Social media may have left us more digitally connected than ever before, but it doesn’t allow for chance meetings and meaningful connections in real time. Until now.

Causr is a new app that manufactures serendipity. It enables people to start a conversation with someone around them, creating a connection that would otherwise have been missed. Indeed, Causr itself was born out of a chance meeting on the tube – a meeting which spurred co-founder of Student Beans, James Eder, to take on his next entrepreneurial challenge.

Keep reading to discover more about the serial entrepreneur and learn why Causr may be your key to connecting with those people around you that you’ve not met – yet.

In the spotlight:

Name: James Eder

Age: 33

Location: London

Degree/University: Business, University of Birmingham

Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an entrepreneur. Have you always been interested in enterprise?

The idea of running a business and being an entrepreneur has always appealed to me. At the age of 13, I started my first enterprise – taking black and white photos of dogs and selling them to their owners – with my brother. M&J Photos was, however, a short-lived venture, as I took photos one week of dogs in the snow, tried to develop the film myself, and it all went wrong, so we stopped after selling only a few photos.

At 17, I created a website with a few friends at school as part of Young Enterprise – a fantastic programme which provided some amazing practical business experiences whilst I was studying for my A-levels. I did design, geography and economics, which set me up to attend the University of Birmingham to study business from 2002-2005.

I got involved in a lot of things at university, from the ski club to AIESEC, and went on work placements to the Philippines and Colombia. I was a brand manager for Yellow Pages and delivered thousands of pounds worth of sponsorship for my halls’ summer ball. All of these experiences combined led to me wanting to start a business when I graduated.

At just 22, I founded Student Beans to help students save money, and to help businesses engage with students. I worked on the business for 11 years, but have recently left the day-to-day running of the company with my brother and co-founder, Michael.

Where did the idea for Causr come from, and how did you progress it from concept to reality? Did you do any market testing?

Not long ago I was on the Underground when someone came and sat in the seat next to me. They were clutching their CV, so I asked them where they’d been and what they were looking for. A few weeks later, we were sat together again, this time in the office of my old company.

Sometime later, I needed to speak to a specific person from a specific business. I left the office, was standing on the platform at Golders Green, and happened to meet the exact person I needed to meet. I’d simply asked them if our train was coming soon, and it went from there.

These chance encounters made a real impact on my working life and it got me thinking about the other opportunities I must have missed over the years. That’s why I wanted to create Causr. The idea of manufacturing serendipity, though a challenge, was incredibly appealing. I wanted to enable people to create connections that would otherwise be missed. It’s clear to me that these all-important conversations often don’t happen because people lack confidence, or don’t feel like they have permission to start talking to someone they’ve never met before.

Causr sees past that. It’s an enabler – technology that empowers previously unrelated people to connect in real time, face-to-face. It gives people the confidence to start a conversation that may lead to a meaningful opportunity, or simply pass the time and have a chat that might brighten their day.

Our vision is to create millions of meaningful connections for people, all around the world, every day.

How did you initially finance Causr?

I registered the company in December 2015, and the first few months were all about building the product. I created an initial web app that got 1000 users and then approached a number of Angels. I closed a round of funding earlier this year to be able to build the iOS version. It’s important not to let lack of money get in your way, but it’s hard and you have to be resourceful; many businesses that get funding over-spend on the wrong things and are nowhere to be seen today.

Causr helps users connect with like-minded people around them, but how do you connect with your audience?

With Causr, the most important thing is our users and the stories behind how they connect with each other. Whilst we’re at the beginning of growing our own community – that might be on other social platforms – we’re keen to shine a light on our successes and the connections we’ve helped create. Feel free to get in touch via email (hello@causr.co) or Twitter if you have a story to share.

What does a typical day look like in the world of James Eder?

No two days are the same. From fundraising to recruitment, a breakfast networking event to speaking at a conference, no job is too small or opportunity too big to explore. That’s why I love being an entrepreneur: the highs are high and the lows can be very low, but knowing each day that people are connecting and meeting as a result of Causr keeps me going.

What advice do you have for aspiring student entrepreneurs?

They say that if you want something done, give it to a busy person. People talk about work/life balance and, whilst it is important to have balance in your life, my approach is to ask: are you enjoying yourself or not? Focus on the things that you love and it won’t feel like work. Being an entrepreneur isn’t a ‘get rich quick’ scheme or the easy route. There are lots of ups and downs but it can be very rewarding. There’s a great book called Getting Things Done by David Allen – I wish I’d known about that when I was a student as it has transformed the way I work!

