I M PAC T RE V I EW 2020
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P R O FE SSOR S H E L D ON HA NTON ( P ro Vi ce - C h a n ce l l o r, Re s e arch & I n n ovati o n )
2020 is a year that will exist in the memory for a very long time and the impact of the pandemic on all of us is yet to be clear. What we can recognise is the commitment across Cardiff Met to continue to provide an excellent experience for our students, graduates and partners despite the challenges we have all faced together. Cardiff Met is truly an entrepreneurial university and this has been demonstrated this year through the resilience, adaptability and commitment of all our staff, none more so than the team in the Centre for Entrepreneurship.
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The team have responded positively to the challenges of delivering programs remotely, working collaboratively with colleagues in all our academic schools and beyond to ensure that our entrepreneurial students and graduates are inspired and supported. This review highlights the work which is being carried out across the University to support entrepreneurship as well as spotlighting some of the exciting businesses and social enterprises which are being created despite the global pandemic.
CARDIF F M E T – A N E N TR E PR E NE UR I AL UNI V E R S I TY A key competence of the successful entrepreneur is the ability to thrive in situations of ambiguity, uncertainty and risk (Entrecomp, 2016). This competence has been in high demand in 2020 and we are proud that as #onecardiffmet we have, guided by our ethical values, demonstrated our ability to successfully adapt to rapid change, adapting our services quickly and effectively. This achievement is the embodiment of the Cardiff Met EDGE (Ethical, Digital, Global, Entrepreneurial) and is the best way of demonstrating that entrepreneurship really is part of our DNA.
THE RO LE O F TH E C E NTR E FOR E NTR E PR E NE UR S HI P The Centre for Entrepreneurship, founded in 2013, acts as a visible catalyst for the entrepreneurial activity and support available through the University. This year we have delivered the majority of our services digitally, enabling our students and graduates to access support from all over the world, our staff recognise the value in developing entrepreneurial graduates, but in particular the value in the creation of new businesses, social enterprises and charities and the impact this will have as the economy recovers from the impact of Covid-19. This report highlights the activity of the Centre, demonstrating our commitment to supporting enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Our work spans three key developmental pathways:
PRE START SUPPORT ‘ENTACT’ activity designed to raise awareness of entrepreneurship and to develop a desire for further engagement in entrepreneurial activity.
START-UP SUPPORT ‘CF5’ activity designed to help individuals and teams to start and grow new organisations.
ACADEMIC SUPPORT activity designed to further integrate entrepreneurship into the culture of Cardiff Met and to support all staff to support entrepreneurship and to be entrepreneurial.
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W HO W E A R E The Centre for Entrepreneurship and our staff are part of a resilient, active, and engaged community. Our mission is to empower you to recognise and develop opportunities to create value.
OUR V ISI O N We will inspire entrepreneurs to make an impact locally, nationally, and globally through the creation of social, cultural and financial value. We will act as a catalyst in the creation of new sustainable organisations, giving founders the confidence and practical skills to create value in their ideas. We will be nationally recognised for this activity. Every student will have the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mind-set and we will facilitate this by working collaboratively with academic colleagues to support entrepreneurship education, which is engaging, empowering and research led. We will contribute to the generation and application of world leading research so that the university is recognised as a centre of excellence in entrepreneurial education, entrepreneurship creativity, and innovation.
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MA N IF ESTO OF T H E C E NTR E FOR E NTR E PR E NE UR S HI P A RTI C L E 1 You define success, it is not defined by us, the market or the “powers that be.” We believe that being happy is an essential part of being successful. So, whether you want to freelance for a bit of extra income, set up a charity that saves lives or be the next Elon Musk, we will treat your success as being equally important.
A RTI C L E 2 We believe that the world can be a better place, and that by taking action we can achieve this – this is what we mean by entrepreneurship. We do not underestimate this challenge, which is why we will challenge you and ourselves to disrupt business as usual.
A RTI C L E 3 Our community is open, diverse, positive, and welcoming; it is open to people of every sex, sexuality, race, colour, and religion. Rudeness and negative attitudes are not welcome. We will always treat you with respect, and we expect you to return the favour. This does not mean that we will always agree with you, or that you will always agree with us – feedback is one of the most valuable things a person can give or receive.
A RTI C L E 4 Entrepreneurship is a craft that takes practice to master, it is underpinned by fundamental skills that can be taught and experienced.
A RTI C L E 5 Writing a business plan is NOT entrepreneurship. While the ability to write a business plan is a useful management tool, management and entrepreneurship are different disciplines. Writing a business plan does not prepare you to run a business, nor can it assess an individual’s entrepreneurial capability. Innovation and entrepreneurship, by their very nature, change the future - making a business plan obsolete.
