrepreneur. Don't wait until you've found the perfect co-founder, raised

We started with an idea about whether

money or come up with an idea nobody has

human behaviour could be simulated well

ever thought of before.

enough to make better decisions before things happen in the real world. Watching

Find a problem you find interesting and

that turn from an idea into technology that

build the smallest possible thing that might

major organisations are actually using is

solve it. Then find someone who has that

incredibly exciting.

problem and show it to them. But I still feel much more like we're at the I'd also tell students to take advantage of

beginning than the end. The thing I'd

how

ultimately like to be proudest of is what we

unusual

university

is.

You're

surrounded by thousands of intelligent

build from here. 11

From Exeter to Forbes’ finest

BY RUSSELL PARTON University of Exeter alumni have been singled out by Forbes for the huge impact they are making in their young careers. Six alumni were included in the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 lists, which highlights the “most dynamic young innovators, entrepreneurs and changemakers” under the age of 30 across various industries. 12

co-founder

entrepreneurs who are providing innovative

management service which has grown into

Vectare,

transport

solutions in volunteering, climate action,

one of East Anglia’s largest bus operators,

transport and education, the founder of a

and Minnie Royden (Politics, 2019), the

London fashion brand, and a theatre and

founder and director of Minka Dink London,

screen director.

a fashion brand that grew out of a Covid lockdown sewing project, was included on

Molly

Bevan

Finance,

(Business,

2019)

and

Economics George

and

the Retail and Ecommerce list.

Wade

(Geography, 2020) made the list for Social

There was also success for Holly Reddaway

Impact. Molly is the founder of Impactic,

(Drama, 2018) an award-winning voice and

which curates tailored volunteering days for

performance director who made the 30

companies that match a team’s skills with a

Under 30 list for Games. Holly’s credits

charity’s needs, while George is the co-

include Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, Lies of

founder

Zevero,

management London,

platform

Tokyo

and

global with

carbon

offices

Singapore,

Park

Beyond,

Zombieland

and

Assassin’s Creed.

helping

organisations measure, reduce and report on their emissions. There was also recognition for self-described ‘serial

entrepreneur’

Lara

Acosta

(MSc

Digital Marketing, 2023), who made the 30 Under 30 list in the Media and Marketing

Professor Alexandra Gerbasi,

category.

Lara’s

achievements

include

Pro-Vice Chancellor of the

founding

Literally

Academy,

online

Faculty for Environment,

education business focusing on Linkedin

Science and Economics at

and B2B lead generation, and Kleo, an AI

the University of Exeter said:

writing tool focused on thought leader

“From pioneering climate

content for experts who want to build

solutions to building

personal brands on Linkedin. She dedicated

innovative businesses and

her inclusion on the list to her course

creative careers, our alumni

director at Exeter, Emma Wood, who she

continue to demonstrate the

said gave her the “courage to keep going

ambition, ingenuity and

throughout my masters” and “empowered

social purpose that define

me to push beyond my limits.”

the University of Exeter. We

are immensely proud to see Molly, George and Lara all accessed start-up

these exceptional graduates

support from the University during the early

recognised in the Forbes 30

days of their ventures, including the Student

Under 30 lists. Each one is a

Startups Incubator and Exeter Innovation

testament to the power of

Accelerator.

an Exeter education to inspire meaningful impact

Dominic Kalantary (Economics and Politics,

on a global stage.”

2018) made the 30 Under 30 list in the Manufacturing and Industry category as the 13

ALUMNI STORIES

Exeter alumni who made the cut include

How to build a stand-out business Meet Grenade Co-Founder Juliet Barratt

When

Juliet

Barratt

co-founded

sports

nutrition brand Grenade in 2010, she set out to disrupt a market crowded with products

Having recently joined the Student Startup

that all looked and sounded the same.

team at The Deck for an inspiring fireside chat event, she is keen to support the next

More than a decade later, the company is

generation

one of the UK's best-known sports nutrition

mentoring and by sharing the lessons she

brands, famous not only for its products but

has learned from building a business from

also for its bold marketing. One of its most

the ground up.

entrepreneurs

through

memorable publicity stunts saw a tank driven down London's Oxford Street to build

"It's great to hear about what the University

brand awareness.

Exeter

offers

student

entrepreneurs

through the Student Startup Team, the Now Juliet is bringing that entrepreneurial

Centre for Entrepreneurship and spaces

experience back to the University of Exeter

such as the Creative Quadrant and Skydeck

as the Business School's newest Honorary

and I'm really looking forward to spending

Professor.

more time there," she says.

Original article by Russell Parton; adapted by Julia Mackay

sake of it. We cared about what we were doing and I think because we were really genuine, that helped, because people don’t like being sold to.” A first round of private equity in 2014 valued the business at £18 million. Then in 2017 investment from Lion Capital valued the business at £72 million. It was bought by Mondelēz International in 2021 for £200 "It's such an encouraging environment for

million, with Juliet selling her remaining

those students that do want to start their

stake.

own business, whether they're studying history, computer studies or whatever else."

“I know it sounds cheesy, but it was never about money,” Juliet insists. “We genuinely

business

loved what we were doing and focused on

partner Alan started Grenade back in 2010

the business, having fun and building the

after experiencing some of the generic

brand, and we knew the numbers would

sports food offerings in gyms and health

come.”

Juliet

and

her

husband

and

clubs and thinking they could easily make Drawing on her experience of building

something more distinctive.

Grenade, Juliet has shared five top tips for “We wanted to be the Red Bull of sports

aspiring entrepreneurs.

nutrition and make products that did what they said on the tin. Our first product was a

1. Research your market thoroughly.

fat-burner, packaged in a grenade-shaped

Before launching a product or service,

container, which really stood out on the

understand whether there is a genuine

shelves. A lot of the other products at the

need for it, identify who else is operating

time had scientific names and were sold in

in the space and consider why an

sensible white tubs.”

apparent gap in the market may exist. 2. Trust your instincts. Whether it's

In the early days, Juliet remembers, “it was

branding, employing people or raising

just me, Alan and our four cats”, but the

money, pay attention to what feels right

timing

and what feels wrong.

was

right.

“Social

media

was

growing, the protein market was getting

3. Focus on your own journey. Be aware

bigger. People wanted to look good and

of competitors, but don't become

were going to the gym so it was a great

consumed by what they're doing.

time for sports nutrition.”

4. Learn from mistakes. Things won't always go to plan, but setbacks are part

Hard work and attention to detail also

of the journey. Take the lesson, move on

played a key role in the brand’s success.

and don't give up.

“When we launched our protein bar in 2015

5. Commit fully. Before starting a

we’d gone through 27 different varieties to

business, ask yourself whether you have

get to the product that we were happy

the time, energy and determination to

with,” she says.

give it your best shot. 15

ALUMNI STORIES

“So we never launched anything just for the

FULL CIRCLE MOMENT:

Y1 x REDBIRD BY RACHEL O’ROURKE Two businesses founded by University of

Exeter graduates Chris Rea and his co-

Exeter graduates have come together in a

founders - an example of what was possible

seven-figure acquisition, highlighting the

for young entrepreneurs.

University’s

growing

reputation

for

producing ambitious entrepreneurs and

After watching Y1’s appearance on BBC’s

high-growth companies.

Dragons’ Den, the pair were inspired to believe they could build a national business

Y1 Group has acquired university clothing

of their own.

specialist Redbird Apparel in a deal that brings together two businesses founded at

Today, that business has become part of the

Exeter, eight years apart, in what both sets

company that first inspired them.

of founders describe as a remarkable fullcircle moment.