What has been your biggest challenge to date?

Being a startup is hard, but the biggest challenge has to be finding a world-class team to help make your vision a reality. I’m so thankful and grateful for all the amazing people who have helped and worked with me over the years.

And your proudest moment so far?

I was named ‘Alumni of the Year’ by the University of Birmingham in 2015, ten years after graduating. It was an amazing honour. With my family in the room I gave a speech, which was not only a great experience in itself, but also a great opportunity to reflect on the last ten years and what the team has achieved.

Causr blends the social environment of Facebook with the professional premise of LinkedIn to create a springboard for real-life conversations. Do you think this hails a new era for social media?

Yes! Whilst we’re more digitally connected than ever, Causr is all about enabling face-to-face connections and opportunities that otherwise would be missed. Where Facebook is about connecting with friends, and LinkedIn connecting with professional contacts you know, Causr is about unlocking the rest of the world – connecting those people around you that you’ve not yet met. There are more people within a square mile of you right now that you don’t know than you do know, and we’re here to help do something about that.

Where do you hope to see Causr in five years’ time?

In five years’ time the aim is for Causr to be used actively around the world, connecting communities, alumni groups, and employees. You’ll be able to land in any major city, log on to Causr, see who’s nearby, and connect and collaborate.

Who inspires you?

Elon Musk is an amazing entrepreneur with a vision that is changing the world. Steve Jobs and Anita Roddick, although no longer alive, both played a part in my journey, having seen them speak. Anyone who is willing to stand for something, commit to it, and then deliver on taking an idea and making it a reality is someone I massively respect. Creating something new isn’t easy.

There’s an age-old debate about whether entrepreneurs are born or made. Do you think your degree/education has contributed to your success?

I don’t think you can underestimate the environment that you are raised in. I feel hugely grateful to have gone to a great school and university, however I don’t believe it’s about the piece of paper you attain or the grades you get. If you aren’t academic don’t let that stop you. It’s about the experiences you have, who you are as a person, and the people you surround yourself with. Don’t underestimate values and drive in what you need to be able to achieve.

And finally, if you were an animal, what would you be?

According to this site, and my own preferences, I’m a penguin. What does that say about me? Well, as a penguin I take life in its stride, not letting the big issues of the world stand in my way. I like spending time with large groups of friends and am considered a bit of a socialite, jumping back and forth between different groups of friends. However, I still have time for my family and remain close to them.

Causr is a location-based app helping professionals network on the go. Available from the App Store, log on to see who’s near you now and start networking today.

After a woman failed to attract the attention of passers-by during an attack in the apartment block where she lived, Rebecca decided to take matters into her own hands. Enter the Personal Guardian, a small electronic device that connects to your mobile phone, alerts the police, and sends them your exact location. In short, an attack alarm with bells and whistles that ensures anyone in trouble can get help, and fast.

Read on to discover how Rebecca turned her idea into a reality whilst still a student, raised over £100k investment (and counting), and how she hopes her lifesaving invention might transform her into a unicorn…

In the spotlight:

Name: Rebecca Pick

Age: 23

Location: Glasgow

Degree: Marketing & Enterprise at the University of Strathclyde

Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an entrepreneur. Have you always been interested in enterprise?

I never thought I would run my own business! I decided to take Business Management as a subject at high school because I thought it would help in whatever job I went on to do, and it quickly became my favourite; I found it so interesting how all the different parts of a business have to work together for it to be successful, and I liked the fact that there was no one right way to do it.

I went on to do a business degree at the University of Strathclyde and I joined in different enterprise related activities. There I became aware of all the help and support that was available for students setting up a business, had an idea… and it grew from there!

Where did the idea for Pick Protection come from?

I set up Pick Protection in order to launch the Personal Guardian – a wearable monitored personal attack alarm – after a horrible incident took place in my apartment complex. A neighbour was attacked and sadly nobody came to the rescue. It made me think that we should all carry a device that will provide a guaranteed response, and that idea was developed into the Personal Guardian.

How did you go about turning the idea for an attack alarm into an actual product?

First of all, I did a lot of market research. I couldn’t believe a product like this didn’t already exist! I looked at all the other products on the market and found there were no monitored alarms that could provide a police response. I then did the research to see if my idea was feasible, and if it was technically and practically possible.

