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Making Friends at the 3 Market Social Enterprise Event - Southampton
Just a quick one today!I've spent the last couple of hours at the 3 Market event that's being run at the University of Southampton. It's great networking for social entrepreneurs and their keynote speaker, was Wayne Hemmingway. (Big Brother, Gadget Show, http://www.hemmingwaydesign.co.uk/)
Initially I was dubious because I didn't know much about Wayne. It turns out he's a brilliant speaker and has been involved in loads of great social projects and businesses since selling Red or Dead in 1999.
Most interesting for me was his KisosKiosk project. It allows Entrepreneurs in the creative industries a planning permission free store front that is mobile enough to be placed in high footfall areas really easily. It was launched in London with the help of Boris Johnson a year or two ago and is now in Nottingham nad Manchester.
I think it would be great to bring the concept to Universities accross the country so that Students starting businesses can sell direct to the rest of the student body, rain or shine! I'd love to hear what you think, drop me an email James {at} jamespipe.com or comment below.
Thanks!
James
I've got a great idea, now what?
I often talk to people who think they have a fantastic idea but wont tell anyone. The usual excuse is that "someone will steal my idea and take it to market before me".
This is ridiculous. The fact is, there are no new ideas, just different execution. If you've thought of something that is easy to implement, and completely obvious, then someone else has too. I'm afraid it's a sad truth but you and I are not as great or unique as you we think we are.
Not even asking your friends to give you feedback is stupid. Personally, I am fantastic at selling myself my own ideas. If I only asked my own opinion I would have made a whole heap of crap decisions by now. Giving yourself constructive feedback is not possible so stop wasting your time.
Multi millionaire Chai Patel told me that he always broadcasts his new ideas. This is for two reasons:
- Because your friends and contacts will offer to help you out ONLY if they know you need their help. You will get new ideas for your product, marketing and customer service for FREE.
- Because if you tell everyone about your new business they will keep you focused. Every time you meet you'll be asked how it's going. Peer pressure is a fantastic motivator.
David Langer (founder of Groupspaces.com), Alastair Mitchell (founder and CEO of Huddle.com) and Peter Czapp (Founder and Director of thewowcompany.com), have spoken on different topics at Fish on Toast - The University of Southampton Entrepreneur's Society. All of them have concluded with the same mantra: "Ideas are worthless. Execution is priceless."
There is however one exception that I know of to this rule. This month, Fish on Toast are running a business idea competition. We will be giving out ten prizes of £100 to the best business ideas then give you free time with a lawyer, accountant, web design team and professional sales coach. For more information check out our website and sign up to our mailing list now.
So I have a final thought for you: Stop looking for that unique idea that you'll never find. Start looking for proven business ideas and work out how your going to do them BETTER!
Here is my 5 step idiot proof business idea generation system...GO!
- Think of anything that annoyed you in the last month. You have found "the Pain"
- Think about how many other people might also get annoyed. This is "your market"
- Think about how you could do it right and get paid. This is "a business idea"
- Write it down in 100 words on a computer of your choice. "This is a 100 word business idea"
- Now, if it's not yet the 22nd of Feb 2010, submit it on the Fish on Toast website!
Good Luck!
James
Microsoft Sponsor Fish on Toast - and we get a grand day out in Reading!
Microsoft UK have teamed up with NACUE to provide a ground breaking sponsorship opportunity for UK Entrepreneurs Societies with Sponsorship. Following a 1500 word pitch that I wrote a couple of weeks ago, this week, Brad Fitchew (Fish on Toast Post Graduate Officer) and I visited the beautiful Microsoft UK campus up in Reading. Our aim? To find out how we can help them increase the reach and effectiveness of their student initiatives; The Imagine Cup, Dreamspark, StudentZone on Facebook and the Studentzine Newsletter.
It was a great day out. There were about 10 societies represented and loads of great ideas generated. We played on the Microsoft Surface and touchscreen Windows 7 machines, toured the New Technology Centre and saw the trailer for COD4 and promo videos of project Natal on XBOX360! They also told us what they were looking for in their Grad scheme interviews and applications.
A big thanks goes to Victoria Lennox of NACUE, and Lars Lindstedt, Ed Dunhill, Sarah Melrose, Paolo Barone, Bindi Karia of Microsoft for making it happen. I've included a list of opportunities available to students through Microsoft below...
The Imagine Cup
The Imagine Cup is what happens when student teams from around the world compete to solve the UN's Millenium Development Goals to free a major portion of humanity from the shackles of extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease. They established targets for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women, environmental sustainability and a global partnership for development.
