Beulah London is a unique company that combines high-end fashion with ethically sourced products, maintaining its elegance and beauty whilst promoting social justice. The company was started by Natasha Rufus Isaacs and Lavinia Brennan, two young women with an inherent ability to help others without sacrificing the quality of their product.

Before the establishment of Beulah London the pair spent a large amount of time in India where they worked alongside numerous charities and organisations to promote justice, but the women found their passion after spending two months in the southern slums of Delhi helping women who had been rescued from the sex trade. Natasha and Lavinia worked in an aftercare home called ‘Atulya’ which provided a refuge for these women whilst also teaching them relevant skills which would allow them to be financially independent and prevent the women from falling back into the underworld from which they had been saved.

Their harrowing yet inspiring experiences in India created the momentum needed for the women to create their own company which could continue to deal with the issues presented to them both abroad and at home in the UK; thus Beulah London was born, the aim of which is to provide a new life to victims of the slave trade whilst creating a luxury brand of clothing which is both easy to wear and naturally elegant.

The production of the clothes takes place in a small cottage industry in Kolkata which creates employment in the area and also teaches important and sustainable skills. Although currently the women are not sufficiently skilled to create the garments themselves, they are making accessories such as scarves and bags in order to gain the necessary experience so that one day they will be involved in the whole production process along with members of local communities.

Their first collection ‘Amazing Grace’ which launched in the summer of 2011 represents the transformation and the potential for women to change their situations; Lavinia explains: ‘Our goal is to produce beautiful clothes that empower the women who wear them and the women who make them’.

Although neither Natasha nor Lavinia have any background of fashion, their brand has grown dramatically, with the likes of Kate Middleton being seen wearing their garments. Both women studied history of art, Natasha at Oxford Brookes and Lavinia at Durham, and then went on to gain experience in PR and at an art auction house whilst also being involved with social projects at Holy Trinity Brompton. The company received funding from bank loans and family and friends, plus the supervision of a mentor at TiE UK (The Indus Entrepreneurs) which helped the company to grow in the right direction. The pair admit that it has at times been a struggle and that they were heavily dependent on their parents throughout the establishment of the company, but that their motivation comes from the people at the heart of what they’re doing, the people that need their help.

l-r Adam Balon, Richard Reed and Jon Wright

The Innocent story starts in Cambridge, where three friends met whilst working towards their degrees. The recent graduates Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright then moved to London where they started the process of coming up with a variety of smoothie recipes and buying £500 worth of fruit to get them started.

In the summer of 1998 the three friends travelled nervously tothe‘Jazz on the Green’ Festival in Parsons Green; a spot full of the kind of people that would drink their smoothies. It was here that they would receive public feedback on their recipes which would determine whether they would proceed with the huge but exciting task of giving up their day jobs to start a business, or whether they would dump the fruit and rush back to their careers in consulting and advertising. Originally the trio had designed a feedback form but traded it in for a less corporate approach.

The idea was simple and succinct: people would try their smoothie and dispose of the (hopefully) empty bottle in one of two bins; one labelled ‘YES’ and the other ‘NO’. Above their stall was the question ‘Do you think we should give up our jobs to make these smoothies?’ At the end of the weekend the ‘YES’ bin was full with only three bottles in the ‘NO’ bin, so the boys went home, flipped a coin for some last minute reassurance, and quit their jobs the next day to go to work on the building of what would become the UK and Europe’s favourite smoothie brand.

Next was the problem that all start-up businesses face; the issue of funding. The boys applied to, and got turned down by, 20 different banks. They pitched at an event for entrepreneurs only to find that nobody was interested in hearing any more about them. On paper the trio were a risky investment; they were friends, they had no experience in their field, they would be competing against massive companies, and they’d never set up a business. This realisation, however ‘soul destroying’#, did not deter the trio. They continued on their path to funding by emailing everyone they knew hoping to find somebody rich, until they got an email back from Maurice Pinto, who they’d heard sometimes made investments. Despite the fact that Pinto thought the idea was ‘dumb’, he agreed to invest £50,000 in the company, which then grew to £250,000 when the other investors he usually works with refused to invest.

The trio then found a manufacturing partner Mike Lord, who had been manufacturing orange juice. He said to the boys “I don’t think it’s going to work, but there’s something in your eyes that reminds me of myself when I was your age, so I’ll do it.”

Advertising was the next step, and with no money to afford it, the trio had to come up with inspired (and cheap) ways to spread the Innocent name. After over-producing, they handed out their smoothies for free to around 50 different shops with the hope that they would call and order more; which they did. They also wrote little nonsensical messages on the products themselves about their natural origin; the idea behind their brand was ‘to make it easy for people to do themselves some good. And to make it taste nice too. We wanted people to think of innocent drinks as their one healthy habit; like going to the gym’#. They also left smoothies on every floor of a building packed full of journalists which again earned them a large amount of phone calls in return for their hard work.

Innocent Drinks continued to grow and grow, with their staff size growing from just three to two hundred and fifty between 1999 and 2010, with their market share growing from 0% to 77.5% within the same time period#. On April 6th 2009 Innocent Drinks announced its decision to sell a stake of 18% to The Coca-Cola Company which was then increased in April 2010 to 58% with the three founders retaining full operational control over the company.

However, Reed maintains that it wasn’t until around 2007 that he reached full confidence with their idea: “Every time something good happened I still didn’t believe – it was just temporary respite from the paranoia that it was destined to fail”

Information taken from:
An interview with Courtney Rubin, July 26 2010 featured: [http://www.inc.com/articles/2010/07/building-englands-favorite-smoothie-company.html]

[http://innocentdrinks.co.uk/]
# Market share source: IRI Infoscan 2006

From Paris to New York City back to Paris and finally London, I chat to one of the graduates on the NEF programme, Joséphine Goube as she tells me her story navigating the entrepreneurial and corporate world.

Below is the full interview

Hi Joséphine, Its great to finally have you on YHP, how are you doing today?

Very good!

Before we move on, could you quickly give us some background information about yourself so that the YHP audience can get to know you better?

French small town girl. Moved to the big city Paris at 18 to study humanities at Sciences Po. Fostered my love for European Modern Political History, philosophy and architecture.

Moved to New York City at 20. Worked in Press Relations for Healthcare companies. Unleashed my enthusiasm for Urbanism and fascination of big Western cities.

Moved back to Paris to complete a Msc in Urban Strategies in 2009 and relocated to London to complete a Msc in Urban policies in the South & Development Studies at the London School of Economics in 2010. Improved my insight on international development and urban development.

Along the way, I co-founded a Business Incubator for London students (LSE Inc). Still on the Management board of this student-led initiative, I started working at Springboard last October to run the next program starting April 2012 in London. Graduated in December.

How did you get into entrepreneurship, what was your inspiration?

I don’t know; I just fell into it, like you fall in love. It just happened. I was totally blind about what I was getting into. I just know it felt right for me, and still feels.

Yet – I don’t care about titles; I would not event care not to be called an entrepreneur.

As such, I did not choose Entrepreneurship as a clear conscious career path. I did not decide ‘I want to be a self made woman for life’. However I have always admired Madonna or Coco Chanel. They stimulate my vision of what I wish to achieve: disruptive business with courage, hard work and vision for a more open-minded world. But as I said, entrepreneurship just feels right for me now; I don’t know about tomorrow.

What was your first business, how the idea came about and tell your experience running that?

The business incubator we built at LSE just came as necessary and the next thing to do: nobody helped students that were building REAL businesses while studying. There were lectures on venture creation but I don’t believe theory help – (at least, it can inspire). I believe in action.

