A one-day event helping budding entrepreneurs realise their professional ambitions ran this week at the University.
Attending Flying Start: Make it Happen on Tuesday 19 January 2010 were 60 final-year students, postgraduates and graduates from the North West who had a business concept or idea they wanted to develop and launch.
The event, part of a University development programme for budding business start-ups, gave delegates advice and experience from three men who have launched their own companies. Speaking were:
Dan Sodergren. Great Marketing Works. Dan is a motivational marketing man, an award-winning business owner with several businesses under his belt. Dan is a post-start guerrilla marketing specialist who, with his new business Great Marketing Works, has helped over 500 business.
Ugochukwu Obi. AC Company. Obi is founder and CEO of AC Company, a technology start-up based in Manchester. The AC Company has plans to become the market leader in harnessing the strength of social media technology, to manage the way information is distributed and consumed.
Imran Hakim. Fellow of Entrepreneurship at the University of Bolton. Possibly best known as a winner of BBC TV programme Dragons' Den, Imran Hakim's winning iTeddy product was part-developed with the University. Having launched his business career at the age of 15, Imran graduated from UMIST in 2001 with a BSc in Optometry and Vision Science. He now successfully runs a group of independent practices
Also speaking was Mike Lomas, Director of Business Development and Partnerships at the University of Bolton, who outlined sources of business funding available at a national, regional and local level.
Delegates were welcomed by Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Marsh, who said private businesses were vital to the economic recovery of city regions and brought opportunity for the individuals who built them, as well as the wider community.
Said Prof Marsh: 'Stimulating student interest in entrepreneurship is firmly embedded in our University, from enterprise activity to student internships. Universities today have a role to play in economic recovery and we are committed to working with both growing companies and students to develop businesses.'
The event was organised by the University, supported by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship.
Pictured from top: Dan, Ugochukwu and Imran