A RTI C L E 6 Profit puts food in our bellies, positive change puts fire in our bellies. Entrepreneurship creates social, cultural and financial value, it does not merely move money from one place to another. Commercial awareness and financial literacy are essential tools in the creation of value.
A RTI C L E 7 Action without thought is dangerous. Thought without action is pointless.
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STEVE AI CHELER E ntrep ren eu rs h ip E ng a g emen t Ma n a g er 0.8 FT E e: s a icheler@ ca rd if f met.a c.uk
DEWI GRAY Business Start-Up Manager 0.8 FT E
DR DAN ANTO NY Enterprise Education Academic Lead 0.5 FT E
HANNAH WI LLI S Marketing, Events & Administration Officer 0.5 FT E e: hwillis @ ca rd if f met.a c.uk
LYNDSEY BO ULTO N Marketing, Events & Administration Officer 0.5 FT E
Ca ll u s : 02 92 0 2 0 5 6 6 4 Em ail u s : e n t re p re n e u r s h i p @ ca rd i f f me t.a c.uk
C ardiffM e t En t C ardiffM e t En t cardiffm e te n t
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Fa ce to Fa ce: Cen tre for E ntrep ren eu rshi p Ca rd if f Metrop olita n U n ivers ity Lla n d a f f Ca mp us Western Avenu e Ca rd if f CF5 2 YB
E N T ERP RIS E E D U CAT I ON WOR KI NG GR OUP Over the past twelve months we have established an Enterprise Education working group with representation from every academic school. This group will form the core of a community of practice in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education at Cardiff Met with a remit to; Share best practice in EE Conduct and publish pedagogical research within the field Support and nurture the development of a strong network of academic staff with an interest and passion for EE This group is already having an impact, providing support for the development of a number of EE interventions within the curriculum across the University.
B U ILDIN G E N TR E P R E NE U R S HI P I NTO YOUR TE AC HI NG – CPD Dr Dan Anthony has delivered two formal CPD workshops, in partnership with our Quality Enhancement Directorate, which supported academic staff to develop confidence and knowledge in enterprise education. The half day program encouraged participants to explore the principles of enterprise education, benchmark against best practice and to collaborate to develop effective EE interventions. The delivery, and engagement of these CPD opportunities demonstrates our ongoing commitment to integrate Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education throughout the delivery at Cardiff Met, fulfilling our aim to become an truly entrepreneurial University.
21 staff in attendance MO O DLE R E S O U R CE S Sir Isaac Newton famously said “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” This is true of Enterprise Education, and as educators it’s important that we are aware of, and making use of the knowledge and expertise available to us in our field. To facilitate this at Cardiff Met we are building a repository of useful documents on an easy to access Moodle site. Containing policy, standards, frameworks as well as suggested pedagogy and module documentation this resource will help us to disseminate best practice across the University.
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P RE STA RT S U P P O R T - E N TAC T A fundamental element of our work to encourage and support entrepreneurship is working with students who are yet to start a business or social enterprise. Our influence and support at this stage increases interest in entrepreneurship and provides a solid foundation on which the students can build as they develop their ideas and personal attributes.
M E E T N M I N G L E /CO N N E C T
Health, fitness and wellbeing
events
IWD Making change happen
What does entrepreneurship mean to you
63 total attendees
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Dec
Entrepreneurship to fit your lifestyle
WO R KS HO P S & E MP OWE R SE SSI ONS
63 9
overall number of activities
face to face workshops (pre covid)
10
Lunch & Learn webinars (virtual)
individual 283 attendees
Responding positively to new ways of working the Centre swiftly pivoted their operations to deliver all their programs virtually, resulting in continued engagement and positive student responses. Most Popular Event
Virtual Webinar Instagram for small businesses 55 attendees
FL AS H F U N D Flash Fund is designed to help students to take the first or next steps to develop their business. This micro funding competition provides upto £200 in cash prizes to support students to develop their business idea.
March
£3000 awarded
14 students supported
5 students supported
Nov
9 students supported
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SOC IA L EN TE R P R I S E – OUR COM M I TM E NT During 2020 we built on our commitment to put people and planet on an equal footing with profit. To demonstrate this commitment we worked with the Social Enterprise Academy to deliver a three day Social Enterprise Program. This was planned for May 2020, and as with all activity had to be swiftly adapted to online delivery. The program helped students to develop their knowledge of social enterprise, increasing their confidence in their ability to make social change through entrepreneurship.