Aside the need, I was fueled by outrage from the way the School was faking to care about students doing stuff and frustrated to hear my friends willing to go to consulting companies because they were not confident in themselves enough. Schools are places where to learn, ideal spaces where to execute, create and learn from your failures. If you don’t do it while there, when do you do it: when it is even harder (aka in real life)?

Finally, there was also an element of pure instinct in building this initiative. I like to build new things, I like to help so the idea seemed natural and making sense; it sounded fun and exciting. In reality, it was not so much fun: lots of work and pain. I was very stressed because I had never done such a thing and I was stressing on things to be perfect. I could have done much better if I had been more supported by the School, also if I had been more relaxed, less fearful. But you can’t fight fear for every ‘first time’ things you do, can you?

The opportunities that it opened to my career and in my life – and they were and are amazing – appeared later, when running it. It has been a life enhancer but I could not know this before I did it. It was million times worth it.

You studied at Sciences Po in Paris? Tell us about your experience during your time of study?

Sciences Po Paris is the best ‘Grande Ecole’ I could have ever been to. I simply loved my time there. It fitted my personality.

First, entering Sciences Po Paris meant (for me) moving from my very small town to a 8 million-people capital city. I was on fire: millions of things became possible.

Second, it was a total surprise: I never thought I would be accepted to the School (to say the least, I did not look at the results the day they came out). Nor did I ever think I would make it to Paris before 30. I was on fire (even more).

Eventually, like a chapter 2 in my small life; nothing was to be the same again after. I had left home; would never return back to my previous life and friends. This gave me the strength to believe that I can go anywhere, make it anywhere if I work hard (though without forgetting how luck plays a big role). This also gave me this obstinate mind, determination and sometimes (naïve) arrogance.

And some of the key things you learnt from that experience?

Difficult to summarize what I learnt at Sciences Po. To be concise, I would say:

Sciences Po being at the center of Paris puts you in an environment were you are directly asked to act like adults. You are not in your protected bubble on a university campus.

At School, I met with like-minded people. I was not a freak talking politics or philosophy. I was not mocked using serious words. People had something to reply; they were not just raising their shoulders. I developed my critical thinking and grow intellectual relationships.

Movers and shakers of this world would come to conferences at school. Being able to see, meet and talk to them, I started believing that I could become part of the clique. This is silly to say but I realize they were humans after all. As much as everyone.

There is a chinese proverb that says: When you work in a coal mine you cannot stay white. That is what happened with Sciences Po, and in a very good way.

I guess there’s been a lot of talk about going to university, the value of having a degree, entrepreneurship becoming a viable option, what made you realise that this was the right choice for you?

I never studied to get a job. I never thought a degree would get me a job. I thought it might just help get in touch with the people in the industry.

I went to university to study what I am passionate about Politics, Geopolitics, Philosophy, Art, Cosmology, Architecture, Sociology, etc. I spent my time talking about these subjects with fellows at school. In some ways, I am a nerd, in some others, I am not: I never aimed at being the brightest student in the classroom but always did my best in whatever I was passionate about. In other terms, I was average and sometimes far behind on school grades but I did not care. I did not see the value of grades compared to making friends with people and do things that I would remember forever. I was not the one staying long hours at the library. I was the one organizing dinners and parties to get the smartest of the school become my friends; I liked their brains. I like the things we could create together.

So I guess, I never though: get a degree versus starting my own company. I never saw entrepreneurship as an exclusive option. I was being “entrepreneurial” in my daily life. I set up a student association for European Movies with friends in my second year. I was setting up “Movie Wednesday’s”. I was setting up regular parties. I was giving classes to students taking their A-levels. I could do both: study and do things. I never compromised choosing between school and business.

You decided to come to London to study for your Masters at LSE? Why did you feel you needed to do this especially since you already done a Masters in Paris?

As I said, I am passionate about Urbanization and Architecture. I am thirsty of knowledge. London School of Economics is ranked first for this matters; it has one of the best Geography Department. So I applied for a loan (reluctantly) and a Msc (with enthusiasm).

How did you find it changing countries, cultures, friends – the adaptation process?

I am a social-bee that has been constrained to 18 years in a small town. I let you imagine how liberating it felt for me to live in Paris, New York and London.

Regarding the adaptation process: I am not just good at adopting new settings, I beg for these circumstances to change all the time.

This love for challenging the ‘status-quo’ can be perceived as a typical fear of boredom and a fear of being trapped somewhere for a long time (again). It can explain my radical stands on feminism or capitalism. Or maybe it is just an age/generation thing: the very impatient youth and the immediacy of technology that make us become ‘I want to be entertained now’ individuals.

You were very involved in LSE’s entrepreneurship society, you even started incubator program during your time there. Tell us about that experience and some of the key things you learnt from that and opportunities that it has given you?

I got in touch with LSE entrepreneurs Society during the summer prior moving to London. I wanted to get involved with people to do fun things to do – the other societies looked boring.

LSE Entrepreneurs’ President needed help for Fresher’s Fair: I raised my hand automatically. Wherever there is a need for help, I am here. Especially for nice people: Arthur is an awesome energetic guy with the heart at the right place.

It started like this: I asked what they were doing with actual students that were building REAL businesses. He said nothing. I said it is a pity. He said you should fix it.

It’s been lots of work and pain. It’s been stressful (but that is just me being stupid, stressing for details). I had so many fears because I had never done anything like this. The big lesson was: stop being scared, just do and fail so you will do it better.

It went very well: better than we would have ever expected. But I was never satisfied, always pushing to do better. I have been hard to live with the team I worked with. The handover happened this October and the new team taking over the initiative is just awesome.

As I said, the opportunities that it has opened to my career and in my life are awe-inspiring. It was million times worth the pain. It has been a life enhancer; I am more confident and happy in life. I saved two years of my life at McKinsey or Bain.

You’ve also worked for a few other companies namely: Euro RSCG Worldwide PR,1.2.3. Consulting and Rainmaking. Tell me about your experience working there.

Euro RSCG Worldwide has been a great first experience. Not so much in the tasks I was completing everyday (too young and too inexperienced to be given responsibilities), but it was a great start for the people I met with and the opportunities they have given me to see, hear, listen, learn, taste and experience.

1.2.3 Consulting is a startup style consultancy company that I helped for a summer. The founders gave me real ownership over my duties. Something most employers don’t: they just want you to complete tasks. I just loved the team and so the work. They trusted my work. To be given trust is a blessing.

Rainmaking co-founder, Carsten, gave me my chance last May to lead on the social media side of one of their startup company Trueskin. They gave me full ownership too, pushed me to be creative and let me learn from them at the office. I learnt a lot in very few months. Mats, founder of Trueskin, would always take time to tell me lessons from his failures. Inspiring.

What would you say was some of the key things you learnt from that experience?

I learnt to be more patient and to listen better – In progress still.

Tell us about NEF and how you got involved?

I got on the program to learn about business and eventually fell in love with the people involved.

However, I have been quite a pain for NEF during the match-making process. I have been picky with the company they matched me with; I went to the interviews when I could but was reluctant to work with the Company they had chosen for me. I believed they were not the right fit for me. So I told Zara that I was already working for an entrepreneurial company and that I might stay there. She agreed

What company are you currently working with, what do you do and how’s the experience been so far for you?

I’m working for Springboard with Jon and Jess. Currently, we are selecting our ten teams: exciting.

What are some of the key things that you’ve learnt so far from working at Springboard?

Always ask for help when you need it. Do what’s easier and what you truly care about.

Is this something that you would recommend to other aspiring entrepreneurs? What value can they get from this experience?

Just do it.

What would you say has been some of your most memorable moment so far?

A speed-mentoring with 80 mentors and about 150 entrepreneurs to manage. Fun when you like mess and to shout.

What advices would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own business?