Since launching while still students, Guy and Laurence have grown Redbird Apparel

While studying at the University of Exeter,

into one of the UK’s leading providers of

Redbird founders Guy Brown and Laurence

premium

Snow looked to Y1 Group - founded by fellow

merchandise, fulfilling more than 200,000

university

clothing

and

recognise so much of ourselves in their

clubs and student societies across the UK,

journey.

including Oxford and Cambridge. “When we started Y1, we simply wanted to Guy Brown said: “When we were students at

build something meaningful. We never

Exeter, Y1 were the founders everyone talked

imagined that our story might encourage

about. Seeing them on Dragons’ Den made

other Exeter students to pursue businesses

building a business like this feel achievable.

of their own.”

They proved that a student idea could become a nationally recognised company.”

“That’s what makes this acquisition so special. It’s not just two companies coming

“Exeter gave us the confidence to think

together

bigger,

entrepreneurial culture that exists at Exeter

surrounded

with

ambitious

people and provided an environment where

and

entrepreneurship

University creates.”

felt

genuinely

the

it’s

lasting

reminder

connections

the

that

the

encouraged. Looking back, it’s hard to imagine

Redbird

existing

without

that

experience.“

“Universities don’t just educate people; they bring

together

future

co-founders,

collaborators and lifelong networks. Exeter “To now see our business continue its

played that role for both of our businesses,

journey with the company that inspired us

and this partnership is a wonderful example

from the beginning feels incredibly special.”

of what can grow from that environment.”

Laurence Snow added: “We started Redbird

The

with a simple goal - to create university

growing

clothing people actually wanted to wear. We

businesses emerging from UK universities.

never imagined that one day we’d become

Together, Y1 Group and Redbird Apparel

part

now serve schools, universities, sports clubs

the

business

admired

students.“

acquisition

also

impact

demonstrates

the

graduate-founded

and organisations across the UK, creating premium

bespoke

“This feels like a full-circle moment, not just

communities

for us personally, but as a reminder of how

belonging.

apparel

celebrate

that

helps

identity

and

one generation of Exeter entrepreneurs can inspire the next.”

Alongside its commercial success, Redbird has also partnered with the Pahar Trust

Y1 Group was founded by University of

Nepal

Exeter graduates in 2013 before gaining

children in Nepal, helping improve access to

national

education.

recognition

following

its

provide

school

uniforms

for

appearance on BBC’s Dragons’ Den. Since then, the company has grown into one of

For everyone involved, the deal is about

the UK’s leading premium sports and

much more than business growth. It is the

custom apparel businesses.

story of two companies that began with ideas developed at the University of Exeter,

Chris Rea, Co-Founder of Y1 Group, said: “It’s

following different entrepreneurial journeys

incredibly rewarding to welcome Guy and

before ultimately coming together to shape

Laurence into the business because we

the future of one industry. 17

ALUMNI STORIES

orders and supplying universities, sports

transforming mental health, building community

BY SAMA SHOUKRY In today’s busy and fast-moving world, it has never been more important to prioritise wellbeing and bring people together. Let’s

an environment. When she was nominated

meet Tara, Sanjam and Mahek, who are all

for several awards, she kept noticing the

building inclusive communities to support

same women appearing across those award

mental

categories. Rather than there being any

health,

foster

belonging,

and

competition, there was coffee - and the rest,

encourage meaningful social connection.

as they say, is history. THE BROWN GIRL LEAGUE The three of them connected immediately, Tara is pursuing an MBA at the University of

bonding over shared cultural and corporate

Exeter, sponsored by her employer.

experiences. That connection sparked a thought: if they were able to find each other, to

surely there were more women looking for

pursuing an MBA at the University of Exeter.

the same connection. Dinners and activities

Tara found herself navigating the corporate

followed, an Instagram and LinkedIn page

world in London as an ethnic minority

was created, and The Brown Girl League was

woman and the first in her family in such

born.

Through

the

apprenticeship

route

What started as a small get-together quickly took on a community of its own. The Brown Girl League reached over 15,000 women, including sign-ups from as far as Japan. They expanded to over 11 university societies, landed

radio

appearances,

attracted

corporate partnerships, and hosted a launch party with over 100 people. Since Tara and her co-founder Jaina were already building a name for themselves professionally, growing their initial following came naturally, and from there, word spread fast. Their offerings grew too. Companies began giving free event tickets to members. A book club launched, featuring ethnic minority authors,

with

members

getting

SAMADHI

the

opportunity to discuss books directly with

Sanjam was already a trained yoga teacher

the writers themselves. All of this, entirely

from India when she arrived in Exeter in

free of charge.

2024 to study psychology. She came with a clear vision: to blend Eastern yogic wisdom

What Tara is most proud of are the genuine

with modern psychological practice. Having

friendships The Brown Girl League has

experienced firsthand the impact yoga had

created: from meeting for the first time at

on her own mental health, she saw a gap

events to becoming flatmates, close friends,

that

and travel partners. In a world dominated by

acknowledge - the separation between the

screens, lasting connections is what she

mind and body in how we approach health

values most. She is also committed to

and wellness.

the

world

was

only

starting

making alternative career pathways more visible,

particularly

for

ethnic

minority

After

completing

women whose families often view success

studies,

Sanjam

as "university or failure." Having taken the

world,

apprenticeship route herself rather than

misaligned with who she was. That made

university and now finishing a master's

her soul-search, leading her into a yoga

degree debt-free, Tara is proof that success

studio. As a complete beginner attending

does not have to look the same for everyone.

three sessions a week, the changes she

only

her

entered find

undergraduate the

corporate

unfulfilling

and

experienced were so significant that she The Brown Girl League has already opened

began recommending yoga to everyone

doors

around her.

meaningful

opportunities,

including discussions with the NHS around health issues that disproportionately affect

Luckily, she was able to discover the Student

South Asian women. Tara is keen to expand

Startups programme, the missing piece that

into projects that support ethnic minority

brought everything together. Seeing her

women

world,

vision translated from her mind onto paper

creating safe spaces for conversations that

and into real action, she knew she was

can feel difficult to have elsewhere.

exactly where she needed to be.

beyond

the

corporate

FIND THE BROWN GIRL LEAGUE ON LINKEDIN AND INSTAGRAM

Sanjam's short-term goal is to build a strong

wellness

foundation

practice

that

integrates

yogic

locally

Exeter:

growing

wisdom with psychology, exploring the

community-based

yoga

classes,

making

interconnectedness of the body, nervous

them

beginners

system, and mind. Rather than treating

intermediates, and filling the gap between

physical and mental health as separate

yoga as an exclusive fitness pursuit and yoga

concerns,

Samadhi

takes

as a mindful, whole-body practice. Feedback

approach,

tackling

stress,

anxiety,

and

from her classes has consistently reflected

bottom-up

accessible

and

mental

health

challenges

through

one

this: attendees come in expecting a fitness

unified

wellness

practice.

Sanjam

even

class

dedicated her dissertation to exploring how

and

leave

having

experienced

something far more nourishing.

yoga can support people with mental health-related issues, grounding her venture

Longer term, her vision for Samadhi is to

in academic research as well as lived

become a full wellness ecosystem: one that

experience.

gathers real data on how holistic yoga and psychology practices support people across

One of Sanjam's standout achievements

a range of conditions, from anxiety and

was

ADHD to trauma.

self-organising

12-week

wellbeing programme for university staff, entirely

bootstrapped,

with

formal

MENTIVO

university support. Noticing that students had plenty of opportunities and events

Mahek is currently completing her Masters

available to them, she wanted to give

in Marketing with an Industrial Placement

something back to the staff. The feedback

in Exeter. Her venture, Mentivo, is a peer skill

far exceeded anything she anticipated, and

exchange platform built exclusively for

she now has a loyal base of clients who keep

university students. The concept is simple:

coming back.

students sign up with their university email, list a skill they can teach, anything from Excel to cooking to a new language, and list one they want to learn. They earn tokens by teaching and spend those tokens to learn from someone else. No mentors, no tutors, just students helping each other out. And the real outcome? Not just the skills, but the friendships and connections that come with it. The thought came straight from her own experience. Moving countries to study in Exeter, Mahek arrived with a long list of things she wanted to learn and people she wanted to meet. Within three weeks, that list had quietly disappeared, replaced by the same routine, the same flatmates, the same familiar faces. Looking around, she realised everyone else was doing the same thing.