14 attendees
6 ILM Level 5 Qualifications completed
1 social enterprise launched (to date)
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CAS E ST UDY
N AT H A N JACKSON ME N TA L HEALTH MONSTER Hi, I’m Nathan and I run a social enterprise called Mental Health Monster CIC. We like to think of ourselves as an anti-stigma agency in that we see it as our job to convince the average Joe to look after their mental health and to show them how. Back in May I took part in the Social Enterprise Academy’s training programme and I honestly haven’t looked back since. Before that I was running a humble Facebook page to promote my campaign to make mental health education compulsory in schools. Fast forward to now and that humble Facebook page has now transformed into an out-and-out social business. For that I have the Social Enterprise Academy (SEA), Wales Co-operative Centre and my universities’ wonderful entrepreneurship team to thank. When people were consistently engaging with my platform it became clear that there was something to be made of it. All it took initially was reaching out to the entrepreneurship team. They were the metaphorical force behind the first domino of the chain. Not only because they encouraged me to think like an entrepreneur, but because they accepted me onto the social enterprise training programme in partnership with the SEA. Now all the other dominos are starting to fall into place. On the programme I learnt so much about the social business sector as a whole. As well as how to measure social impact, how to operate with social aims, how to access financial support and a whole lot on the legal and organisational structures of social business. The information was easy to grasp, especially as I already had a venture in mind, as it allowed me to ask the relevant questions and make plans to apply the knowledge. Although having a venture in mind wasn’t crucial because there were plenty of case studies and opportunities to talk to really successful social entrepreneurs throughout. Subsequently, I was proactive in seeking to get the ball rolling in terms of incorporating Mental Health Monster
as a Community Interest Company. I felt that I was ready to make that next step and the SEA programme directed me to the Wales Co-operative Centre to make this happen. Since then, I have spent a fair amount of time preparing and planning for financial sustainability. However, I have managed to build an even stronger community on social media thanks to regular educational content and our digital billboard campaign in October. Other achievements include the appointment of a fellow director, gaining an ILM qualification, my work on a study with researchers from the Institute for Global Health Innovation and the co-hosting of a mental health webinar with Cardiff Council. We now also have our innovative products and services ready to go. Not to mention my recipience of the Santander Entrepreneurship Bursary which has allowed me to work on our social business without me having to worry about my finances. This has done absolute wonders for my confidence in taking the business forward because it has strongly aided my belief that I have something worth investing in. A huge part of this was applying some of the knowledge gained from the social enterprise training and the help I’ve had from the entrepreneurship team at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Including their help in drilling down to the core of Mental Health Monster and thinking critically about our long-term plans, our audiences, our business model, our brand identity and so much more. To think it all stemmed from attending the SEA training programme! Nevertheless, the greatest accomplishments of them all are the conversations that we have provoked, the thoughts that we’ve inspired and the people that we have motivated to take steps towards good mental health. Every time someone does that, it drives us forward that one more bit. Follow our journey on Instagram (@MHealthMonster_), Twitter and Facebook (@MHealthMonster).
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STA RT-U P S U P P O R T- C F5 Supporting those students and graduates who take the leap into self-employment or who start a business with ambitions to grow is the final piece of the jigsaw. We believe our support is comprehensive, yet complimentary to the support provided by other eco-system providers such as Big Ideas Wales, Princes Trust, Business Wales, UnLtd and NatWest.
C F 5 B OOTC AM P The CF5 bootcamp was a week long intensive program, run entirely online. Developed by combining approaches from the Entrecomp Framework, Disciplined Entrepreneurship (Aulet 2014) , Lean start-up and influenced by the work of Prof Heidi Neck this course was designed to develop the entrepreneurial mindset of the participants, whilst helping them to develop their business ideas and plans.
PARTNE R
“How do I even begin to describe my experience of the CF5 Bootcamp with the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Cardiff Met? Maybe a three word summary: inspirational, educational and unforgettable.” “This is an experience that will be remembered as one of the most important moments of my university experience” Eve Woods, Fine Art graduate and CF5 bootcamp participant.
£16500 funding awarded
30 Zoom hours over 5 days
31 total participants
180 elevator pitches in 90 mins
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16 incredible guests
350 cups of coffee
120 lego models created
B U RSA RIES & FU ND I N G
ACC E L E RATOR PR OGRAM
In addition to the funding pledged during CF5 Bootcamp we also provided nearly £14,000 of funding to new businesses through our Santander Entrepreneurship Bursaries which provide graduates with a small income for upto 13 weeks, allowing them to put more time into their businesses and to reach the stage where it is self-sustaining.
This program runs from September each year and provides a mixture of one to one guidance, peer to peer support, specialist sessions in IP, accounting, finance and marketing as well as access to our incubation space on the Llandaff Campus. This programme benefitted 12 graduates in 2020, business such as Ruby harry Designs, Rosy Cheeks and Consumer Insights Lab Ltd.