No talk, just do it. Better sooner than later. You always get better with time (if you are honest with yourself).

What are your plans after NEF programme? What can we be expecting from you in the future?

Expect to be surprised.

Follow @rishi_chowdhury

Each year we take a look at the young entrepreneurs, based in the UK, who we think are set to have a great year, you can see our 2011 list here, and this year is no different.

So here are 20 entrepreneurs, founders and co founders, who you may want to watch in 2012, there are some great companies here and I’m sure you will be hearing a lot more about them over the next 12 months.

Here they are:

Josh Buckley (MinoMonsters)

Josh Buckley is the CEO and founder of MinoMonsters, a Pokemon type game where you can battle and trade pet monsters. Josh is the youngest CEO to have raised funding from investment giant Andreessen Horowitz at 19 years of age.

The Kent born youngster sold his first company at the age of 15. He created ‘Menewsha’ a community where users create whimsical avatars and interact online for fun. He sold this for a six figures sum while still in school.

He then moved to Silicon Valley & participated in Y Combinator to help take his company to the next level and take on Pokemon brand. His USP is it is a game for iOS where Pokemon is not available.

Expect to be hearing more of this young CEO as he ventures into the mobile gaming space with no fear.

Nick D’Aloisio (Summly)

Nick D’Aloisio is only 16 years old but he has already managed to raise $250,00 in funding for his startup, Summly. He created an app that offers a simpler way to browse and search the web by automatically summarising search results, web pages and articles to make content easier to sift to and find what is most relevant to you.

In it’s first 4 days after it reached 17k downloads and is now well over 100,000. Still studying for his GCSE’s he had to get special dispensation to delay his mocks while he traveled to San Fransisco.

So to sum it up, he is one to watch in 2012!

James Gill (GoSquared)

James Gill is the CEO and co founder of GoSquared a real time web analytics service which he started during his gap year. rather than taking the year to travel, he decided to build a web app which people would pay for and by the end of the year him and his co founders realised they had done just that.

James now works on GoSquared at White Bear Yard from which GoSquared got their angel funding and they are surrounded by other great startups which will help them as they look to grow and take on their main rivals Chartbeat.

You can see our video interview with James here.

Lucian Tarnowski (Brave New Talent)

Lucian Tarnowski is the founder and CEO of Brave New Talent, a social recruitment network.  The passionate young entrepreneur loves social media and leverages the sharing and engagement inherent in social networks and applies it to job recruitment.

Lucian has also been honored as Europe’s youngest Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum. He is also the youngest  entrepreneur to join UKTI (United Kingdom Trade and Investment) so age isn’t a factor as he goes about his mission to change the face of job recruitment and skills building.

He is a confident leader and looks set to have a big year in 2012.

Maria Constantinescu (Slick Flick)

Maria Constantinescu is the founder of SlickFlick, which allows you to create storyboards on the iPhone using your photos. An ex lawyer Maria left law to start Curious Quests and the Slick Flick app.

Maria is trying to take creativity to the masses and has been get the app out into the film industry and creative industries to get support and name out amongst a sector which will find it used by most. Being based in the heart of Shoreditch she is surrounded by creatives in every direction which should serve her well.

Having secured an association with Apsmart, they have a great partner which can help them continue to improve the app and add weight to their proposal when they go for funding.

Ry Morgan (PleaseCycle)

Ry Morgan (right) is the founder and CEO of PleaseCycle, provides products and services for organisations to encourage cycling within the workplace.

Ry went from being an intern at CURB media (a really cool startup by the way!) to founding PleaseCycle with the founder & CEO of CURB media, Anthony Ganjou (left). A born entrepreneur Ry has gone from top student, to graduate to founder & CEO.

He has a great drive to grow PleaseCycle massively and his determination and vision has helped him build a great experienced team which will in no doubt help see them progress rapidly in 2012.

Find out more about Ry from his guest post on YHP.

Michael Korn (KwickScreen)

Michael Korn is the founder of KwickScreen, a portable, retractable, room divider which provides isolation or privacy solutions. Initially the design was meant to be used in hospitals to act as a privacy barrier between patients and it was perfect for this. It’s small size and easy and quick set up was perfect for the hospital environment.

Michael has now seen the product, which took 4 years of design iterations to get it ready for release, enter new markets and is being used in universities, exhibitions, offices etc…

It is a well thought out design and the ideas has already received recognition. Michael was named Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2011.

Look out for KwickScreens popping up near you in 2012.

Emi Gal (Brainient)

Emi a young Romanian entrepreneur started Brainient in 2009. Brainient is a a video advertising technology company, based in London’s silicon roundabout, and currently has two products. First an interactive video advertising product and second one is a personalised video retargeting platform.

Emi has a lot of experience with startups at his young age, having previously founded two and has also been an advisor or helped out on various other tech startups.

This experience will hold him in good stead and help as Brainient looks to grow further in 2012.

Check out our video interview with Emi here.

Damian Kimmelman (Duedil)

Damian founded Duedil in April 2011 with the aim to make business more transparent, helping executives and entrepreneurs make well-informed business decisions, by allowing users to easily find company information for free.

Damian has pivoted Duedil from a people recommendation system, like a ‘Yelp for people’, to it’s current state as a database of companies.

He has also overseen Duedil raise funding from some of the investors behind Skype, LastFM & Yahoo as well as being chosen as a Microsoft Bizspark company which should help his disruptive startup make big strides in 2012!

Kevin Flood and Mike Harty (Shopow)

Kevin & Mike started the company, a social shopping engine and community, straight out of university raising £830,000 in angel funding.

Founded in early 2010, it was launched in May 2011 and currently works directly with over 22,000 online retailers to help give them the most accurate price comparison.

Currently available in the US & UK they look to grow further in 2012 and with the social nature of the site and strong community it has the ingredients to  rapidly accelerate growth as members share recommendations across there networks.

The company is expecting to surpass £3million in revenue in it’s first year has already seen it’s popularity abroad with 50% of revenues coming from overseas.

It has been dubbed the ‘Facebook of shopping’ & the two founders have already been named in Growing Business Young Guns.

Chris Prescott and Daniel Noz (Fantasy Shopper)

Fantasy Shopper is a social shopping game, only launched in October 2011 and has already seen massive interest. Users spend fantasy currency to buy clothing & create a virtual wardrobe full of different outfits from over 300 real high street shops. It’s a bit like creating a wishlist but what’s great is you can then buy your virtual outfits from the real life stores.

It’s a fantastic idea that Chris dreamt up one night and has proved very popular to date. apparently it is very addictive and it shows. Within 2 weeks of launching, the platform was seeing a fantasy sale every 14 seconds.

One feature that brings users back for more is that every hour you gain more credits, so users login multiple times a day to collect their virtual paydays.

The fact that it is linked to your Facebook also helps increase awareness of it to your network and this social sharing will greatly help with it’s growth.

Chris has come up with a great idea and is described on the Fantasy Shopper site as “having all the traits of a mad inventor… i.e. he’s a little bit nuts!” Which is good right? Even better is he is backed up by Dan, the tech guy who ‘get’s stuff done’.

All this will help Chris & Daniel take Fantasy Shopper to the masses in the next year.

Fiona Wood (Naturally Cool Kids)

As a mum Fiona has had to deal with all sorts of skin allergies which led her to search for natural skincare products for her kids, but to her surprise found a lack of natural skincare products for kids.

She entered the ‘Barclays Take One Small Step’ competition, where she was one of the 10 regional winners, after mum’s across the country voted for her idea. She started the company in July 2010 and has not looked back since.

Fiona spotted a gap in the market and is taking full advantage of this. She has the passion and determination to see her products being sold across the world. After her initial plans to launch two skincare products, she actually launched with six products and has already seen them in over 20 retail stockists, including John Lewis & Tesco Nutri centre, as well as online.