LINKEDIN: SANJAM KAUR INSTAGRAM: @SAMADHBYSANJAM

S T U D E N T S TA R T U P S

The name of her venture is Samadhi, a

After some research, she found that around

Photo: Emily Appleton

79% of UK students experience loneliness at university. There had to be a better way to actually connect with so many exceptional people around you. Mahek's

immediate

focus

market

When Mahek started building Mentivo, the

validation, starting with Freshers' Week, the

focus was heavily on skills and learning. But

perfect opportunity to reach a cohort of new

through conversations with programme

students and find out whether Mentivo is

facilitators

Julia

and

something they would truly want. From

important

angle

emerged:

community.

there, the plan is to build a simple working

Jasmine,

Tackling student loneliness and wellbeing,

version

the

platform,

grow

rather than just skill-sharing, became the

community

Exeter,

heart of the platform. In her words, "this is

conversations with nearby universities such

not just a skill app, it's a way to make new

as Bristol and Plymouth. She also wants to

friends." It was a turning point that shaped

connect with university wellbeing teams,

everything Mentivo has become since.

whose direct understanding of student

and

the begin

experiences will be invaluable. The programme also delivered some early wins. Mahek received market validation

Longer term, the vision is to scale nationally

grant funding and took home the Health

and eventually internationally, expanding

and Wellbeing Student Startups Award for

into universities through a subscription or

her student-focused solution to tackling

white label model, and embedding Mentivo

loneliness at university.

into university culture. 21

LAW STUDENT TO STARTUP FOUNDER MEET ORIANA BY SAMA SHOUKRY

Oriana's

venture,

Menava,

legal

operations platform helping startups set up their legal structure for their specific needs.

Photo: Emily Appleton

Currently focused on the education sector, Menava

targets

relevant

issue:

the

procurement process - the number of

pulled between building a business and surviving exam season!

barriers that prevent small startups from securing larger clients and enterprise deals.

Then there was the market. She started out

wanting to focus on data protection, only to

automating

this

process,

Menava

removes the need for startups to pay out for

discover that, unfortunately, nobody cared

expensive lawyers throughout the process.

enough about it to pay for it. So she shifted, had more conversations, and eventually

Inspired

her

brother,

serial

entrepreneur who has a habit of diving

landed on procurement in the education sector - a year well spent!

headfirst into business ideas, Oriana found herself constantly wondering, "but is this

She is most proud of not giving up. Most of

actually legal?" With a legal brain wired by

the time as a solo founder, she is building

her law degree, she decided to stop asking

and figuring things out on her own. She

questions and start solving it.

describes days where the idea feels terrible, nobody seems to want it, and the only

It has been a full year in the making, and for

logical response is to go cry in her room.

good reason. Menava is knowledge-heavy,

Apparently, that is every other day. But she

requiring extensive research into how the

has not dropped it yet, and that, for her, is

law actually works before anything could be

what really matters. In her words, if it does

built. On top of that, Oriana was navigating

not work out, her conscience is good with

her final year of her law degree, which

that, because she gave it everything she

meant her attention was constantly being

had.

S T U D E N T S TA R T U P S

She is the first to admit she thought when starting out she would be making money within three months. Reality, almost always, had other plans. She is still working on getting in front of the right people and unlocking

the

right

rooms.

But

her

perspective on this is worth noting, as she put it, "it's not your ego, it's not yours, it's the market's idea, and you are going to execute it." What has helped throughout this process is the community at Exeter. Every conversation has

come

through

warm introductions

rather than cold outreach. That said, walking into rooms full of highly experienced people, as a graduate, a woman, and an immigrant, is

still

intimidating.

Her

Oriana pitching on the startup programme

solution?

Oriana's current goal is converting interest

Confidence. Real or otherwise. Half the time

into paid pilots and building credibility

it is fake it till you make it: "Oh yeah, I can do

through strategic partnerships. She has

that for you," followed by figuring out exactly

unlocked the entrepreneurial community in

how to do that for them the very next

Exeter, now she needs Bristol, Bath, and

morning.

London. For a business operating in a regulated market, credibility is everything,

The biggest challenge was positioning and

and building it means getting introduced to

messaging. It sounds technical, but the

the right people through the right channels.

truth was nobody understood what she was

No cold emails, no cold calls, just warm

selling. Legal operations is a complex topic,

introductions, events, and mentors who

and translating it into something that

open doors to other mentors.

speaks to someone who is not a legal expert, and who does not yet know they have a

Longer term, Menava is not built to be big. It

problem, is definitely hard. Oriana was

is built to be boutique, small, focused, and

trying to solve too many problems at once,

highly revenue-generating. The aim is to

speaking in a language only she understood.

make it a habit-forming, subscription-based

As she put it, when you are working

product

independently, there is nobody to tell you

workflow of her customers.

that

fits

seamlessly

into

the

"that doesn't make any sense, try again." You are just marking your own work and giving

Oriana can’t imagine another time in her

yourself A's.

life where the stakes are this low and the safety net - university, a startup programme,

The fix was specificity. Narrowing down

a community - is this strong. Her advice: use

from "all startups" to the education sector,

that sandbox before the real world gets to

and

you. And do not try to learn it all from a

procurement alone. Once she had that

book alone. You need people to pressure-

clarity, she could clearly talk about it, and

test your ideas, challenge your thinking, and

people could clearly understand her.

push you to pitch.

from

"all

legal

operations"

FIND OUT MORE: MENAVA.CO.UK

networking reimagined: introducing linktwos BY SAMA SHOUKRY

Tom, a recent law graduate, co-founded Linktwos a few months ago with his cofounder Dan, a computer science graduate. Together they are building the future of professional networking, a chatbot that helps people find exactly who or what they're looking for. The product has two modes: a general networking mode for everyday users, and a dedicated conference mode

built

specifically

for

organisers.

Attendees log in with a code, get matched based on what they're looking for, and walk away

with

valuable

contacts,

while

organisers walk away with useful data. HOW LINKTWOS CAME TO BE Tom and Dan started looking to build a business together a little over a year ago. After

two

attempts,

they

landed

Linktwos. While developing the idea, they joined Student Startups, where they spent a significant

time

talking

potential

customers,

asking

what

would

actually

make the app useful to them. Through that process, Linktwos evolved into something shaped not just by what Tom and Dan wanted, but by what their users needed too. HIGHLIGHTS ALONG THE WAY The pair took part in a student incubator with Canopy Community, UNiDAYS, and Simon Squibb, and were named in the Top 100 UK Startups, a major milestone for the team. They were also shortlisted for an award at the Student Entrepreneurship Awards, where they got to exhibit at the event Expo. As two founders who are used to working behind the scenes, stepping out to talk directly to people at networking events was

new

experience.

Tom

found

genuinely useful, saying it was "nice being able to speak to people and understand their opinions of the product," and the feedback helped shape the app further.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE

Tom and Dan had a few other ideas before

With Tom balancing Linktwos with another

this one, and the more they worked through

business on the side, alongside his degree,

them, the clearer it became that the same

led to an intense few months. He found it

thing kept surfacing in all of them. What

pushed him to learn how to allocate his time

they really wanted to build, underneath

properly,

every idea on the table, was something that

business all-in means making sacrifices.

connected people. Both had run into the

Despite the pressure, he feels he managed

same shortfall in the networking options

to strike the right balance between work

already out there, and both arrived at the

and personal life.

and

that

building

same conclusion, that there was a better way to do it.