After I ticked those two boxes, I conducted a study on my target market, asking questions such as did they already carry a personal attack alarm – and if not, why not? Should a personal alarm be wearable, discreet etc.? I then had a solid base to start progressing the idea. I entered into early stage business competitions and won prize money that helped me to pay product designers to start actually developing the hardware. Based on the initial designs from the designers and the market research I conducted, I managed to raise £60k of angel investment from a syndicate based in the University of Strathclyde. Once I had that funding, I could afford to pay companies to take the development further.

Last year, the number of recorded rapes in the UK increased by 31% to 24,043 – a chilling statistic. There is therefore a very obvious audience for your product, but how did you market test it?

You’re right, there is an obvious audience for the product, but we actually have two target markets: B2C (Business to Consumer), and also B2B (Business to Business). Companies have a duty of care to their lone workers, and legislation around lone working is becoming increasingly stringent, so we can sell in larger volumes to companies who can then protect their employees with a Personal Guardian too.

How did you initially finance Pick Protection?

I initially financed Pick Protection with competition prize money. I won the Scottish Institute for Enterprise’s Young Innovators Challenge in 2014 and that gave me £2,500 to begin with. I also came second in the Converge Challenge Kickstart competition and won £1,500, so I raised enough money to pay designers to create tangible designs and images I could then use to show people what I wanted to develop. This helped me to raise private investment (£60k) to further develop the Personal Guardian.

Pick Protection is more than a business: it’s a potential life saver. How do you spread word about the product to your target audience?

We will be launching the Personal Guardian later this year, but we have already had a lot of media coverage, including Sky News, The Guardian, The Independent, and my favourites, Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines, and many more. When we do launch the Personal Guardian we hope to generate more media coverage and this will really help to spread the word. Going through universities will also help us reach a lot of people who may be interested in the Personal Guardian, and of course social media will be a huge part of our campaign as well.

Many students struggle to juggle their studies with their social life, but you did both and set up a business! What advice do you have for other aspiring student entrepreneurs?

I would say that everything takes a lot longer than you think it will – so start as soon as you possibly can! Especially at the beginning, when funding is tight, you may be relying on winning competitions or grant funding which can be very time consuming. I am so glad I started Pick Protection in my third year as, when it came to my final year, I didn’t worry about finding a graduate job because I knew Pick Protection was in a position where I could work on it full time and take a small wage from it.

What does a typical day look like in the world of Rebecca Pick?

Every day is totally different. From raising finance, to product development, to marketing and sales plans, there are so many different things that all need to be worked on to get a business off the ground. I think I have the most interesting and rewarding job in the world, but it is very hard work and requires constant learning!

And your proudest moment so far?

I think there are a number of moments I could choose, however I have to say that every time I look at the Personal Guardian I am hugely proud – it’s a product that wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t had an idea and created it. It looks good and it could potentially be a lifesaving invention. I am also proud that Pick Protection won Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Award for the Best Undergraduate Business in the UK. Finally, from a funding perspective, I have raised over £100k and will shortly be closing another round of investment, and that definitely puts a smile on my face!

Who inspires you?

There are many successful entrepreneurs who have created incredible businesses and they are all hugely inspiring. But personally, as a young female, I find Emma Watson and her fight for gender equality very inspirational.

From fashion to fitness to personal safety: wearable tech is a fast-growing industry. Where do you hope to see Pick Protection in five years’ time?

In five years’ time I see Pick Protection with a full product range, offering these goods all across Europe.

How has your degree/education contributed to your success?

I think my degree helped by putting me in an environment where I met all the right people. The University of Strathclyde offers a lot of support for start-up companies, and for me that has been invaluable.

And finally, if you were an animal, what would you be?

That’s a tough one! Start-up companies valued over $1 billion are called unicorns – so I would very much like to be a unicorn!

Pick Protection’s Personal Guardian, a revolutionary attack alarm launching in 2016, can be worn discreetly under clothes, such as on a bra strap, trouser belt loop, or clipped to a worker’s lanyard. The alarm not only has the potential to stop an attack but also gather evidence to assist in gaining a conviction.

However, his frustration at being unable to find suitable shoes for an event led him down a very different path – one that would result in him turning over a seven-figure sum, and seeing his shoes on Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne, before he’d even entered his twenties.

In a rare moment of peace in the midst of A/W planning, we caught up with the accidental shoe designer and director of Duke & Dexter to find out how he has taken a traditional product and reinvented it in order to create a hugely successful global brand. Best foot forward, Archie!