She has big plans ahead and look out for her products across the UK this year as she looks to further expand the number of stockists.

Luke Hood (UKF)

Luke Hood is a 19 year old from Frome, Somerset who is taking Youtube by storm with his UKF channels. After starting putting up his favourite dubstep tunes up on youtube and showcasing fresh new music he found his subscribers rocketed and he was soon over 1 million!

What started as a hobby has become a business. He is super passionate and since this was what he was passionate about in the first place it will help in growing it as a business.

He has started expanding into events and live online events as well so youngsters into dubstep and drum n bass who can’t get into these events can view it from online.

There is lots of scope to grow and he already has the subscribers, maybe in 2012 he can do what Jamal Edwards has done in 2011.

Jack Smith (Vungle)

Jack Smith is the founder of Vungle, a mobile app user acquisition platform focused exclusively on video ads. The company helps those with apps to show the apps full potential through video advertising rather than just text descriptions and user reviews. Using video to help acquire quality users.

Although just 22, Jack has a fair bit of experience having started his first company at the age of 15 and then while at uni, set up ideabox an undergraduate business ideas competition and was MD at Mediaroots.

He has now seen Vungle expand to the US with an office in San Fransisco and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jack get funding for Vungle this year.

Joshua March (Conversocial)

Joshua March is now onto his second business, Conversocial an integrated Social CRM and marketing software which helps companies with marketing and customer support via social media.

With social media becoming a mainstay in our day to day lives it is essential for all businesses to be active on social networks and be able to effectively monitor conversations around your business and industry.

Josh saw this and started Conversocial a couple years ago and has developed it too a position where they can expect to grow rapidly as more and more businesses start realising the potential of social media.

Josh previously founded the first preferred Facebook Development company in the UK with Dan Lester and has lots of experience in the social space from it’s early days.

Helen McAvoy and Naomi Kibble (Rocktails)

Helen & Naomi two Cardiff based young entrepreneurs tapped into the huge popularity of cocktails drunk by the population on nights out. Despite this there isn’t a competitive offering for easily making cocktails at home.

These two cocktail fans went about changing that spending over £20,000 developing frozen cocktails in a pouch. Great for consumption at home with friends, the two friends managed to secure a six months trial with Sainsburys which could lead to a wider deal.

Helen & Naomi have already secured a big deal early on in the companies life & are ahead of their forecasts, this should hold them in good stead as they look to expand in 2012.

Mansoor Hamayun, Christopher Baker-Brian & Laurent Van Houcke (BBOXX)

Christopher, Laurent & Mansoor started BBOXX a company which develops methods of distributing renewable energy to developing countries. The three young entrepreneurs have spun off the company from e.quinox, a charity at Imperial College London.

With power consumption growing in developing countries, solutions to cope with the increased demand for energy will be more in demand than ever and these two entrepreneurs are making sure they are in a position to supply a suitable solution in the way of portable solar products.

They will look to rapidly expand on their partnerships in developing countries over the next year.

Emma Sinclair (Target Parking)

Emma Sinclair is a passionate young entrepreneur. She had the high powered, high paid city job but she left it to start Target Parking. After investing in a small car parking firm she set up Target parking which offers services for car parks across Britain. Including cash handling, security & facilities management.

The 29 year old is the youngest person to float a company on the Alternative Investment Market and her business acumen has seen her tie up some big deals which helped the company see revenues of just over £1million and she fully expects that to grow further in 2012.

She is excited to see what the future holds and determined to make the company the best in it’s industry and her background suggests she has what it takes.

Russell Whitter (Rate Your Player)

Russell Whitter (right) is the founder of Rate Your Player (RYP) an online social football network. Having started it after seeing his favorite football forum close it’s doors he has developed the website into a fully fledged social network based around football.

Russell is the brother of footballer Wayne Routeledge (left) and has therefore been able to call on him and his footballer friends to help endorse the site and increase it’s popularity. He was able to call on his friends to help him build the site and keep costs down and hopes to see the site increase in popularity as social networks do. Since this is targeted specifically to football which has more fans than any other sport in the UK he has a large market to tap into.

Russell hopes to expand the network into other sports as well and looks to grow the number of users quickly in 2012 as the social aspect snowballs with more and more users helping it grow further.

Rashid Kasirye – (Link Up TV)

Rashid Kasirye started Link Up TV, an online music and talent platform, straight out of college and has seen it grow from humble beginnings to a strong online community, which sees their YouTube page hitting over a million monthly views and thousands of fans on Facebook and Twitter.

Rashid has already seen the company make music videos for artists on some of the top UK music channels and his popularity is sure to keep growing in the industry. As we journey through 2012 and Link Up TV step up their video production capacity I’m sure you will see even more music videos in the charts made by Rashid and his team.

–

Who have I missed? Who are your young entrepreneurs to watch in 2012?

Let us know in the comments we would love to hear from you!

Follow @rishi_chowdhury

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In my latest NEF interview series, I speak to Videesha Kunkulagunta.

Videesha is a graduate from the Warwick business school and currently works as a Project Researcher in the network innovation team at TalkTalk PLC. She is also working on a consumer tech start-up called TravelClouds which she hopes to launch later this year.

This is the interview.

Hi Videesha, Its great to finally have you on YHP, how are you doing today?

Hi Joseph, I’m great, thanks!

Recently back from Iceland so getting used to having more than a couple of hours of daylight!

Before we move on, could you quickly give us some background information about yourself so that the YHP audience can get to know you better?

Well, I’m a twenty something ex – wealth management professional who last summer decided to take the plunge and leave my role at Barclays Wealth to pursue a life of entrepreneurship.

The last six months have been a bit of a whirlwind, however, I’m now working on a consumer tech start-up called TravelClouds (www.travelclouds.net) alongside my co-founder, Katherine Ferdinand which should be launching later this year.

Concurrently, I’m on a year placement as a Project Researcher in the network innovation team at TalkTalk PLC and am gaining much appreciated support from the New Entrepreneurs Foundation. Both are helping me make the transition from Finance to Tech Start-Up.

So you attended the Warwick business school? What was the experience like, a lot more people are deciding to go into entrepreneurship straight after school rather going to university, what made you realise that this was the right choice for you?

Growing up as the first child of two South Indian immigrants, I saw the hard work and dedication my parents applied in order to give me the opportunity to go to university. My dad has a PHD and strongly believes in the value of a formal education so, as a young person without a clear idea of what I wanted to do, it was the natural choice for me.

Once there, Warwick really helped to focus my energy. I have always had an inquisitive mind and had been interested in how businesses were set up and grown, therefore I learnt a lot from both the Management course I studied and the inspirational people around me.

My time at university also enhanced my passion for travel. I like keeping myself busy so volunteered to join the organising committee for One World Week (www.oneworldweek.net), an annual festival on campus that celebrates international diversity. I’ve always been intrigued by differences in cultures and the experience further fueled my interest for wanting to understand and experience each country and culture for myself – little did I know that this had sown the seeds for my step into entrepreneurship!

You had an idea for a food tour business whilst at university and despite attracting interest from an angel investor, you decided to work for a corporate. What is the whole story behind that?

I had an idea to link local London university students with tourists and provide themed gastronomic walking tours around London. The problem was, not only was I trying to take too much on board, but I also didn’t have the self – belief or courage to fully put aside the offer of a graduate role with a secure salary and a pretty encouraging sign on bonus. The irony was that a stint at Lehman Brothers was my first graduate job.

The experience over the last few years taught me a lot. So this time around I have had the time to assess my motivations and set the foundations for my business. Working for corporates opened my eyes to the practicality of business and it has taken me 12 months to research and develop my idea, identify my weaknesses and find a suitable business partner before I was ready to whole-heartily dedicate myself to the cause.

