It is well documented that young people have been adversely affected in the labour market due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A Birmingham-based project BSEEN is supporting students and recent graduates living in the city to start their own business.
BSEEN, part-funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), offers intensive startup training, a small business grant, 12-months free co-working space, a business mentor, and a supportive community.
BSEEN, which is a partnership of four Birmingham-based universities - Aston University, Birmingham City University, University College Birmingham and Newman University - has been in operation for the last eight years and has supported over 500 startups over this period, many of which are still going strong today.
These include the green tech company Petalite, founded by Leigh Purnell in 2014, a pioneer in the electric vehicle charging industry, and The Clean Kilo, the UK’s largest zero-waste supermarket with branches in Digbeth and Bourneville, started up with the support of BSEEN in 2017.
Additionally, Beatfreeks, an engagement and insight agency with a vital community of young creatives, was one of the first social enterprises to start up with the help of BSEEN back in 2013. It is well known across the city for its work connecting young people to brands, government, and funders, so they can influence how the world works.
Since the pandemic started, BSEEN has held five online bootcamps covering all the startup essentials, from registering your business, and how to use digital marketing and storytelling to promote it, to how to set business goals and manage the finances.
Morgan Grice, an illustrator who joined the bootcamp in April 2021 to kickstart her bookbinding business, said of the project: "It honestly changed my life and my business for the better. I’d recommend it to anyone!"
Every year, the BSEEN project has an exhibition to showcase the innovative founders coming out of the city’s universities. The last one in November 2019, held at Thinktank, saw over 50 startups exhibit and engage with over 200 attendees from the business and startup community across the city.
These startups included the founder of Mudd Beauty, Alix Samuda; co-founder of the Green Sisters, Reena Salhan; and co-founders of Narce Media, Connor Watt and Joe Housley.
The next bootcamp is running from September 6 to 17, 2021, with a blended delivery of online and face-to-face sessions at Birmingham City University.
For more information and to make an online application, visit the BSEEN website. You can also look at the Instagram page @bseen_project for testimonials from recent bootcamp attendees.