In the spotlight:

Name: Archie Hewlett

Age: 22

Location: London

Degree: Turned down a psychology degree at Durham University to pursue Duke & Dexter

Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an entrepreneur. Have you always been interested in enterprise?

I’ve always liked the idea of running my own company – alongside everyone else I’m sure! – but it was never something I had planned to do. I think anyone with a business mind will always want to explore possibilities, but Duke & Dexter was more something which developed into a business over time, rather than a light bulb moment that I threw myself into immediately.

Where did the idea for Duke & Dexter come from? How did you progress from idea to reality?

Just before I was due to start at Durham University, I attended a black tie event to which I wanted to wear a traditional yet contemporary loafer, without spending an unnecessarily large amount on such a shoe. Unable to find something suitable, I chose to have a bespoke pair made, and couldn’t believe the attention garnered!

I didn’t have a clear plan of what I wanted to do as a career and had been employed as a recruiter in my gap year. However, each time I wore my bespoke loafers, people asked where they could get a pair, and I soon recognised a gap in the market for a luxurious yet affordable smart shoe which could be versatile and styled to all occasions. I thus decided to launch Duke & Dexter, rather than taking up my place at university.

A huge decision, Archie! How did you know Duke & Dexter was going to be a success?

I didn’t. And I think anyone in any industry, especially retail, has to keep constantly evolving and bettering themselves to stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape. In the fashion world, you’re up against a pool of talented, ambitious people who all have as good a chance of making it as you. Long hours, dedication, and a solid product seems to be the winning formula.

How did you identify your audience and market test your products?

We actually did it the other way around. We only specialise in one thing because we know we do it well. As a result, we have built organic loyalty and support from a diverse crowd, rather than targeting one type of person. We design for those who are comfortable creating their own looks rather than obeying the latest seasonal fashion. The uniqueness of our shoe, alongside the comfort and commercial price, generates strong demand from a varied demographic, which is amazing to see. Therefore, by staying true to the brand’s values, our following seems to have snowballed – without having to surrender our ethos to become more commercial within the market place.

How did you initially finance Duke & Dexter?

I began with £5000, which was spent very cautiously and only when absolutely necessary. I’ve always been realistic with margins and am careful with spend. It seems small in relation to what we’re doing now, of course, but at the time it was extremely daunting. Luckily we’ve managed to grow ever since without needing to find financial support, thanks to global demand for each and every new style released.

Your shoes have a whole host of celebrity fans, including Eddie Redmayne, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Reynolds and Poppy Delevingne. How do you reach out to such influencers and, more generally, how do you make sure you stand out in an incredibly competitive marketplace?

In 2015, I had contacted Eddie Redmayne’s stylist and she requested a pair of black D&D’s for him to potentially wear at an upcoming major event. To enhance our chances of having the shoes selected, we had them made bespoke with Eddie’s initials embroidered in very small detailing across the heel. Eddie then wore them to the Oscars when accepting his award for the Theory of Everything, which was a huge milestone for the label. Not only was he on the world’s stage, but to be competing with major brands showcased on the same evening was a big turning point.

From there, word spread and we’ve built a strong reputation in good circles. Whether a celebrity or not, I think people just genuinely support what we’re doing and have a lot of respect for our originality – that’s key.

What has been your biggest challenge to date?

Right at the beginning, I had a lot of time and little money, and therefore had to spend a huge number of hours emailing and calling around to find suitable suppliers, both for distinct materials and the manufacturing itself. Furthermore, I had to appreciate that just because we were seeking quality, that was no guarantee we would get it exactly right from the start. It would be very unusual to get perfect products first time around and, if you do, there will always be room for improvement.

And your proudest moment so far?

When we started to manufacture our shoes in England earlier this year. We wanted to support British trade and craftsmanship, which is now a dying talent. The UK has lost a lot of trade to overseas manufacturers, placing further importance on what we’re doing and who we are as a company. There is a unique charm that comes from English style and we wanted to represent that through our product.

Where do you hope to see Duke & Dexter in five years’ time?

We are soon launching our children’s range in Harrods and Selfridges, shortly followed by re-introducing our women’s collection. We are also due to open a store in Covent Garden later this year. Having always used our online platform as our store front, the launch of a London location will give our clients the opportunity to have the physical experience of Duke & Dexter, on top of access to clients who simply do not shop online.

Looking at the next few years, we will continue to cement our global presence, expanding worldwide so consumers can buy at local suppliers.