Tell us about the New Entrepreneurs Foundation (NEF), why did you decide this was the next step for you, what was the process?

After working at Lehman Brothers and then Barclays Wealth I realised I was unhappy with the direction my life was taking. I lived a life that many aspired to. Despite spending time working in Singapore, living in a desirable part of London, being able to travel whenever and to wherever I wanted and never worrying about my finances (it doesn’t sound bad, right?!) I just never quite felt satisfied. This time I felt ready to take that leap, knowing that there were other options out there for me.

Experience had taught me that I needed mentorship and a support system that would champion my vision and guide me through the transition from wealth management to entrepreneur and NEF answered this need.

The New Entrepreneurs Foundation not only gives me the facilities, network and opportunity to develop my business, but they also believe that each of us will be one of the next generation of top entrepreneurs in the UK and that level of support is invaluable.

So you said you were working for TalkTalk PLC and what have you learnt from the experience so far?

Working for a consumer brand was a drastic change from the world I had just left but the support from the management team has been incredible.

I had initially gone into this position with a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve by the end of the year, but learnt quickly that I needed to adjust my approach and work hard to gain trust and respect in a sector I knew relatively little about. Business is business after-all, it’s best not to let negative emotions and ego get involved.

Something that Dido Harding, CEO of TalkTalk highlighted to me is that you will start any role unconsciously incompetent, progress to conscious incompetence, develop conscious competence then only excel during unconscious competence. This is something I now try to apply to my journey with TravelClouds.

Is NEF something that you would recommend to other aspiring entrepreneurs? What’s the value in it?

Definitely. The application process was fairly intensive, however the connections, mentorship and support from both the Foundation and my peers has been priceless.

Tell us a bit about TravelClouds and how the idea came about?

Well, I’ve always been an avid traveller and realised early on that, if I wanted to start my own business, I needed to work on something I was passionate about. After a lot of research I realised that there was a gap in the market for a service that truly allowed people to discover and share unique travel experiences and wanted to fill it.

Setting up TravelClouds has been an incredible experience so far. We’re still early on but it’s exciting to see something that was just an idea on a piece of paper turn into something tangible.

We are now starting to document our journey, so you can keep up to date on Twitter @travelclouds, or contact us via www.travelclouds.net.

What was the main challenge you faced when starting the company and how did you deal with it?

The most difficult part was choosing the right co-founder. It took me a long time to really figure out what my strengths and weaknesses were and to try and spot my weaknesses as strengths in someone else.

Also, it was important to find someone equally as enthusiastic and dedicated to the cause – surprisingly not everyone is willing to answer emails at 3am!

However, I’ve now found a phenomenal business partner, Katherine Ferdinand who not only has a complementary skill set but also ample experience in product development and marketing so I am looking forward to what 2012 will bring.

What would you say has been some of the key things that you’ve learnt along the way?

One of my favourite quotes is “Whilst the optimist, pessimist and realist were debating how full the glass of water was the opportunist drank it”.

So what I’ve learnt is that there comes a point where you need to put the frameworks, strategies and doubts aside and commit to an idea, vision and a team. The only way you’ll find out if your idea is worth it is by putting yourself out there and not being scared of the consequences.

Any type of failure just makes you stronger.

What would you say has been one of your most memorable moments so far?

I remember seeing the first draft of the TravelClouds logo and thinking “Ok…now this is real”, but I’ve had so many incredible opportunities and moments in this journey.

Meeting Charles Dunstone and having monthly meetings with him definitely ranks fairly highly.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own business?

I’ll tell you when we’ve survived our first year.

What can we be expecting from you in the near future?

This coming year a lot more noise around TravelClouds. The programme with NEF finishes in September 2012. Daring to dream, Katherine and I would love to have secured financing by then and be in a position where not only are we self sufficient with TravelClouds but also paving the way to be able to create jobs for other people.

I’m also looking forward to more Travel with trips to Finland, Estonia and Germany already in the diary, more challenges and more fun along the way.

Jake went from working in an online record label (MudHut Digital) twice a week in his first year of university to staring up Going Social. He currently works with Alex Kelleher at Cognitive Match as part of the NEF program.

Jake talks us through his journey so far in the latest interview from the NEF interview series.

Hi Jake, Great to have you on YHP, How are you doing today?

Good thanks. Love this winter sun.

Can you give us some brief background information about yourself before we dive into the interview proper?

Grew up in London, and then I studied ‘The History and Philosophy of Science’ at UCL. It was a great marriage between Science and Philosophy, thought I was going to end up an academic. However, I started a business while I was there, and that propelled me in a different direction.

So Jake, tell me about yourself growing up? What was your ambition? Were you the entrepreneurial – making a quick buck type?

Yes and no really. Wasn’t driven hugely by entrepreneurial stuff, in fact I used to always talk about living in a cave in Tibet (which is not off the agenda just yet). However, there were flashes of it when I was at school, coached Poker and ran Poker Tournaments for clients and had a few cheeky businesses on the go here and there. I’ve always been a hopeless optimist, I think that helps.

When did you get your first taste of entrepreneurship, what was your first business project?

When I was about 6, I convinced my little sister that it would be a good idea to set up a stall outside our house. The enterprise was not a success. Turns out people don’t like buying chalk wrapped up in sweet wrappers. I tried to push the business on and sell “fresh” rainwater, I was front of house while my sister was left catching droplets into old Orangina bottles.

You graduated from UCL, tell us about your experience at the university?

I grew up in South London, so by going to UCL I was able to experience what it is like living in central, north and east. That was cool. The course was great, got heavily into philosophy of physics went a bit crazy while doing a dissertation on ‘backwards in time causation in quantum mechanics.’

What would you say was some of the biggest lessons you took away from your university experience?

For some unknown anthropological reason, if you join sports team in university, be prepared for a bizarre cult-like obsession with drinking games.

I know a lot of people are choosing to go straight into work or starting their own business instead. What would you say to anyone contemplating between going to university and going straight into work?

You’ll never get 0% interest loans again, if you can get on a course you will enjoy go for it. Don’t force yourself through a course you don’t enjoy because you think it will help you later.

During your time at university, you also founded a startup – Going Social, tell us how the idea came about?

From enternships.com I took a job twice a week at an online record label (MudHut Digital) in my first year of university. Their business model promoted artists using social media and take a cut off iTunes. I thought I could do this for SME’s on some scale; I did some consultancy, made some contacts and then got a great team together.

What is Going Social?

My elevator pitch was – “Creativity combined with analytics.” It was a digital agency, that offered a range of services for cheaper than all the big names. We picked up the guys who didn’t have the big marketing budgets but desperately needed to communicate effectively online. It worked.

Tell us about the early days of turning it from an idea to what it is now, what challenges did you face?

Going Social actually is no more. I was intending to hire a load of people and take it to the next level but then I got into NEF, which is ironic but I thought it would be a good idea to learn more. Also, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a social media agency. I saw that space was crowded and more and more tools were becoming available to brands to keep stuff in-house.

How were you able to balance school and running a business?

Quite a few essays were late in my second year. I got a 2:1 but you have to take some hits. I was getting very good at writing 3,000 words in two days.

How were you able to fund it?

It was a fairly cheap operation, some of the team put some money in but the first client saw us through.

So how did you get involved in NEF? How did you find out about it? How did you know this was the next step for you?

I read it in the paper, and a few people sent through the link to me. I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn some more about different industries and how people run things.

What has it been like working with the founder – Alex Kelleher at Cognitive Match?