TOM'S ADVICE FOR FUTURE FOUNDERS:

The product has changed a lot since then.

Work out how much money you have

Every time Tom and Dan sat down together,

and how much you're willing to put in,

they would find new ways to improve it, a

and factor in a buffer for unexpected

real reflection of how unpredictable building

costs.

a startup can be. Recently, they have put a

The Student Startups programme is a

big focus toward conferences, pushing them

great resource, but understand your

into a new and unfamiliar sector. Tom sees it

costs before you start.

as a valuable learning experience, even if the

Talk to as many people as possible,

business has ended up different from what

regardless of whether you think they'll be

they originally planned. As he put it, "it's

useful, networking events are a great

quite nice to see something come together."

way to assess real interest in your idea before it exists. Showing people a product is far more effective than just describing it.

WHAT TOM WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY In a nutshell, his advice comes down to Looking back, Tom says he would talk to

networking.

customers earlier, getting people interested and even securing a letter of intent before

WHAT'S NEXT

the product is fully ready. He would start gathering feedback as soon as he had a

Linktwos' set goal is growing its business

rough idea, rather than waiting. As he

customer base and expanding the network

reflected, "I suppose there's never too long,

of companies using the product. Longer

as long as you're doing it." He also wishes he

term, Tom would love to take LinkTwos

and Dan had found a mentor sooner,

international, believing the app has strong

someone to turn to for guidance on the

potential across Europe and America. For

things they didn't know how to navigate.

now, the focus is on visibility, attending

And he says he would have identified his

conferences,

own

getting more people talking about Linktwos.

strengths

and

weaknesses

earlier.

building

presence,

and

Marketing, for instance, is not his strong suit, and knowing that sooner might have meant

Stay tuned for the launch! Sign up to the

bringing in extra help earlier on.

waitlist! FIND LINKTWOS ON LINKEDIN AND INSTAGRAM OR VISIT: LINKTWOS.COM

S T U D E N T S TA R T U P S

AN EVOLVING IDEA

BY PRIYAL PAJWANI Most

impactful

innovations

begin

While

these

undoubtedly

encourage

challenging ideas that people have simply

innovation,

accepted as the way they have always been.

challenge is convincing more people to care

Entrepreneurs recognise these problems

about sustainability when, in reality, many

and ask whether there is a better way of

aspiring entrepreneurs already do.

doing things and sustainability requires exactly the same mindset. Many of today’s

they

assume

the

primary

SUSTAINABILITY TIPS FOR FOUNDERS

environmental and social challenges persist because the systems surrounding us often

1. BUILD THE RIGHT NETWORK EARLY

make unsustainable choices cheaper, easier or more convenient than sustainable ones.

Seek out suppliers, investors and partners

As sustainability has become an increasingly

who share your sustainability goals and

important business priority, this presents a

understand longer-term growth.

significant opportunity for entrepreneurs to rethink

those

placing

greater

businesses,

systems. value

Consumers on

governments

are

2. CHOOSE SUPPORTIVE ECOSYSTEMS

responsible continue

Look

for

incubators,

accelerators

and

strengthen climate policies, and investors

programmes that recognise the realities of

are placing greater emphasis on long term

sustainable

resilience alongside financial performance.

focus solely on rapid scaling.

Given

these

developments,

sustainable

entrepreneurship

and

don't

3. MEASURE WHAT MATTERS

entrepreneurship should be entering one of its

most

promising

periods.

Yet

many

Track sustainability metrics such as energy

founders continue to face a very different

use, materials consumption and emissions

reality as sustainable ventures often require

alongside financial performance.

greater upfront investment and longer timeframes to demonstrate commercial viability, while investors frequently prioritise

4. EMBED SUSTAINABILITY INTO DAILY DECISIONS

rapid growth and early market traction. As a

Don't

result,

reporting exercise. Make it part of routine

sustainable

expected

success

and

ventures

deliver

both

measurable

are

often

treat

commercial

business

environmental

reviews.

sustainability

planning

and

yearly

performance

impact while navigating a system that was largely designed to evaluate traditional

5. BALANCE PATIENCE WITH AMBITION

businesses. Efforts to bridge this gap often focus

raising

awareness

through

Meaningful

environmental

and

social

sustainability competitions, impact focused

impact takes time. Focus on steady growth

programmes and purpose driven initiatives.

that stays true to your values.

S T U D E N T S TA R T U P S

Go Green: Building a sustainable startup

materials across surfboards, wetsuits and other equipment. A few years before I discovered surfing, during my second year at Exeter, I was part of the Urban Mushroom Company with Enactus Exeter where we turned 127 kg of waste coffee grounds into grow at home oyster

mushroom

kits,

helping

reduce

around 1,400 kg of CO₂ emissions, and sold them at Exeter Farmers Market and the University’s Christmas markets. When I later came across the sustainability problem within surfing, I drew on that experience and

began

thinking

about

how

environmental problem could become the starting point for creating a product that was less harmful to the environment while still reflecting surfers’ connection to nature.

MEET PRIYAL

I had the idea, but the Student Startups PreIncubator was where it started becoming a real plan. Working through a different part of the business each week gave me a structure to develop the idea without feeling overwhelmed by everything that

I moved to Exeter at 17 to study BSc

comes with starting a business. As a result,

Business Analytics with Entrepreneurship,

I’m now developing a surfboard that aims to

and I'm now finishing my MSc in Business

reduce

Analytics and AI at Imperial College London.

petroleum based materials while retaining

My interest in sustainability really started

the performance and experience surfers

with something much simpler: growing up

expect.

caring about nature and animal welfare, shaped by the cultural values I was raised with and which continue to influence how I see the world.

I’ve always enjoyed trying things outside my comfort zone, which is how I ended up learning to surf in Thailand. It was there that I started noticing the contradiction between surfing’s connection to nature and how commercialised the industry around it has become, contributing to plastic waste in the ocean and a reliance on petroleum based

the

reliance

conventional

FIND YOUR CO-FOUNDER BY JASMINE HAMMOND

This year Student Startups hosted our first after-hours Find your Co-Founder Networking Event, in celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week, and it was fantastic to see The Deck so full of excitement and discussion! Student Founders came along, added their name, skills they were searching for, skills they could swap, then went off to find their people. The event was a huge success, so if you are on the lookout for a Co-Founder, keep your eyes peeled for future events and be prepared with our ‘find your Co-Founder' tips!

SHOW UP WITH PURPOSE

Your time is finite and so is theirs. General networking is great, but start each conversation with clarity on what you’re searching for; a well structured and practiced elevator pitch is key here! Once you find out whether the contact is going to help your reach that purpose, you can decide on your next move. And never forget, when connecting, follow up properly, not just a blank LinkedIn request, but “we met at X, we talked about Y, when are you available to continue our discussion?’’

COMPLEMENT, DON’T CLONE

Two people with identical skills don't make a team, they clash. If you're the technical one, your co-founder

doesn't

have

have the technical skill – that is what you bring. Building a product only to find you both hate

pitching...uh

oh!

Find

someone who understands the product technicalities enough to talk about it and sell it, they don’t

need

have

the

technical skill to create it. You need a person who can do the bits you can’t. 28

FRIEND OR CO-FOUNDER?

Plenty of businesses have been built by friends and family, it can absolutely work, but choosing your mate because it feels most comfortable, is also often where it most often goes wrong. Friendships fade, fall out, or drift apart. People graduate, move cities, countries, and end up with prioritise that no longer align. With family or romantic relationships, it can be very awkward when personal and business dynamics start crossing over. Have you ever wondered who would keep next years early bird concert tickets in the breakup? It’s like that, but it’s your logo, your brand, your livelihood. The moment business is attached, that is when things get messy. Pick a Co-Founder, not a comfort blanket, and whatever you do, get it in writing and treat it like business! Which brings me on to...