What advice do you have for aspiring student entrepreneurs?

Be cautious with spend and take your time. It’s easier to make quick money, but persistence and dedication to building a strong foundation will always be more beneficial.

Designed in London and handcrafted in England, Duke & Dexter is a footwear label specialising in premium loafers for those who appreciate modern, functional, and spirited apparel. Since launching in 2014, Duke & Dexter has achieved international recognition, selling to over 100 countries worldwide and being stocked in some of the most reputable retail stores including Liberty, Fenwick, Selfridges and Harrods.

In just three years –between 2011-2014 – 400,000 new businesses were created, with SMEs and start-up ventures adding 48% to private sector turnover. In fact, 99% of British businesses can now be classed as small or micro, showing the real depth of opportunity for entrepreneurs and those seeking an entrepreneurial environment.

The real question, however, is: are we equipped on a general level with the aptitude, mindset, and employability skills required by these enterprises? Are British school leavers and university graduates ready for the challenges and opportunities posed by small businesses and start-ups?

Enterprise Education Abroad

In the recent report, An Education System Fit for an Entrepreneur, The United Nations Conference for Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Chief of Entrepreneurship recounts that many developing countries are more engaged with enterprise than those with traditional approaches to education. This is despite UNCTAD concluding that it is necessary to “mainstream the development of entrepreneurship awareness and entrepreneurial behaviours starting from primary school level”.

Foremost amongst these champions of enterprise education are a number of Eastern European nations. The South East European Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (SEECEL) supports enterprise education at all stages of schooling, identifying education as “critical to the development of the entrepreneurial mind-set and behaviour, resulting not only in increasing numbers of small businesses but also greater creativity and productivity of the workforce in general” (A Charter for Entrepreneurial Learning: The Keystone for Growth and Jobs). This extensive competency based approach has been rolled out across eight countries, creating a curriculum which recognises enterprise as critical to personal, social, and economic development.

The Macedonian Model

One member of the SEECEL, Macedonia, is of particular interest.

Macedonia, to set the scene, is one of the former nations of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It has a population of 2.1 million (compared with Britain’s 65 million) and an average life expectancy of 75 (compared with 81 in the UK). GDP is $10 million, versus the UK’s $2.8 trillion.

And yet, Macedonia is arguably leading the way when it comes to enterprise education.

School children in Macedonia receive formal enterprise education from the ages of 13-18, following a structured programme which teaches skills including innovation and creativity, finance, management, and communication. Supported by the World Bank and the Macedonian Ministry for Education and Science, students progress from planning an event and social/community project, to developing a business and company, all whilst learning and testing the core competencies required by entrepreneurs. They are ably guided by specialist teachers who have undertaken training courses in enterprise.

The methodology matrix for enterprise education in primary and secondary schools in Macedonia

As enterprise education advocate, Professor Andy Penaluna, comments:

“When will English schools get the kind of support and guidance that primary and secondary schools in the Macedonian Republic have from their policy makers and the World Bank?”

How Britain Can Update Its Enterprise Education

Whilst some steps have been taken to improve enterprise education in British classrooms, it still often feels like something of a fad. Access to entrepreneurial learning tends to be pot luck and dependent on having a specialist, or at least willing (and in many cases pioneering), teacher. Resultantly, enterprise education is often only seen in middle-class centres of learning, putting up yet another barrier to entry.

With the example of Macedonia in mind, however, we at Crowdfund Campus think there is no excuse for entrepreneurship lessons to be sidelined as they are at present. Enterprise education should form a core part of the curriculum – not just within business studies courses or at business schools, but starting at primary school and carrying on throughout secondary and tertiary education. All pupils should have access to enterprise education that is formally timetabled and led by specialist teachers and business partners, in order to “inspire many more young people about entrepreneurship… [so they are] better equipped to achieve their goals, and to contribute to a more competitive and productive UK plc” (BITC).

If you’re interested in introducing enterprise education to your classroom and would like to trial our innovative Sandpit simulation and crowdfunding platform, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

But, just as you can’t wake up one morning and decide you want to be an Olympic gymnast with no prior training, can you really announce your intention to become an entrepreneur without having had formal enterprise education?