I knew Alex from my Going Social days. Now I know how busy he is, I appreciate those times where he met me to talk through my own business. It is good to work with him definitely, he’s a smart guy.

What are you personally trying to achieve from working at the company?

I don’t really have a personal agenda, I think it is important to go with the flow, stay flexible.
Learn as much as I can and add as much value as I can. You will have to ask Alex about the latter but I have learnt a lot.

What would you say has been some of the key things that you’ve learnt so far?

Display advertising is an industry I did not have much exposure to before. Cognitive Match are revolutionising this sector since they change the online experience for both brands and consumers by eliminating generic ads and creating content that is tailored to individuals. On top of that, the results you get from a relevant display campaign are very useful since the insights can inform all your advertising efforts. Knowing that one particular ad is attracting the most interest with people in NW1.. using iPads.. when it is warm outside.. on Saturday afternoon.. is the kind of information advertisers crave.

What would you say has been the most challenging part of the whole process?

Turning off after you leave work. It is very important. You can find yourself bashing out emails at 11pm but it can be counter-productive.

To anyone thinking of joining the programme, what value can they expect to get from it?

Everyone who is on the programme this year is great, which makes the training even more enjoyable. The content of the programme ranges from financial training from Deloitte all the way to how to think properly! For example, one time we got in and we had to make, market and pitch our own new brand of chocolate to a deadline.. another time we had the Mclarren Innovation Team come in and explain how they operate and maximize results. It is a great range of activities.

What has been your most memorable moment up to date?

I was on a sales pitch in New York which was pretty cool. I remember thinking ‘wow my British accent makes me sound so clever!’ It obviously didn’t apart from in my smug head.

After NEF, what’s next for you?

I’ve got loads of plans, but I’m sure I’ll end up doing something I never planned for.

Despite leaving academia to go into full time employment at 16, Kevin’s life looks pretty good. He is one of the NEF candidates, currently working with Ranjit Boparan at 2 Sisters Food Group.

He talks us through his journey so far.

Hi Kevin, Great to have you on YHP, How are you doing today?

I am very well thank you

Can you give us some brief background information about yourself before we go into the interview properly?

Okay, I am 26 years old and I grew up in Surrey, I am currently living in Birmingham and working with Ranjit Boparan at 2 Sisters Food Group. I left school at the age of 16 and went straight to work in the building trade for about 3 years. I realized that I did not want to work in the building trade for the rest of my life so I then moved into car insurance sales for two years which was the beginning of my sales career.

I then went onto work in the health care recruitment industry for 3 ½ years building myself a successful career without having been to university and earning a pretty healthy salary. I was constantly trying to improve myself by learning how to build websites in my spare time and eventually left recruitment to pursue an online financial comparison business that I was building.

Since then I have launched a small telecommunications business but realized that for me to progress as an entrepreneur and build a long term successful business I needed some further education in business finance and an experienced mentor to give me some further guidance.

I like socializing with friends, going on holiday and enjoying the sun. I like trying new things as well as poker & football but my real passion is business. I just love making money, meeting new people and getting involved in new exciting projects.

So Kevin, tell me about your self growing up? What was your ambition? Were the entrepreneurial – making a quick buck type?

Growing up was interesting to say the least, I didn’t come from an extremely poor background but my family was not wealthy in any way. My teenage years were pretty rebellious and I guess I thought I knew best about everything along with consistently being in trouble in and out of school.

I’m not going to give the old sob story of my life as been so hard growing up and my first word was money but since the age of about 10 years old I have been money motivated and consistently trying to make money by constantly whipping up schemes, selling things and building small startups from my bedroom. I knew from a young age that I wanted to work for myself but knowing where to start was always difficult with very little business guidance.

Everyday I used to wake up and think how I would make money and what am I going to do about making it happen. For me everyday is a new opportunity to change your life to the way you want it. I was not interested at all in making a small amount of money and working in a job I did not love. It was just not for a me and not an option. I will do everything possible to try my hardest and have fun along the way and eventually get to where I want to be, ideally on my own private jet haha.

After school, what did you do?

After leaving school I skipped around the building industry in various different trades and quickly realized that this was no the career path that I aspired to take. I knew in the back of my mind all along that I wanted to work for myself but at the time there was no a big hype around the word entrepreneur. There was not much direction as to how to become an entrepreneur or how to learn some of the key skills I needed to pursue this career path. This was long before youtube, dragons den, The Apprentice and so on.

My best shot at getting to where I wanted to be with no further education was to get into sales and grow my sales skills. I needed to learn from those around me and take in as much information as possible from my employers and progress my skills. Fortunately my previous employers have been very supportive over the years and given me some great guidance and always tried to help me progress further.

The thing is no one teaches you at school or university how to lead a client meeting, selling to a customer over the phone, how to manage a team or even the basics of a professional attitude in a work environment. These are all the things I have learnt along the way to improve myself as my professional career progressed.

Why did you decide to choose the career path rather than going to the university?

I had considered university after leaving school but I guess very keen and felt confident to just get out into the real world and start earning money and gaining experience and of course ‘I knew best’. My understanding at the time was that many people go to university and study for years without actually using the degree that they have been studying and end up working in a completely different job which didn’t really make sense to me.

I was inspired by Richard Branson’s success, he proved you do not need a degree to build a successful business venture. I wanted to break the mold if you like and just get on with it, if there was something I needed to learn then I had the internet and if I needed experience I would get that experience on the job and work my way up the ladder from the bottom. I have no fear in believing in my own ability and I constantly strive to do better and eventually I will achieve want I want to achieve.

What would you say anyone contemplating between going to university or going straight into work?

I think that the days of going to university is changing rapidly due to the high tuition fees. Young people will be thinking twice about just going to sign up for university at the prices being charged. I think you have to be fully committed to the course or career path that you are choosing to part with such a large sum of money.

To me you should go to university if there is something that you really want to learn or a specific career path that you would like to take. If you just want to go to university because it is what your parents are suggesting or your friends are doing then you may need to reconsider because it is a lot of money to waste to get half way through your course and think I don’t like this anymore.

Making your career choice is actually simple in the end and you should always do something that you love. If you do not wake up inspired and motivated at the thought of the job you are about to go and do then you are probably in the wrong job and will be unhappy.

Over the past couple of years what would you say has been some of the key lessons you learnt from working in different companies and what value has it added to your life?

The previous employers that I have worked for in the past have taught me so much. Their encouragement and support have helped me develop my self confidence and the ability to grow my skills. Whilst working in recruitment, I really began to grow with a massive amount of guidance from the senior team leaders and my boss at the time.

Some of the key skills they gave me were how to conduct client meetings, cold calling, recruiting and retaining staff, managing my staff portfolio whilst giving me a good understanding of margins and looking after my own small business. One of the most difficult lessons was how to manage a large number of staff whilst trying to keep everyone happy as well as getting the job done. Recruitment gave me a solid work ethic of work hard, play hard and that you only get out what you put in.

Working as a recruitment consultant gave me my first real buzz for running a small successful business of my own. I learnt a huge amount in my 3 ½ years in terms of canvassing for new business, holding client meetings, selling over the phone, conducting interviews and generally managing my own desk. In running a temporary recruitment desk it gave me a good understanding of monitoring and growing my weekly numbers and margins.

So how did you get involve in NEF? How did you find out about it?

I randomly picked up the city am newspaper as I never read this paper in the mornings because it was usually the metro I read. I noticed the advert and didn’t actually believe what I was reading as I thought it was too good to be true. The NEF is the first course that I have come across that has come anywhere close to giving an up and coming entrepreneur a real opportunity to get the right combination of educational material and access to one of the top entrepreneurs in the country.

After various interviews, tests and assessment days I was fortunate enough to be selected for the final stage which was corporate acceptance. I was then invited for an interview with 2 Sisters Food Group and with some serious luck I was selected for the position and the rest is history.