INK BEATS TRUST Whoever your Co-Founder is (and also when any work, free or paid is done within your business), get it in writing. Who owns what, who’s responsible for what, and who has the right to take the idea forward if it falls apart between you. It

sounds

uncomfortable

and

unromantic, especially at a time you're romanticising a new venture, however romanticising business is exactly how you risk heartbreak. Clear ownership from the start saves pain and confusion on both sides. Equity is one thing, but also decide who has the final call when you disagree. You can split that by business area or give one person the overall say - just get it down in writing. Photo: Emily Appleton

INTERVIEW PEOPLE, EVEN THE ONES YOU KNOW!

What do they actually want out of this opportunity? Connections, Money, Experience? What can they bring, and how does it complement what you've got? What is their commitment to this venture? Enthusiasm is free, so what will they actually commit too, regularly and reliably. What can you hold them accountable for and how will you decide what happens if they don't show up? 29

EVENTS & COMPETITIONS

TEST BEFORE YOU TRUST

Anyone can be lovely when they are filled with excitement and a new opportunity! But what are they like under pressure, or when it all goes wrong? A small trial project shows you how they can handle deadlines, disagreements, setbacks and failures. Those are the times you need a Co-Founder the most.

TAP INTO YOUR NETWORK

Put a call out on LinkedIn or through the Student Startups bulletin, and ask around for recommendations. Exeter’s entrepreneurial community is thriving, so get out and talk to people! Ask questions the same way you would reference check for a new hire. A quick coffee with someone who has worked with them tells you a lot about whether they are a good fit. 30

pitch perfect: exeter’s elevate competition BY AMBER STRONG You have six minutes to convince a room of judges that your idea deserves backing. What is your approach? This year, 67 students across 41 teams rose to the challenge! The annual ELEVATE Engineering and Sciences in Business Fellowship (ESBF) Competition returned to Exeter this year, and once again it delivered a week of sharp pitches and bold ideas. Open to budding entrepreneurs from across engineering, mathematics, sciences, medicine and computer sciences, the competition is sponsored by the Sainsbury Management Fellows Charity and forms part of a wider national initiative under the ESBF, supporting similar showcases at universities up and down the country. From pre-flight safety platforms to phage therapy, this year's line-up was diverse and focused on tackling real-world problems.

Engineering Category winners

Photos: Emily Appleton

the

podium

was

5th - ForeSite (£250): A predictive

safety

and

maintenance and site safety monitoring

readiness verification platform created by

tool from Shivanka K-C, Sarah Habib and

Engineering and Management students

Can Usar.

David Cooper and Thomas Malins. Their idea

6th - r.e.s.e.t (£100): Anya Morris's digital

took home first place and a £1,200 prize.

mental health platform, built to support

ClearedToGo,

Engineering a

pre-flight

emotional resilience. Close behind in second was Monks Mobile Autocare,

on-demand

mobile

car

servicing and repair service from Mechanical Engineering students Jeremiah Elliot and

sciences Category winners

Tyler Monk, receiving £700. Monks Mobile Autocare is expanding and on the look-out

The

for more Exeter students with mechanic

HypnoSurge, an inventive idea from PhD

skills – a great part-time work opportunity.

Biomedical Toth

Sciences

category

Sciences

(pictured),

who

was

student is

led

Ana-Maria

exploring

how

Third place went to Tact, a social enterprise

hypnotherapy might reduce post-surgery

built around fidget toys made from durable,

delirium and, with it, the associated cost

sustainable

burden on the NHS. The idea claimed first

materials,

pitched

Engineering and Entrepreneurship students

place and £1,500.

Toby Brockway, Jake Bridgman and Joe Hole, earning them £450. Also placing and taking a share of the prize pot: 4th - Paradrone (£300): Luc Rudman, Jamie Whickens and Charles Bruce (pictured), who pitched an autonomous drone system designed for emergency medical deployment.

Taking second place and a £700 prize was UltraClean, developed by Lefty Armelinos (BSc Biological and Medicinal Chemistry), a compact

biofilm

cleaning

system

that

brings together two technologies in one innovative device.

EVENTS & COMPETITIONS

Topping

Third went to PhageLink Therapeutics,

judge’s verdict

PhD Biological Sciences student Liam BootHandford's pitch for targeted phage therapy offering a predictable, cost-effective route to

Amber

Strong,

Boyden

tackling antibiotic resistance, winning £400.

Enhancement Manager (Engineering and Entrepreneurship),

Also recognised:

Programme

oversaw

the

competition and didn't envy the judging

4th - SurgeMed (£250): Medical student

panel's task this year. "The judges really had

Theo Mitik pitched a 3D interactive

their work cut out because all the students

anatomy learning app complete with

who

gamified features.

revolutionising their industries and solving

5th - SwipeBite (£100): Natural Sciences

problems faced by so many people, from

students Aaron Vas, Bence Farago and

futuristic concepts to practical solutions,"

Josh Stacey (pictured), pitched a recipe-

she said. "Congratulations to all our winners.

sharing and food-saving app aimed at

students and communities.

entrepreneurial journeys take you next!"

took

can't

Emily

part

wait

are

Davies,

Entrepreneurship

passionate

see

about

where

your

Head

University

the

Student of

Exeter, praised the calibre of this year's competitors: "The entries for this year's ELEVATE

pitching

competition

were

outstanding and highlight the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of our university's student community." Exeter's ELEVATE teams will spend the summer sharpening their pitches ahead of applying to make the shortlist for the national ESBF Champion of Champions Competition in London, where they'll go head-to-head

with

entrepreneurs

from

across the country for a share of a £16,500 prize pool, and, of course, the unforgettable experience of pitching on the Champion of Champions stage.

SANTANDER

ACCELERATE

Santander Universities UK are a longstanding partner of the University of Exeter and over the last 17 years, they have donated over £2million in philanthropic funding – supporting a range of different initiatives, including

international

mobility,

scholarships

and

student

supporting

enterprise. The Student Startups team have been recipients of some of this generous philanthropic support, enabling us to create Grant awards to fund many hundreds of early-stage ideas. In 2018, an additional Grant award from Santander enabled the redesign and refit of our space, The Deck, in the Innovation Centre – transforming it from

conference

University’s

room

first

into

the

dedicated

entrepreneurship space. This year, Santander Universities UK enabled us to create three £5000 Accelerate grants to award to incorporated graduate ventures, demonstrating strong growth potential and

LISA HOERNING ACT APP

creating real-world impact aligned with the University of Exeter’s Greener, Healthier Fairer Strategy. Act App is an app that gives people, After shortlisting applications, we held the

particularly young people, the power to see

Santander Accelerate Final, where seven

the real impact of collective action. Every

founders pitched their businesses to our

day, everyone using the app receives the

expert guest panel. The team, judging panel

same small task to complete, and at the end

and student audience were blown away by

of the day a collective impact report shows

the quality of the pitches, and the progress

just how much that single action added up

these founders have made during and since

to across the world, measured in things like

their time at university.

carbon emissions saved and plastic avoided, as well as social impact such as acts of

Let’s meet our three winners of the

kindness shared. The idea grew out of my

Santander Accelerate Grants...

experience working with environmental

Business magazine 34

If successful in the UK, my plan is to expand

that only big business, corporates, and

internationally and develop an Android

government could drive real change. Act

version alongside the current iOS app.