The increasing demand for entrepreneurship classes, and the booming market for self-help business books, suggests not. Indeed, Harvard Business School professor, Dr Noam Wasserman , believes that enterprise educators have a responsibility to analyse what works (and what doesn’t) and teach it – just as one would teach doctors, lawyers and accountants:

“Entrepreneurs are the ultimate general managers. They can benefit from much of the same knowledge that business students gain about marketing, finance and other topics, complemented by lessons that are specifically tailored to start-ups. And those lessons are getting better all the time.”

By contrast, business personality Gary Vaynerchuk is adamant that entrepreneurs are born, not made:

“I fully, fully 100,000%, with no hedge, do not believe that you can teach entrepreneurship… I think of entrepreneurship in a very rugged, very raw, much dirtier way.”

A question of semantics

To understand this debate fully, a clear distinction must be drawn between entrepreneurship and the entrepreneur.

Where entrepreneurship is the process of identifying and starting a business, an entrepreneur is the person who organises and operates it. Entrepreneurship requires assessing both risks and rewards, whilst being an entrepreneur means putting a company’s mission before your own ego. As MIT professor Robert H. Hacker remarks:

“Entrepreneurs are created on a dinner table. But not all entrepreneurs have the skills or tools to make their business work.”

Herein lies the value of enterprise education for proponents: not to ‘teach’ the personality traits necessary for success, but to impart the knowledge needed to ensure the entrepreneur is prepared to make the best decisions for their business – equipping the entrepreneur not with the talent, but the tools.

University of life

Critics like Vaynerchuk disagree. They believe that entrepreneurship is an innate quality – something you were born to do, not something you can be taught to do. You cannot learn passion, perseverance and innovation in a classroom; you cannot learn how to make judgement calls when, by its very nature, enterprise is not clear cut. Starting and running a business requires skills that can only be developed in the real world: “the aggregate experience of a life that is lived” (Victor W. Hwang, Silicon Valley venture capitalist).

Enterprise education: our verdict

Here at Crowdfund Campus, we don’t believe the question is whether you can teach entrepreneurship, but how to teach it well. Indeed, one of Hwang’s criticisms of enterprise education is that traditional entrepreneurship classes teach would-be business owners to avoid making mistakes at all costs. On this point, we stand with Hwang, agreeing that enterprise education should focus not on endless planning and error avoidance, but on learning to fail. Our Sandpit platform has been developed precisely to give students a safe environment in which to try, and fail, and try again – arguably the greatest gift a university enterprise course can offer.

Although being an entrepreneur per se may ultimately come down to personality (which cannot be taught, only learned), entrepreneurship is a skillset which can be imparted and improved over time. Having an entrepreneurial personality is no guarantee of success: you need the attitude plus the application – the right resources, the good habits, the knowledge and know-how, the supportive mentors and peer community – to truly get you and your business ahead.

If you would like to discuss the value of enterprise education directly, or explore our innovative crowdfunding platform in full, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

Indeed, Steven Bartlett’s influencer marketing agency, Social Chain, can make anything the number one trending topic on Twitter in less than 30 minutes. When one considers that there are 313 million monthly active users – not to mention a further 500 million monthly active users on Instagram and 1.65 billion monthly active users on Facebook (numbers to make the mind boggle!) – this is no mean feat.

Read on to meet the millennial entrepreneur who dropped out of university in order to get the likes of Microsoft, Just-Eat, Puma, Buzzfeed and Spotify in front of millions of people at the click of a button.

 

In the spotlight:

Name: Steven Bartlett

Age: 23

Location: UK/Berlin/New York

Degree: Dropped out of a business studies course at Manchester Metropolitan University

Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an entrepreneur. Have you always been interested in enterprise?

Growing up, my brothers and I were all very competitive. Being the youngest, I was always trying to keep up and find a way to be better than them. I think this really stimulated my entrepreneurial nature, which became apparent in my school days: I managed to strike a deal with a vending machine company, actually making the school a fair bit of money. My headmaster used to call me his ‘Harry Potter under the stairs’.

Where did the idea for Social Chain come from?

The company actually started as a result of selling my first business, Wallpark, in 2014. This was a virtual wall where students could connect in the same city and share anything – from advertising a sporting event to selling old uni textbooks.

My biggest takeaway from Wallpark was learning the behaviour of young people on social media, particularly on Twitter. After selling my stake in the company, I contacted Dom McGregor (co-founder of Social Chain) who was running a Twitter page aimed at students. He posted content that was funny and relatable and, in return, amassed thousands of followers. I wanted to explore how his page – and thousands of others like his – could be used as a conduit to connect an audience with a brand.