Tell me about your experience working with Ranjit Singh Boparan at 2 Sisters Food Group so far?

Working with someone like Ranjit is a real eye opener; I have never met an entrepreneur quite like him because he is truly unique. Working with Ranjit is a real privilege and an experience I will never forget. One of the first things he said to me was ‘Cash is King’ which is pretty obvious but considering that I have started many small ventures with little or no capital meant that I was already dead in the water before I had even started those ventures.

Ranjit then went onto explain the importance of understanding my numbers, the importance of having visibility of your businesses numbers to have a sense of control of your business everyday. He has helped me understand the importance of generating cash and controlling working capital. I had never understood this philosophy before that conversation, yet it is one of the most important things to consider when running a business and something else they do not mention on dragons den!

I have learnt so much in such a short space of time because Ranjit has fully understood the NEF concept and what I need to get out of this experience. Ranjit has given me the opportunity to learn at board level in a £2.1 Billion business and learn how to manage and continue to grow a business of this size.

In terms of projects so far I have been involved with integrations, acquisitions, export, startup businesses, charity events, sponsorships, new technology, financial strategies and the list goes on. It has been such an incredible experience so far to meet so many new people and learn so much from such a great team.

What would you say has been some of the key things that you’ve learnt so far?

Some of the key things I have learnt so far is the importance of understanding your numbers as I never really paid much attention to this area because I was mainly focused on the idea and designing my product or service without even understanding how you should start by creating and validating a feasible business plan.

Cash is king in the business world along with your customers being the no1 priority. You have to keep your customers happy and you cannot just sit still, you need to constantly keep improving your service, innovating and giving more for less. You need to know your competition, know your customers and be the best at what you do.

What would you say has been the most challenging part of the whole process?

The most challenging part of the experience is the intense amount of information you need to take in along with all the different projects I am working on and trying to balance a healthy work life balance.

I was living in Surrey before I started this position but it required me to move to Birmingham so that was pretty difficult to leave friends and family behind for a year. It is a very unique opportunity to work at this level and gain insight to a business of this size and be constantly challenged with new projects and opportunities.

To anyone thinking of joining the programme, what value can they expect to get from it?

It will definitely be different form anything you have done before and for me it does depend on which company you are placed with and how much exposure you get with the CEO. You will definitely have an amazing learning experience that is for sure and it will give you a very good understanding of how to launch, manage and grow a business. Along the way you will also grow your business network and make some really good friends.

Tell us about a difficult time on your journey so far and how you’ve been able to overcome that?

To be honest I am constantly thrown into difficult situations and taken out of my comfort zone on a day to day basis. I just try my best and do everything that I can to find solutions to the problems I am faced with. For me the most difficult thing is being nervous when speaking in front of large groups and I haven’t quite overcome that yet but I will let you know when I do but for now I’m winging it.

What has been your most memorable moment up to date?

There are so many great moments so far such as meeting the Mclaren engineering team to traveling around the country and visiting Holland but I guess the most memorable moment so far has to be going to Richard Branson’s house for lunch. Attending the Fast track 100 awards and having the opportunity to network and meet so many great entrepreneurs in one room was a fantastic experience.

After NEF, what’s next for you?

Only time will tell really, the ideal situation would be to launch my own business at the end of this process as I am always thinking of new ideas, new technology, new websites and offline concepts. Hopefully over the next year I will have my light bulb moment and develop that idea into a viable business and get my private jet haha.

Not every just gets to have breakfast with Richard Branson, but those are the kind of people you suddenly become exposed to or become accessible when you become part of the NEF programme.

Today I continue with my interview series with Ravi Patel – who currently works at Virgin Active’s head office.

Hi Ravi, It’s great to have you on YHP, How are you doing today?

Hi Joseph, I’m doing well thanks. Refreshed after the Christmas and New Years break, ready for the challenges in 2012!

Can you give us some brief background information about yourself before we dive into the interview properly?

I left London after my final year of school to go to Warwick University, where I studied Finance and Accounting for 3 years. After an internship at a top European bank in the summer 2010, I left the banking industry feeling disillusioned at the gap between what was promised and what was actually delivered. In my final year at university, I set up a company called Eagle Entertainment along with two other friends. It was a student events management company and we hosted student club nights, charity and society events and in our final ever week of University, we hosted an outdoor concert. This experience really sparked my interest in running my own business after university.

What would you list as some of the key things that you took from your university experience?

I can say the best thing I have taken from University is a network of friends who are also the best support network I have. As group of 10 or so close friends, we have had a lot of fun experiences, whether at university or when travelling together. Since university however, when it has come to becoming more independent and thinking about our careers, we are all similar. We are driven and ambitious and appreciate the hard work and effort we need to exert in order to be successful. I think it just shows that whilst at university, you may start of with a wide social network but after 3 years you will naturally narrow this down to a select group of like-minded individuals.

So how did you get involve in NEF? How did you find out about it?

After my banking internship in the second year of university, I looked at the career options available to me and wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do. Being part of the Warwick Business School, it was easy to get drawn in to looking at jobs in the accounting, banking and consulting industries. However, I came across the NEF scheme via an email from a recruitment company and it sparked an interest in me straight away. I had never actually looked at running my own business as a career option- purely because I believed that with my degree I had to look at banking and accounting jobs. When I saw this opportunity however, I thought it was a perfect chance to test the SME/ entrepreneurial waters.

You currently placed at Virgin Active, how has the experience been so far? What role do you play in the company?

I am working at Virgin Active head office but I haven’t been set a defined role as such! If I had to describe my role I would say “strategy” but essentially I research and look at new markets, new competition and current and future challenges the company is facing and provide ideas and strategy opinion, based on my own opinion and research. I would say my role definitely allows for intrapreneurship within Virgin Active and as such, I love being able to organize my own projects and make my strategic proposals be as innovative as possible.

What has been some of the most valuable things that you’ve learnt so far?

Virgin’s company culture is pioneering; treating your staff well means that they are motivated to provide excellent customer service, which in turn keeps the shareholders happy. The role has definitely taught me that some companies thrive when employees are treated well and empowered to come up with their own ideas. I have also been lucky enough to sit through the post-acquisition phase of a takeover that Virgin Active has completed of another gym operator, Esporta. Staff are naturally worried about job security and some are averse to structural changes through times like this. It has highlighted the need for clear communication to all staff members and the importance of an efficient HR function in delivering this.

What value would you say being part of the NEF programme gives you?

For me, the best thing about the NEF is the networking reach of the scheme. The backing that the NEF has from entrepreneurs, VCs, SMEs and large corporations means that it has the NEF brand has provided me access to a large network of experienced and aspiring entrepreneurs.

To anyone thinking of joining the programme, what value can they expect to get from it?

The New Entrepreneurs Foundation gives you the chance to learn how small organisations are created and grow organically. Being able to work with senior management, rather than just for them is a unique selling point of the scheme. Be prepared to work hard and pushed to challenge the norm within your firm. You should be able to provide innovative and fresh new modes of thinking but make sure you have fun too!

What has been your most memorable moment up to date?

Breakfast with Richard Branson! I emailed his PA and was lucky enough to meet him for an hour so. We spoke about his new book, his plans for Virgin Money and we also spoke about my entrepreneurial aspirations. An amazing moment!

What can we be expecting from you in the future, especially after the NEF programme?

I am working on 3 different businesses (within fashion, recruitment and education) and I hope to have at least one of them set up by the end of the scheme. I agree with Luke Johnson when he sys that “freelancers have a unique advantage in launching a startup- they can maintain a steady income flow whilst building their startup in the evenings and at weekends.” The NEF opportunity and working for Virgin Active has given the opportunity for me to do this so I am making the most of my time whilst I can!

