Have you ever considered starting your own business? Enterprise Week in November will give you a taster of what that could be like. We have a schedule of successful business experts who will present and discuss prominent themes on entrepreneurial skills and development, as well as join students at the end of their talks for a Q&A. Key speakers will talk on creating ideas to financing them. These sessions will count towards the Industry Exposure requirements as part of the Employability Scheme passports, all attendance will count towards your metrics too.
This event will be held on the week commencing 1st of November 2021 and comprises 4 inspirational and developmental talks from the entrepreneurial world.
On Monday, we will have Simon Krystman from 12 Ronnies speak on idea validation and the entrepreneurial mindset. Simon is a serial entrepreneur and mentor for startups, he has successfully set up and exited a number of businesses in the digital and innovation space over the past thirty-five years; most recently launching a suite of products for startups and early-stage companies. As part of his role at 12 Ronnies, he mentors at numerous business schools, universities, and incubators both in the UK and overseas. His philanthropic activities involve crowdfunding for communities where he runs a crowdfunding platform to raise small amounts of funding for social causes, often working with Members of Parliament and other community leaders.
Vascroft Contractors will be joining us on Tuesday with a talk from their COO, Chandni Vora. Chandni will be discussing knowing your audience, stakeholders, and the importance of networking. Chandni Vora is responsible for the strategic and operational growth of the business along with forward load planning and resource management. Chandni has been instrumental in implementing various operational processes in the construction industry to enhance Vascroft’ s competitive advantage and internal growth. Chandni began her accounting career with Bechtel Corporation Inc. after graduating from CASS Business school in 1998 with a BSc (Hons) in Business Finance. At the start of her career 23 years ago with Bechtel, she was thrown into the deep end by being made responsible for financial and project reporting, and life cycle management for over 200 construction projects in the EAMS region. Over the years, Chandni has added to the bottom line with her gravitas to challenge the status quo to prestigious organisations such as Clifford Chance LLP, Grant Thornton, Virgin Media, BAE Systems plc, and Majestic Wine Warehouses Ltd. She is passionate about the need to ensure the construction industry is forward-thinking and moving with the technological changes, to mitigate the skills and economic challenges that lie ahead. She is an Advisory Board Member for E2E, a Freedom Member of the City of London Livery of the Worshipful Company of Constructors (WCC), a voluntary UK council member for Women’s Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (WICCI) of the Member of the Non-executive Directors Network and Women on Boards. She is also a Trustee of the Vascroft Foundation Charitable Trust since 2008 and an active volunteer in other charitable organisations.
David Gluckman, an advertising and marketing author and specialist will be hosting his talk, ‘Inside The Box Thinking: a pragmatist’s view of the ideas business and how it works’ on Wednesday. Born and educated in South Africa, David Gluckman came to the UK in 1961 and worked in advertising. One of his earliest experiences was assisting in the transformation of Irish butter from an unknown commodity to a brand – called Kerrygold. He moved into brand development consultancy in 1969 and has worked in the field ever since. His longest-running association was with the drinks company, Diage, originally known as IDV. During his 36 years consulting for them, his portfolio of brands includess Baileys Irish Cream, Sheridan’s, The Singleton, Smirnoff Black, Le Piat d’Or, J&B Jet, Tanqueray Ten, and Cîroc. In 2017, David published a book about his experiences, “That s*it will never sell!” (The title was taken from a remark by a US pundit when he first encountered a bottle of Baileys). He continues to take a keen interest in all aspects of brand development and enjoys speaking to audiences at universities, business schools or at business conferences. David believes that the changes occurring in society today necessitate a more responsible attitude to the development of new brands. It is not enough to create for corporate profit: we now, more than ever, have our community, our society and our planet to consider.
On Thursday, Winifred Soribe, a PhD student at the University of Bedfordshire where she was awarded a studentship from the Business and Management Research Institute, will join the university to talk about financing innovation and funding your start-up business. Winifred’s area of research focuses mainly on financing innovation within entrepreneurial firms by assessing how they leverage upon entrepreneurial orientation, intellectual capital, and industry dynamism in order to reduce funding constraints. Prior to undertaking her PhD, she obtained a master’s degree in Accounting and Business Finance from the University of Bedfordshire after completing her ACCA qualification and gaining a bachelor’s degree in economics. She has worked within the accounting and finance industry in the UK and is keen to explore how robust financing options can stimulate more entrepreneurial activity and innovation, thus improving overall economic welfare. Her spare time is spent volunteering as a mentor for entrepreneurs within Nasdaq Mentor Makers (US), Founders and Mentors (UK), serving as a director on the University of Bedfordshire’s student union, advising entrepreneurs within TERN (The Entrepreneurs Refugee Network). She enjoys philosophy, bead making, reading, and cooking.
All talks will be online using Zoom for hosting. The full schedule for Enterprise Week is available on the VLE under the Employability tile. For more information please email Trudi Hamer, Student & Alumni Enterprise Manager at enterprise@london.aru.ac.uk.