App pushes back on that narrative, showing

Longer term, Act App aims to build out

individuals the influence they have when

social and competitive features such as

everyone acts together, and building a

community leaderboards for schools and

community around it through features like

businesses,

leaderboards for schools and businesses.

prospective

creating

tools

that

students

environmentally

active

compete

let

choose

schools to

EVENTS & COMPETITIONS

charities, where young people were told

and

improve

let

The funding will go primarily towards

businesses

getting Act App launched and live on the

environmental

App Store for iOS. A large part of it is

membership model. Personally, I hope to

earmarked for original illustration work,

continue building Act App full-time after

created with an illustrator rather than AI-

university.

initiatives

their

through

generated, to bring the app's visual identity to life. It will also support the legal work to make

the

terms

safeguarding-compliant

and for

conditions an

under-18

audience, and IP protection for the app. Beyond development, funding will support

JAKE KEAST VITOVA

outreach and launch activity with schools, including

workshops

and

presentations,

building on contacts made at events like the Young Green Britain competition, ahead of a planned September rollout with pilot

VITOVA is a digital health venture

schools.

developing

platform

help

healthcare and exercise professionals provide

safer,

personalised

exercise support. The platform LISA HOERNING considers factors such as long-term ACT APP health conditions, medications, functional ability, and individual goals to support people who may not be well

served

programmes. working

generic

exercise

are

currently

with

the

NHS

and

community providers to test how the platform

can

support

real-world

exercise referral pathways. The £5,000 Santander award from the University

Exeter

will

help

strengthen the safety, evidence, and usability of the platform. Funding will support

NHS

regulatory

and

cybersecurity compliance work, 35

helping us continue trials and partnerships with NHS providers through 2027. It will also fund specialist exercise and medical review

FLORENCE SARGENT RED-SCUE

of the clinical databases underpinning our safety logic, alongside developer time to implement feedback from our current pilot and improve the product’s usability and acceptability. RED-Scue is a carbohydrate-first sports Our next step is to complete our current

nutrition brand creating the first sports

pilots, expand on the adaptive algorithm

energy bars using cassava and plantain as

developed

device

the foundation. I created RED-Scue to give

registration to implement), demonstrate

athletes a real-food, gut-friendly alternative

that the platform is safe and practical within

clinical pathways, and develop a scalable

carbohydrate mixes, bringing fuelling back

service for NHS and community exercise-

referral providers. Longer term, we aim to

carbohydrates.

(requiring

medical

protein its

bars,

oat

roots

bars,

through

gels

and

whole-food

expand into areas such as fitness for surgery, cardiac rehabilitation, and weight-

My journey began as a national-level track

management services, while continuing to

and field athlete in Spain, where an Achilles

strengthen

injury

the

clinical

evidence

and

gut

health

challenges

regulatory foundations needed for wider

transformed my understanding of training,

NHS adoption.

recovery and nutrition. Inspired by the benefits I experienced from fuelling with cassava and plantain while competing in Andalucía, I set out to create a new type of sports energy bar. I also founded Global RED-S Awareness Day on November 21st to advance athlete voices and educate athletes, parents and coaches. Today, RED-Scue supports runners, cyclists, endurance athletes and team sports players, working with GB sporting communities and ambassadors. I

will

use

the

manufacturing,

funding increase

scale

production

capacity and prepare RED-Scue for wider retail growth while maintaining the quality and

food-first

approach

behind

the

products. The

funding

partnerships,

will events,

support trade

shows,

communities and education around 36

athlete run

carbohydrate fuelling. Following Bread & Jam Fest, I have four major trade shows planned, athletes,

alongside

collaborations

influencers

and

with

sporting

organisations, including a national Parkrun fuelling tour. I will continue working with athletes and GB sporting

communities

show

that

carbohydrates are not something to fear. They are essential fuel for training, recovery and long-term performance. My vision is for RED-Scue to become a leading sports nutrition brand available through gyms, retail and supermarkets. The next

stage

focused

scaling

manufacturing, expanding distribution and making

carbohydrate-first,

food-based

fuelling accessible to athletes at every level.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR S A N TA N D E R A C C E L E R AT E WINNERS HERE...

ACT APP (LISA HOERNING)

VITOVA (JAKE KEAST)

RED-SCUE (FLORENCE SARGENT) Business magazine

From Grand Challenges to Student Startups Introducing Roots in Medicine BY SAMA SHOUKRY Zaynab

and

Grace

created

Roots

Medicine, a social enterprise that educates school-age students about the diverse, often overlooked history of medicine and the importance of equity in healthcare. The idea grew

out

their

university

module

"Decolonising Medicine," which explored how medicine has become Eurocentric and westernised,

despite

its

much

broader

global origins. When they learned the module was being discontinued, Zaynab and Grace began brainstorming with students from other disciplines. Their question was simple: why wait until university to teach this? If the module wouldn't continue at that level, why not

introduce

embedding

the

topic

into

much

school

earlier,

education

instead? That question became the seed of Roots in Medicine.

address

this,

they

designed

age-

appropriate resources: GRAND CHALLENGES Primary school: explorer journals with The Grand Challenges project gave them

colouring, word searches, and prompts

the space to develop this idea properly.

(e.g., "If you were a doctor, what would

Researching

you put in your clinic, and how would

further,

they

noticed

consistent pattern: conversations around

you welcome patients?") to build critical

medical history routinely sidelined non-

thinking at an early age.

European

scientific

and

Secondary school: Top Trumps-style

cultural

perspectives,

the

cards profiling key figures and events in

Eurocentric

narrative

contributions treating as

the

default

medical history, paired with fact files

standard with little room for alternative

and Kahoot quizzes. These also

voices.

challenged students' own biases. For

but

Where Grand Challenges had given them a

persistent belief that white patients feel

problem to explore freely within a themed

more pain than Black patients.

focus

Sixth

examining

form:

debate

the

false

cards

for

self-

group,

Student

Startups

worked

differently: they arrived with an idea already

reflection and extracurricular use, aimed

formed

especially

considering

strengthen and scale it. The programme

medicine as a career, to help them

pushed them to think about sustainability,

confront these biases before entering

long-term impact, and business strategy,

the field.

while exposing them to people with very

students

and

were

guided

how

different perspectives, which challenged By the end of Grand Challenges, they had a

their

assumptions

clear concept, early products, and a sense of

thinking.

and

reshaped

their

mission, but, as Zaynab put it, they "lacked the execution" to take it further.

WHAT’S NEXT? Roots in Medicine is still early-stage but has a developed concept, branding, and a set of resources schools have responded well to. Their current challenge is piloting at scale: schools want resources that are highly informative for students but low-effort for teachers to deliver, so they're exploring group-led

formats

that

reduce

teacher

workload. They've also begun discussions with Penryn's healthcare department about introducing

the

material

into

medical

lectures, and are considering a website and podcast to extend their reach to older students and young adults.

Photo: Emily Appleton

STUDENT STARTUPS That gap is what led them to the Student Startups programme. Initially, they were hesitant, assuming it was built for business students

and

feeling

uneasy

about

"profiting" from the idea, which is what pushed them toward the social enterprise model instead. 39

SKILLS & EMPLOYABILITY

instance,

My internship journey: Meet Sameh

The University of Exeter's Student Campus Partnership (SCP) scheme provides students

Photo: Emily Appleton

with valuable work experience by offering paid internship opportunities exclusively for Exeter

students

across

the

University's

Exeter and Penryn campuses.