I realised the reason people followed and engaged with these pages was for the content, so I figured that if there was a way a brand’s message could be seamlessly woven into a page, the engagement and following should not suffer. This was the inception of Social Chain.

Steven Bartlett with Dom McGregor

You dropped out of university after only one lecture to pursue your business. So bold! How did you know Social Chain was going to be a success, and how did you progress it from idea to reality?

I initially dropped out of university to focus on Wallpark, a ‘Gumtree’ style platform for students. I learnt so much from this experience, which fuelled the idea for Social Chain, and our first client was an app called Tippy Tap. As a brand new company, we honestly didn’t know that Social Chain would be a success, so we launched the Tippy Tap campaign into an unknown space and hoped for the best. To our amazement, it achieved unimaginable results. Tippy Tap sat at number one in the app store for weeks and even made the BBC headlines. It was then I knew we were on to something very special; a real break through moment for Social Chain.

How did you initially finance Social Chain?

To get Social Chain fully operational we raised an initial investment of £300,000, however it didn’t take long before we became profitable. After this, we didn’t receive any further investment until earlier this year when we received $2m from German media power house, Glow Media, to fuel international growth of the business.

Social Chain can reach an audience of millions within a matter of minutes, but how do you spread word about what you do?

I love public speaking, so talking at big marketing conferences has been a great way to communicate our brand and what we do here at Social Chain. Some cool conferences I’ve spoken at this year include TED X London, Ungagged, Millennial 2020, Glug, Cannes Lions, and Marketing Week Live.

Being at the forefront of the social media and marketing industry, we regard ourselves to be opinion formers through demonstrating thought leadership, not forgetting traditional PR and media relations too. We’re actually working on creating our own online platform, Scribe, which will essentially be one big social media and marketing blog where we will collectively share all our own experiences, knowledge and opinions.

What does a typical day look like in the world of Steven Bartlett?

I don’t really have a typical working day as each is so varied from the next. Now we’ve opened in New York, I tend to split my time travelling between New York, Berlin and Manchester to oversee operations and check in with each team. When I’m not working from any of the Social Chain offices, the rest of my time is spent taking meetings in New York, London and Berlin, pitching to new clients, and speaking at different conferences across Europe.

Social Chain’s Manchester office

What has been your biggest challenge to date?

Our biggest challenge has to have been our first major challenge: trying to win new business without having quantifiable results and a portfolio of global clients. ‘Influencer marketing’ is a new breed of marketing, so for many businesses with a more traditional approach to promotion it could sometimes be challenging to bring them around.

And your proudest moment so far?

My proudest moment so far was winning the ‘Social Media Agency of the Year’ award at The Drum Awards in December. We managed to beat some huge agencies who’ve been in the game a lot longer than us, and considering we’d only been operational for one year it was an amazing achievement.

We live in an era where entire businesses are built on social media, but for many entrepreneurs it’s impossible to keep up! Can you share some top tips on how fledgling startups can reach their audience successfully?

Social media is the number one communication platform for startups and businesses with a small marketing budget. But every business these days uses social media, so the next question is how do you get your brand noticed?

Well firstly, don’t be afraid to provoke people! Social media is a never-ending fight to be heard, and anybody throwing vanilla punches in that fight isn’t going to have knock-out impact. Secondly, what about running a competition? Executed correctly, social media competitions can generate tonnes of engagement and build brand awareness. Finally, if you’re looking to use social influencers to promote your business, don’t underestimate the power of a lower cost influencer. Quite often an influencer with a smaller audience pool (compared to a well known celebrity) will have more influence over their followers. It’s like the modern day ‘word of mouth’.

Who inspires you?

I know this might sound cliché, but Steve Jobs is one of my heroes. I admire him for being a visionary and being able to look past what was to help shape what would ultimately be.

Where do you hope to see Social Chain in five years’ time? Will social media still be relevant?

Social media is the new media, and my predictions are that in five years it will be more relevant than ever before. However, the developments of social media, emerging platforms, and how these might be used for marketing is unknown. In this industry, everything moves quickly, so it’s difficult to say where we’ll be in five years’ time. We understand that we’re working in an ever changing landscape so I guess we’ve just got to stay responsive and see where it goes, but one thing is certain: we have big plans for Social Chain.

Social Chain’s office wall

What do you love most about running your own business?

I’d say the best thing about running my own business is having no obstacles in the way of my ideas and being capable of building solutions and taking on new challenges.