The Imagine Cup is also the world's premier student technology competition open to all students over the age of 16. Key competition categories are Software Design, Embedded and Games Development. Software design is the biggest competition with teams of up to four people; the best teams are mixed discipline with developers, entrepreneurs and domain experts. We don't have long left to promote the Software Design competition as the round 1 deadline is 16th December by which time teams must have submitted a proposal document via imaginecup.co.uk.
To find out more visit The Imagine Cup Homepage and use the promo code: IC0014
DreamSpark - FREE MICROSOFT SOFTWARE!
DreamSpark is a software access programme for all students who can verify themselves using their .ac.uk email address. Click through to free access to Windows Server, Visual Studio, Expression Suite and more.
StudentZone Facebook page
Microsoft UK have recently established a Facebook page which aggregates a bunch of great content for students interested in technology and business into one place. It also gives students a great platform to interact with Microsoft and find out more. Visit the Microsoft UK Facebook Fan Page now!
StudentZine Newsletter
Each month we send a newsletter out to 10k+ UK students. If you are looking for a career in technology, or are hoping to found a tech startup, you should be one of them. Subscribe now!
The University of Southampton Entrepreneurs - Fish on Toast
What we do...
This year I'll be president of Fish on Toast, the University of Southampton Entrepreneurs. I'd like to tell you a little bit about us as a group and our plans for this coming year.
We are, quite literally, the most inspiring club that students can join at uni. Together we will learn the secrets for business success.
Most people will not have thought about what they want to do after graduation but that doesn't matter. If they're simply looking for something fun to fill their Thursday evenings with or want to start a business next week, Fish on Toast is what it's happening.
Fish on toast is an group of like-minded individuals up for changing the world - literally. We're about getting inspired by each other's enthusiasm and that of our incredible visiting speakers, running our own businesses, and entering business competitions. Every week we buy pizza for all our members so everyone can network after our guest speaker presentation.
I'd also like to introduce you to the rest of the people running Fish on Toast this year. Click here to find out more about the committee.
To sum up, I've mashed up a quote from one of my heroes, Doug Richard:
When you leave you'll be asking yourself: 'How can I not be?'.
NACUE - National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs Launch!
Last weekend, Tony Kissack, Chris Houghton and I (James Pipe) travelled up to the Microsoft headquarters in London for the launch of NACUE: The Leader's training weekend. It was an incredible event, organised in the most part by Victoria Lennox, outgoing president of Oxford Entrepreneurs. Both days had early starts but the whole event was EPIC.
Tony stayed at his sisters but Chris and I bunked up in a hostel north of Hyde Park where we probably both caught swine flu from our South American backpacker room-mates. The sweaty situation was made even worse when a couple of the girls we met at dinner said their uni had paid for two nights in a twin room at the Crown Plaza!!! (We'll sort that out next time!)
Day One
started with an awesome talk called 'Goals for Success' by Huston Spencer He got us all to close our eyes for the first 3 minutes to get us "out of our heads"...right!After that, Lars Lindstedt, head of Microsoft's emerging business programme, told us about all the great stuff they're doing to help small start-ups like some of our Fish on Toasters want to be. I even got to talk to him a little more on the London eye and he explained why he made his job title "Software Economist"! On the Saturday evening was kicked off with an amazing meal at the Crown Plaza hotel followed by the brilliant Mike Southern and his keynote - "The Beatles". Afterwards we were whisked off to the London eye where we went for a double flight with champagne and canapés (it's alright for some eh?)!
As if that wasn't enough, we were finally dropped off at the Adam Street Private Members Club on the Strand. We hobnobbed with the entrepreneurial elite of London - and the 100 other legendary students who also attended the weekend.
Day two
was all about knowledge transfer - we set up the "NACUE South" region with big hitters like Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol to name a few. Tony will be co-chairing the Southern area next year (so we are hoping for some Fish on Toast preferential events!Microsoft's Paolo Barone showed off Microsoft's cool new technologies like Surface (which we played on), Windows 7 and Photosynth. Needless to say, the shamelessly geeky among us all have Windows 7 installed on our laptops now.
The incredible Julie Meyer, founder of First Tuesday and Ariadne Capital was the closing speaker. She's one of the most influential women in Europe and it's easy to see why. Check out Entrepreneur Country to find out more about their manifesto for positive change in the world through entrepreneurship.
Overall, an absolutely brilliant weekend and I recommend everyone gets involved next year to make NACUE as powerful as it should be. I see government lobbying on its way!