The Student Startups team recruited an SCP intern for 6 months to support the delivery and marketing of our programmes. Sameh

Through SCP roles, students can work

Uz-Zaman

alongside

professional

Startup Pre-Incubator, giving him first-hand

range

insight into our programmes, before being

valuable

successfully selected for the role. Let’s hear

services

academic teams

meaningful

and a

projects,

wide gaining

insight into the workplace while continuing

had

recently

completed

the

Sameh’s reflections on his experience.

their studies. Opportunities span areas such as

marketing,

management,

IT,

communications, students

apply

and their

more,

project

“Joining the Student Startups Programme is

analytics,

the best decision I made at university. It

allowing

gave me the knowledge and funding I

needed to progress my startup, Interview

professional setting and build transferable

Helper - an AI tool designed to give students

skills for the future.

a competitive advantage in preparing for job

research,

learning

advice

for

anyone

applying

for

internships or jobs: read every line of the Job Description

and

list

every

experience,

project and skill that aligns with it, then rebuild your CV around that. Before the interview, know the company and yourself inside

out.

through

Show

company

recent

knowledge

achievements

and

examples. Show yourself through stories that's the easiest way to connect with interviewers.” We

caught

Employment

with

Andrea

Hodges,

Schemes

Manager

the

University of Exeter. She said: “Sameh's experience perfectly demonstrates the value of the Student interviews. When I saw the opportunity to become a Student Startups Assistant, I immediately applied because I wanted to give back to the community that had given me so much support.

startup

ecosystem

from

the

programme leader's perspective, helping me understand how the team identifies talent and nurtures startup growth. My role included admin tasks, but what excited me most was marketing the programmes to students. A

highlight

Partnership

scheme.

Through

meaningful paid internships, students have the opportunity to gain practical workplace experience

while

developing

the

confidence, skills and professional networks that will support their future careers. By

This role gave me the chance to see the student

Campus

taking

real

responsibilities

and

contributing to impactful projects, students can apply their learning in practice, build resilience

and

discover

what

they

are

capable of achieving. Sameh's willingness to step outside his comfort zone, embrace new challenges

and

make

such

positive

contribution to the Student Startups team is exactly the kind of growth and development

was

promoting

the

guest

speaker event featuring Juliet Barratt, co-

hope

inspire

through

these

opportunities.”

founder of Grenade. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone by running a stand in the forum, cold approaching students on their way to lectures. In the beginning I faced many rejections - to the point I was questioning my decisions - but I kept going until the rejections stopped affecting me. By the three-hour mark I had 90+ signups against a target of 40. It was the hardest yet most rewarding thing I did in this role, and it

Find out more about the SCP scheme

Join the Internships Bulletin

grew my confidence. LINKEDIN: SAMEH UZ-ZAMAN

SKILLS & EMPLOYABILITY

Step beyond campus:

Discover the Exeter Innovation Hub BY HARRY NEILL For every student founder, the moment

Throughout the year, it hosts a wide range

they are ready to take their idea beyond

campus will be different. You might be

opportunities

building a network, finding collaborators,

collaboration

speaking

Whether you're exploring a new idea,

exploring

what

entrepreneurial

looking to grow a startup or simply curious

community

potential has

Exeter's to

customers

offer.

The

events,

workshops

and

designed and

support

networking to

inspire

innovation.

Exeter

about entrepreneurship, the Hub offers a

Innovation Hub is a place to do all of those

welcoming space to meet like-minded

things and more; a stepping stone that

people, learn from others and take your next

helps entrepreneurs take their ideas into a

step.

wider ecosystem, opening the door to new opportunities.

What happens there?

What is the Exeter Innovation Hub?

We bring the Exeter Innovation Hub to life by running a range of workshops, events

The Exeter Innovation Hub is the University's

and

drop-ins

ourselves,

while

also

home in the heart of the city and a place

welcoming partners to deliver their own

where students, researchers, founders and

activity in the space. As a small team,

local businesses come together to share

working alongside organisations such as the

ideas and create opportunities. Sitting on

Devon Chamber of Commerce, Tech Exeter

the edge of Princesshay, the Hub acts as a

and colleagues from across the University

bridge between the University and Exeter's

means we can offer a wider range of

thriving innovation community, making it

opportunities than we could alone.

easier than ever to connect with people beyond campus. 42

The result is a vibrant space where students LINKEDIN: INNOVATION HUB EXETER

can hear directly from founders who have built

businesses,

connect

with

local

employers, meet potential collaborators and discover opportunities they might never have come across on campus. Whatever stage you're at in your entrepreneurial journey – whether you're exploring a new idea or already growing a startup – there's something here for you. Recent events have included our two-day Entrepreneurs Workout, where founders work on developing their business models, identifying customer segments and testing their assumptions. By bringing together people from different backgrounds and at journey,

the

workshop

creates

How can you get involved?

environment where founders can challenge one another's thinking, share experiences

Join us for Demo Night. Whether you'd

and work through problems together.

like to present your idea or come along as an audience member, Demo Night is

We've also hosted Demo Night, where

a fantastic opportunity to hear what

founders pitch their ideas to an audience of

others are working on, offer your insights

entrepreneurs and members of Exeter's

and make valuable new connections

innovation

within Exeter's entrepreneurial

community.

Each

presenter

comes with an "ask" – whether that's

community.

feedback, introductions or advice – giving the audience a chance to help move ideas

Come along to Tech Exeter Breakfast

forward

Networking. If technology plays a role in

while

connections. founders

At have

creating both

valuable events,

worked

new

student alongside

your business - or you're simply interested in the local tech scene - this

experienced entrepreneurs, gaining honest

monthly networking event is a great way

feedback, expanding their networks and

to meet founders, professionals and

leaving with fresh ideas, confidence and

innovators over coffee and a pastry on

opportunities they may not have found

the first Thursday of every month.

elsewhere. Drop into the Hub. We're open for dropins from Tuesday to Thursday, and there's always someone on hand to answer your questions, offer guidance and point you towards opportunities in Exeter's innovation ecosystem. Whether you have a business idea to discuss or are just curious to find out more, we'd love to welcome you to the Hub. 43

NETWORKS & SPACES

different stages of their entrepreneurial

OPENING DOORS TO BIOTECH

BY JULIA MACKAY The

Southwest

Biotech

Network

was

building an informal network of academics,

launched this year by University of Exeter

researchers

student Harvey Mitchell after he recognised

Along the way, he met experts whose work

a gap between academic learning and real-

deserved a wider audience and realised that

world application. While biology and STEM

many students could benefit from hearing

students

their

develop

extensive

technical

and

stories

industry

and

learning

professionals.

from

their

knowledge through their studies, many are

experiences. The network became a way to

left wondering how those skills can be

bring these connections together and share

applied

them with fellow students, while serving an

beyond

the

classroom.

Harvey

wanted to create a space where students

underrepresented niche.

could explore the practical side of science, from

careers

industry

Harvey's

involvement

the

Student

entrepreneurship, start-ups and university

Startups

programme

also

spinouts.

important role in shaping the initiative.

played

Having explored his own venture ideas, Another challenge Harvey identified was the

including work related to biohydrogen, he

perception

developed

that

biotechnology

strong

interest

inaccessible field reserved for specialists. As

entrepreneurship and community-building.

one of the fastest-growing areas of science

Rather than focusing solely on launching a

and innovation, biotech can often appear

business,

intimidating to those without a highly

opportunity to develop practical skills while

specialised

creating value for others.

background.

Through

the

saw

the

network

Southwest Biotech Network, Harvey hopes to

make

enabling

the

sector

students,

professionals

from

accessible,

academics a

wider

range

As Harvey explains, "Growing communities

and

is a great way to build. It's a low-stakes way

to learn how to translate ideas into impactful

disciplines to engage with emerging ideas

outputs."

For

him,

community-building

and technologies.

offers a lower-risk environment in which to experiment, develop leadership skills and

Drawing

his

own

entrepreneurial

experiences, Harvey had already spent time 44

learn from challenges. At the same time, it creates opportunities for other students to

make connections, discover new possibilities and gain insights that could shape their own future careers. The network has held three successful events to date, welcoming guest speakers from

organisations

including

Singer

Instruments, Volt Entrepreneurs, the Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter spinout Senisca, ARIA and the NHS. Attendance has remained strong and consistent across successfully bring together students from

secured

Regional

different disciplines around shared ideas

Development Fund and the University's

and experiences. Harvey also appreciates

Clinical

funding and

department. events

through

the

Biomedical

Sciences

the

This

support

has

allowed

particular, for helping him to think about

remain

free

attend

and

accessible to all students.