What advice do you have for aspiring student entrepreneurs?

Just make sure you love it. Building a business is so hard that you better love it or you’ll quit when the going gets tough. If you don’t love it, you’ll also be unwilling to put in the ground work. Find something you would do for free because you love it that much. And then be prepared to work hard!

And finally, if you were a social media platform, which one would you be and why?

If I were a social media platform, I’d be YouTube. I’m a story teller, so a video sharing platform like YouTube – a platform that shares a tremendous number of stories each day –  is by far the richest medium.

Social Chain is the UK’s largest influencer marketing network, offering an effective and creative way to engage millions of people. With an average age of just 21 across the whole company, and a 200+ million strong internal network of social media influencers, pages and communities, Social Chain know exactly how millennials think, listen and share across social media, giving brands a voice to be heard above the noise.

The University of Warwick has launched a crowdfunding campaign in order to create a Student Enterprise Fund. This marks the first time a University has raised funds in this way for this purpose and is a tribute to a University itself acting in an entrepreneurial manner.

Enterprise has been a notoriously difficult area for Universities to handle. Whilst they value and want to promote the enterprising activities of students, and indeed see it as a vital part of a student’s personal development, Universities are slow, lumbering, bureaucratic beasts that struggle to show or even understand the pace of action required to develop a product or service and take it to market. They insist on putting committees in place to manage committees who oversee partnerships between groups who develop strategy to present to the managing committee, and round the cycle spins. (All have bizarre acronyms which no-one really knows what they stand for)

Some Universities have whole student enterprise departments, employing between 10 and 20 staff, others leave enterprising activity to one lonely but dedicated Enterprise Officer, and inevitably they find more doors blocking their path than are open. These departments rest on the principle of inspiring enterprising action through events and the use of external companies.

Students on the other hand, come in October and leave in June (roughly, depending on the specific University calendar). They have studies, extra curricular actives and many seize the opportunity to turn their spare time to something entrepreneurial. But their short University life-span does not easily match University politics. They need fast answers, and dedicated programmes to develop their enterprising skills.

At the University of Warwick, much of the Enterprising activity has come from the students themselves. In 2007 a group students approached the Students Union to start the Warwick Entrepreneurs Society. They came up with Dragon’s Den like competitions, and took inspiration from the Apprentice to run challenges around campus. Some of these early members have gone on to found multi-million pound businesses and non-profits like NACUE (secured £3.5 million in government funding) and Buffer (raised £3.8 million dollars), and some provide experiences to students that still exist to this day like TheUniExpress. Each year, students pass through the society, generate ideas, and try and implement them. In 2014 two students set up an Incubator, which took 10 start-ups from idea generation through to working prototypes and businesses with customers.

What students don’t realise is that the University has provided them with the environment to make this happen. They brought these students together, provided space, equipment and allowed them to take part in these activities. The University actively looks for ways to support this activity, and sees the society as a vital tool in delivering it’s own Enterprise agenda. The question is how does the University go from a facilitator of entrepreneurial activity to an instigator of it.

Enter the 50 Years of Warwick Enterprise Campaign.

Warwick was built on the foundation of entrepreneurial thinking and fundraising. The founding Vice-Chancellor Lord Butterworth persuaded industry to protest in the 1960s when the University Grants Committee resisted his ideas (the idea of the Vice-Chancellor leading a protest would seem quite unusual these days). According to his obituary, when he was refused funds to create a business school he went raised them himself to establish one anyway. He and Lord Rootes, “were an extraordinary fundraising combination and established a tradition at Warwick that success could not be achieved on government funding alone.” Michael Shattock

There are a large number of alumni who were involved in Enterprising activity at Warwick, whether they were the founders of the Entrepreneurs society, or benefitted from it’s existence over the last 8 years. There are Warwick Business School alumni who over the last 40 years have reached positions high up in corporates due to the entrepreneurial attitudes they developed whilst studying at Warwick. There are alumni from all over the University who have gone on to found lifestyle businesses or businesses they have gone onto sell or are now publicly traded.

The 50 Years campaign is about using the knowledge and experience of these alumni, and matching it with the enterprising students that pass through Warwick every year. It’s a crowdfunding campaign and a crowd sourcing one. With the funds generated and the knowledge accumulated over the last 50 years, Warwick can become an instigator in developing the enterprising activity of it’s students and take it’s traditionally entrepreneurial fundraising attitudes, and apply them once again to make this campaign the first of it’s kind for a University.