A B BIE L AW RE NC E F OU ND E R A N D L E A D R E SE A R CHER CO N S U M E R IN SIG HTS L A B LTD
CAS E ST U DY Consumer Insights Lab (CIL) is a PhD sourced company that specialises in retail research, consumer insights, and packaging design using a simulated user-testing environment. CIL works in collaboration with the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre and based in the Perceptual Experience Lab at Cardiff Metropolitan University. It was the intention to work at Cardiff Metropolitan University to create a spin-off company from my PhD research. However, when Covid-19 hit in March 2020, working at the university was no longer an option and I made the decision to commercialise the business myself. Through exceptional support and guidance from the Centre of Entrepreneurship, I was able to bring Consumer Insights Lab to life a few months after the decision was made to go solo. The CF5 bootcamp was invaluable to my development. I had no prior experience in entrepreneurship and had no idea of how to start my own business. The CF5 bootcamp took me from knowing nothing to helping me understanding my position in the market, what my business is, and gave me the resources and knowledge to register the company. Since the CF5 Bootcamp, the Centre of Entrepreneurship continues to support me and other entrepreneurs by suggesting funding streams, relaying
relevant information, and hosting informative webinars. Since registering the company, CIL has completed its first commercial project and won a competition held by Cardiff Bay design agency Design Dough. Design Dough has completed design guidelines for CIL and is currently finalising the company website. CIL is preparing for its next commercial project – a market research study with Welsh food SME Roast Busters. My immediate goals for CIL’s future are to create a social media presence and to build a client base. To do this, I will create a LinkedIn profile for CIL, and use LinkedIn to share the website launch campaign. I will design marketing material to send to food SMEs across Wales and the UK. I also intend to position CIL as a bolt-on service to design agencies around the UK. In the more distant future, I look to expand CIL’s services to incorporate home-experience and VR goggle data collection. I also plan to take on projects outside of the food industry and to establish my own simulated environment facilities in strategic positions around the UK.
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CAS E ST UDY
Z YAD R E DA F O UN DE R O F HE XAPO My business idea was born in Nov 2018 after I realized that my colleagues in the university are struggling with the electronics module’s project that we are studying and lack the technical knowledge and skills to build a functional circuit or make a basic hardware system that is doing a specific task. So, I thought of creating a solution in a box, by designing a journey to take the user from zero knowledge by hardware circuits to building a functional robot that can move and interact with the world around it! Through this journey the user will not only be learning about programming and hardware circuits but also will be learning hand/technical skills like soldering a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) and hardware assembly and customizability. How did bootcamp support you in starting your business? In the bootcamp, the variety of content and the way it was presented gave me and - I believe - all the participants different practical experiences. For me, the bootcamp was a game changer for my business progress as it broadened my horizons on how to build a successful business model and helped me to build better future plans. It gave me the chance to meet new friends and people to collaborate with which expanded my network. After the bootcamp, I was more confident to present my idea to people and got better vision of how I can reach my goals and what important things to consider in the process of defining the idea before working on it.
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What progress have you made since attending bootcamp? After the bootcamp, me and my team focused on building a good brand awareness. So, we started attending different events to exhibit our product in front of the audience to know their thoughts, also worked on building professional landing page to present the idea of the product and the process of building it. We were confident enough to apply for a grant called EBNI incubator program that provides 200,000 EGP = 9000 GBP for startups based on IoT products. luckily, we were one of the businesses to be nominated for the pitching stage. What are your future plans for the business? Our future plan is to build a rigid base audience for our product to be able to launch our crowdfunding campaign and to start selling the kit to STEM academies in Egypt and UK with affordable prices. We have a future vision for new products that relate to the home assistant category might solve several problems in people’s daily life.
RE S U LTS
Engage 1149
Empower 298
Equip 104
businesses created 41
test trading 26
social enterprises created 2
PR O P O RT I O N O F STU D E N TS ATTE ND I NG E N T REP RE NE U R S H I P R E L ATE D AC TI V I TI E S
30.00% 25.00%
Engage
20.00%
Empower
15.00%
Equip
10.00%
Starts
5.00% 0.00%
CSM
CSAD
CSSHS
CSESP
CST
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Ce n tre for E n trep reneurs hip C ard i f f M e tropolitan Un ive r sity Llan daff Cam pu s We ste r n Ave n u e Cardiff CF5 2YB 0292 0 20 5664 e n tre p re n eu rs h ip @ ca rd if f met.a c.uk
Ca rd if f MetE nt Ca rd if f MetE nt ca rd if f metent
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