Student

Startup

Programme

how to translate his highly technical ideas into

commercially

viable

projects

mindset which has proved invaluable in At the first two events, Harvey connected

building the network.

with Computer Sciences student Wiktor Wiejak, who has since become co-organiser

Harvey

of the initiative. Harvey said: "As a Computer

appreciate having experts who are willing to

Sciences student, Wiktor is the perfect

advise and impart their own knowledge

example of how somebody from a non-

which has really helped my personal growth.

biology background can engage with the

Engaging with the Startups team beyond

network." Wiktor is now applying both his

the programme has been invaluable. The

technical

open culture they promote is admirable and

expertise

and

entrepreneurial

mindset to help grow the network alongside

said:

"Being

neurodivergent,

inspired what I want to build in biotech".

Harvey and develop future events. Looking ahead, funding is secured for a new Wiktor said: “Partnering up with Harvey has

series of events next year. He is also hoping

been the most symbiotic event organising

experience

Science Creates and Volt Entrepreneurs to

explored bringing bio-tech closer to the

reach a younger audience, inspiring children

southwest ecosystem through organising

and teenagers to explore biology, STEMM

talk-style

and

events

academic

which

year.

sparked

deep

partner

with

organisations

entrepreneurship.

such

aims

thought conversations and the signature

strengthen

panel event that brought over 50 very cool

undergraduates by creating opportunities

people together!”

for Exeter students to give back, drawing

engagement

with

inspiration from other successful initiatives Reflecting on the experience so far, Harvey

such as the iGEM competition and the

says he has drawn inspiration from his

Translational Research Exchange. Through

experiences in committees, internships and

these experiences, students can inspire the

programmes like Grand Challenges and the

next generation while developing valuable

Global Leaders Experience, which

skills of their own. FIND OUT MORE: SWBIOTECH.CO.UK

NETWORKS & SPACES

all three events, and Harvey successfully

NETWORKS & spaces TechExeter Looking to grow your professional network or learn more about the tech and digital sector? TechExeter brings together people from across Devon’s thriving technology community through regular events, workshops, meetups,

NextGen As students, we have these resources right on our doorstep in Exeter and Cornwall. Whether you're searching for inspiration, professional connections, or a supportive community, here are some of the spaces and organisations worth exploring:

in their careers. Through networking events and development opportunities it provides a platform for young

entrepreneurship, leadership, or

professional, a student, or

expanding your professional

simply curious about the

network, NextGen offers a

industry, TechExeter creates an

welcoming community where

inclusive environment where

another's development.

helping them take the next step

Whether you're interested in

Whether you're an experienced

connections, and support one

empowering young people and

voices to be heard and valued.

and mentoring opportunities.

people can share ideas, build

NextGen is all about

EXETER EXETER

early-career professionals can connect, learn, and grow together.

Exeter Innovation Hub

Exeter City of Literature

InExeter

The Exeter Innovation Hub is the

Exeter has a rich literary heritage,

InExeter champions the city’s

University's home in the heart of

and Exeter City of Literature

business community, working to

the city and a place where

exists to celebrate and build

ensure Exeter remains a vibrant,

students, researchers, founders

upon it. The organisation

welcoming, and prosperous place

and local businesses come

promotes the power of

to live, work, study, and visit.

together to share ideas and create

storytelling by supporting writers,

Acting as a collective voice for

opportunities. Throughout the

readers, and literary projects

businesses, the organisation

year, it hosts a wide range of

across the region. Through

advocates for the city centre while

events, workshops and

events, partnerships, and

supporting initiatives that

networking opportunities

community programmes, it

enhance the local economy,

designed to inspire collaboration

encourages people of all

celebrate arts and culture, and

and support innovation. Whether

backgrounds to engage with

create cleaner, greener public

you're exploring a new idea,

literature and creative expression.

spaces. Its vision is to help shape a

looking to grow a startup or

Its work is centred around three

city that can be enjoyed by

simply curious about

key themes: talent development,

everyone, throughout the day and

entrepreneurship, the Hub offers

place-shaping, and wellbeing,

into the evening, while supporting

a welcoming space to meet like-

helping to make literature

long-term growth and success.

minded people, learn from others

accessible, inclusive, and

and take your next step.

inspiring for everyone.

The Hub Co-working spaces

Cornwall has its own thriving business community, offering plenty of ways to build connections and find inspiration through networks and events.

Beyond the campuses the Penryn and Falmouth area has plenty of options for entrepreneurs looking for co-working and hotdesking space. The Work/Shop is a space in Cornwall has its own thriving Penryn comprising a cafe, bar and business community, offering delicatessen with co-working, plenty of ways to build meeting and event spaces for connections and find inspiration beyondlocal yourbusinesses. through networks Falmouth Bookseller and events. – above Falmouth’s high-street Cornwall home to two independentisbookshop you will University of Exeter campuses: find a co-working space with desk

Cornwall is home to two University of Exeter campuses:

The Knowledge Spa On the site of the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, the Knowledge Spa is part of the

space for hire.

University of Exeter Medical

100 acres of countryside, just

venues. Recent meetups include a coastal walk along the cliffs near Porthtowan, as well as events at Dynamite Valley Taproom in Penryn and Skinners Brewery. Check out their LinkedIn page for details of upcoming events.

TecWomen

creative digital industries. Their

across Devon and Cornwall to

The Penryn Campus is set in

speaker events at different

technology, engineering and

studying in different locations

The Penryn Campus

hosting networking and guest

work (or want to work) in

spend a portion of their degree

environments.

and professionals in Cornwall

community for women who

medical students who will

clinical and academic

community for young founders

TecWomen offers training, and

School and serves as a base for

experiencing a diverse range of

The Hub is a networking

support includes skills

CORNWALL CORNWALL

mentoring opportunities in areas

Cornwall Chamber

professional connections.

Cornwall Chamber aims to

Check out tecwomen.co.uk for

champion business and

details of what’s coming up.

outside the coastal town of Falmouth. The University of Exeter shares the campus with Falmouth University.

development programmes, networking events and including AI, cybersecurity, coding, and digital technologies, while building confidence and

innovation in Cornwall, and ensure the voices of those leading businesses and charities in the

Business Cornwall is a print and online magazine covering business news, with articles, interviews and opinion pieces relevant to a local audience. The website has a handy calendar with details of upcoming events, including their own monthly meet-up. Look up businesscornwall.co.uk to find out more.

NETWORKS & SPACES

region are heard. The Chamber hosts the annual ‘Cornwall’s 30 under 30’ awards to celebrate young business talent, the Cornwall Business Fair – which is free to attend and the ‘Planet C Conference’, as well as monthly breakfast events. Find details of upcoming events at: cornwallchamber.co.uk

The Cornwall Innovation Centres The three Innovation Centres in Cornwall are situated on Penryn Campus, in Truro and in Pool. As well as offering office and coworking spaces these centres host events and networking, more details can be found on their website and by subscribing to their newsletter: cornwallinnovation.co.uk

Got an idea? Let's make it happen. Whether you're developing a new app, launching a social enterprise, creating an innovative product, or bringing a creative project to life, the Student Startups team are here to help you take the next step. Our programmes enable student founders take their ideas from concept to launch. Across three practical phases, you will explore real customer needs, test your assumptions, shape your business model, and discover how to bring your idea to market. Find out more: exeter.ac.uk/studentstartups