Finishing off our interview, I asked – What advices would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own business? He said:

The theory of evolution claims that only the strong will survive, may be so. However the theory of competition states that even the strong can get their arse‘s kicked!

Continuing with my interview series with the NEF participants, today I interview Louis Mech. Louis is currently working at Talk Talk PLC and today talks us through his journey so far.

This is the Interview.

Hi Louis, Its great to finally have you on YHP, how are you doing today?

I am good thanks; excited to get things moving after the Christmas and New Year break.

Before we move on, could you quickly give us some background information about yourself so that the YHP audience can get to know you better?

Sure, I am a 22 year old recent graduate from Royal Holloway (University of London). When I was 12 my families moved to America; so for the last decade I have been flip flopping between the UK and the US. I consider myself very lucky to have grown up on both sides of the pond. Also I am a sports nut! I enjoy all sports however I particularly love going to watch Rugby on Saturdays and then playing Tennis in the summer.

So Louis, tell me how you got into entrepreneurship, what was your motivation?

I am very dyslexic and entrepreneurship always came more naturally to me than English, French or Physics etc. I think at school I really enjoyed the human element that business studies had over other subjects. Business Studies/ entrepreneurship at school motivated me because I was so rubbish at other subjects! I was the worst in the class at the traditional subjects (religious studies use to bore me to tears) then suddenly I was the best in the class at business studies, a lot of people say improve on your weakness; however I prefer to build upon my strengths.

What was your first business, tell us about your experience running that?

Well I went to boarding school when I was 13 and I was always flying backwards and forward from the UK to the US and vice versa. As a result I use to buy stuff in the US and then sell it at school. Typically the UK is about 6 to 9 months behind the US on trends so I would see what my US friends were wearing or using e.g Ugg’s, Abercrombie clothes and iPods; I would then go and buy some, then sell that stash at school for tuck money, If I bought it forr $100 I would sell it for £100, that’s not bad money when your 14!

After that business, what else did you get involved in?

I got involved with Young Enterprise (a national student enterprise competition) at school and was given the lofty title of ‘Director of Sales’. One of the big YE regional competitions was the Somerset Christmas fair. The intention was that each team would make their own products to sell at the fair however I searched and found a local craft store that was going out of business so I bought their Christmas stock. Needless to say our stall had loaded full of really nice handmade Christmas gifts compared to the other stuff the others were selling. My team had the highest sales but however we lost the competition because we ‘did not compete in the spirit of the YE’ I remember thinking this competition just does not get what enterprise is all about.

So you attended Royal Holloway University? what was the experience like, a lot more people are deciding to go into entrepreneurship straight after school rather going to university, what made you realise that this was the right choice for you?

Well I think entrepreneurship is all about calculated risks; the way I saw it was if I got a University degree that would provide me with a safety net should I ever need to get a “real job” in the city. University is great for serendipity you never know who you will meet or listen to. These random meetings plant the seeds of idea and who knows those ideas might just become successful business. University is a great place to start a business because the down side is so minimal. When suppliers would ask me for personal guarantees I would always say of course. This was because I knew that I owned nothing – what’s the worst they could do, take my dorm room off me! Also University is a lot fun, you can’t beat a boozy nights at the SU dress as a Smurf!

You also studied abroad at University of Georgia, how was that experience, why did you decide to do that?

One of the best experiences of my life! UGA was vote the number one party school in all of the US, so that was a big influence on why I decided to go there.

What would you say were some of the key things that you learnt from that experience?

If you’re determined enough you can make anything happen. I think there is a great quote that summarises this school of thought from Tom Hanks in the movie Apollo 13 “it’s not a miracle that man walked on the moon, we just decided to go”.

Is this something you would recommend to other students at the university?

Yes 110%, everyone needs to get outside their comfort zone.

Tell me about how VEO started, how did the idea come about?

Well when I was studying in the US I heard of a company call TOM’s shoes and how they were championing the one for one business model. one for one means every time someone purchases a product a similar product is donated to people in need. I though wow that is really cool! TOM’s were successfully proving that you can utilize the purchasing power of consumers to deliver social change! Then I though how could I make a dent in the Universes through social enterprise.

What is VEO? Tell me more about it?

VEO was a social enterprise sunglasses brand. Every time someone purchases a set of VEO sunglasses, VEO donates a pair of Adjustable Eyewear to a person in need. As I am sure few people will know what Adjustable Eyewear, let me just take a moment to explain the incredible/bazaar/very fun invention. Adjustable Eyewear were created by Professor Josh Silver as a way of distributing prescription eyewear to people in some of the most remote parts of the world, where optometrists do not exist. These somewhat Harry Potter-ish glasses have syringes on the side, and with a few simple twists the recipient then has working prescription eyewear. Once they have found their prescription the person then simply cuts off the syringes and they have normal working prescription glasses.

What kind of challenges did you face when starting the company and how did you deal with it?

We had loads of challenges such as cashflow, balancing uni workloads, writing business plans etc…you just find a way to get it done because you believe in what you are doing.

Talking about balancing your university work with business? How were you able to balance your time on both of them?

I guess I was lucky because I studies Business Management at University; so a lot of my work for say accounting or marketing I used VEO as the case study. I thought of it as killing two birds with one stone.

What would you say was some of the key things you learnt from that experience?

Businesses consist of three parts those are 50% people, 25% idea and 25% business plan if you don’t get the balance right you’re in trouble.

Tell us about NEF, why did you decide this was the next step for you, what was the process?

It sounded like a cool program, so I thought what the heck. It was one written application a few 100 words on your favourite entrepreneur. Then two phone interviews. After that there was an assessment day. In groups of 5-6 you had an hour to come up with a business and then pitch it sort of like dragons den. Then if you get through the assessment day you are interviewed by successful entrepreneurs (these are potentially the guys that you will shadow) to see if there is a personality match. It’s along process however it’s worth it in the end.

What company are you currently working with and how’s the experience been so far for you?

I am currently working for Talk Talk PLC(TALK) the UK’s third largest Telco provider with 5Million customers and £1.7 Billion in Revenue in 2010. It has been like drinking from a fire hose! There has just been so much to take in.

What are some of the key things that you’ve learnt so far from working at Talk Talk?

Look for disruption points that are occurring around you (The PESTLE framework is useful for this) and then consider how to take advantage of them.

If you can’t add value you can’t add margin!

Working capital is a very important thing to get your head around.

Why did you choose Talk Talk?

Maybe a better question is why TT chose me… only Lord knows why they took a punt on me! Haha! I got a great vibe from the CEO Dido Harding and the Founder Neil McArthur. I also like that TT is a challenger brand that it’s never scared to stick two fingers up to established players.

Is this something that you would recommend to other aspiring entrepreneurs? What’s the value in it?

NEF? Yes NEF is a great way to learn from the best! Also everyone on the program are ballers. NEF is loads of fun it’s sort of like a cool entrepreneurial fraternity.

What would you say has been some of your most memorable moment so far?

Meeting Richard Branson was really cool or when we had an innovation work shop from McLaren F1. I never met an organization (McLaren F1) with such a clear focus “we are here to win” plain and simple. I LOVED IT!

What advices would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own business?

Here’s the thing that makes life so interesting, the theory of evolution claims that only the strong will survive, may be so. However the theory of competition states that even the strong can get their arse ‘s kicked! All successful entrepreneurs will tell you that the odds are stacked against you however they will also tell you that entrepreneurship is not a maths test! Entrepreneur is a different type of test where passion has a funny way of trumping logic. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Mark Twain

What can we be expecting from you in the future?

I will hopefully have some fun and make some money.