The panels took place during Global Entrepreneurship Week and now that the winners have been informed, we are delighted to let you know that we have given out 9 awards this term. The awards range from £450 to £1,000. Here’s a brief paragraph on each of our winners and how they will be boosting the Lancashire business community.
Music Production student puts studies into practice
Having already established that his business is viable through online selling, Azuolas will use the Propeller Enterprise Award to advertise music to a wider audience. He creates and licenses beats, sample packs and full tracks for other artists to work on. Although he is already making money through organic means, the Propeller Enterprise Award will allow him to scale his business much more quickly. It will also be used to buy additional sound packages, allowing him to broaden the range of music he is able to offer.
All-female sports company for young girls
Olivia applied to the Award to develop her female-only sports company aimed at getting as many primary school aged girls involved in sports as possible. This final year student applied to the Propeller Enterprise Award to build on a Crowdfunding campaign that funded insurance, advertisement and sports kits. The Award will help secure equipment, allowing her to offer a wide range of sports. She already has paying weekly members. Through Kardia Sports, Olivia intends to raise the quality of female sports education to that of their male counterparts, whilst also encouraging young girls to look after their health and gain confidence.
Getting ahead of the game in industry training
Current Computer Games Development student William is looking at teaching advanced programming techniques starting with ray-tracing (creating realistic lighting effects). He intends to offer an online programme to upskill current or aspiring programmers in the latest advances. The training is highly sought after and will be vital for those looking to enter the game development world a few years down the line; however, there are currently very few resources available to self-teach these skills. The Propeller Enterprise Award will be spent on hosting for the site, as well as establishing a Customer Relationship Management system and sales funnel.
Supplying unsought market demand
BeerCandleUK started off as a way to preserve beautiful designs. Katie liked the artwork on craft beer and didn’t want to throw them away – so she turned them into soy candles with a 30-50 hour burn time. Admiration came hard and fast and soon others were asking Katie to create the candles in a can for them too. With an already established presence at craft fairs, she has also been invited to sell her products through 4 local shops and bars.
The hobby-cum-business has quickly grown to the point where Katie is unable to meet demand and she needs to begin making them in bigger batches. Buying larger equipment with the award will enable her to take advantage of economies of scale, improve turn-around time and move the production line out of her kitchen.
Strength training in Nelson
One postgraduate student is looking to expand their current offering as a Personal Trainer for people with medical and mental health conditions. Ange’s qualification in Exercise Referral makes her uniquely able to help less-abled people exercise; expanding the offering to include sports massage, as well as strength and conditioning training makes a lot of sense. As the only female personal trainer offering strength training in Nelson, this winner is hoping to reach out to people that are isolated or unable to train in a typical gym environment.
Helping Lancashire based SME’s make an impression
Building on the experience gained through internships with UnitePlus, another postgraduate student is looking to start freelancing as a Marketing Specialist. Madeleine has worked with several Lancashire based SME’s over the past few years and has found that many are sceptical of hiring a marketing agency but require their expertise. Seeing a spot in the market for a trusted consultant, Madeleine is using her Award to set herself up as a freelancer with the necessary software and promotional tools.
Enabling wider outreach for Cumbrian drumming classes
Sam has already established SBW Music, a multi-faceted music business, and will use the Propeller Enterprise Award to deliver outreach activities in Cumbria. The drumming classes will be open to all age groups and improve conceptual understanding and physical ability in applying rhythmic concepts, as well as composition.
High quality TV adverts for local businesses at affordable prices
Bunkbarn Productions aim to create compelling narrative-driven commercials for television, without the expensive price tag. Many SME’s in the North West can’t afford the hefty production costs of advertising on television, but Will and his team are looking at creating low-budget films that can compete with adverts made down south. The Propeller Enterprise Award will enable them to meet the production cost of their own commercial – equipment, location hire, catering, crew, travel and casting costs – in order to generate business.
Enabling employment after 17 years
Recent graduate student Jane will use the Propeller Enterprise Award to fund the insurance and accreditation needed to set up her own psychotherapy business, focusing on helping those with long-term health conditions. The treatment will reduce negative emotions, increase wellbeing and resilience and allow them to better manage their condition.
Suffering from ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), Jane has been unable to work since 2002. Her own experience learning how to cope with her illness is what led her to train as a psychotherapist and will be essential in relating to clients. The flexibility of being self-employed will allow Jane to work in a way that allows her to manage her condition effectively.
We will be running the Award again next term, so keep an eye out for updates!
