Case Study

Jen Feltham is the founder of Mia & Dom; an organic skincare company that specialises in products for pregnancy, babies, and sensitive skin. Not only did Jen create and design this range of skincare, but it is still handmade by herself and her small team, using unique formulas enhanced by her training in herbalism and aromatherapy. […]

Steve Hooper is the founder and CEO of Site Geek; a website design and digital marketing company this is dedicated to providing companies with ‘full and complete solutions to their inbound marketing requirements’. Having built the company from nothing to the success it is today by being extremely client-focused, Steve now feels that he’s in […]

London South Bank University (LSBU) student, Emilie Mendy, partnered with the university’s Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation to create her business, Bizzie Bodies, which teaches children languages in a creative way. For Emilie Mendy (BA Arts and Festival Management, 2016), the partnership has been central to achieving her goal of bringing a new kind of language […]

Jane Baines is the Woo ‘B’ Woo Fairy; sprinkling her own unique brand of fairy dust through her self-starting company and bespoke service of vintage-style wedding décor and fresh floral arrangements. Jane worked in the fashion industry for almost three decades before she decided to follow her passion and ‘go it alone’. Through the IOEE, […]

Ailsa Victoria Miller is an artist from North East England. She creates beautiful original botanical pastel drawings, prints and gifts that are inspired by the vivid colours of nature. Ailsa’s entrepreneurial journey is an extraordinary one, having overcome enormous personal challenges and obstacles to make a living from doing something that brings her joy. This month we […]

In 2009 Katie Geddes set up The Dance Studio Leeds (DSL), bringing together her professional dance training and her entrepreneurial spirit. When we first spoke to Katie in 2016, the IOEE had just matched her with a mentor, Colin Kemp, through the Meet a Mentor scheme. One year on, we catch up with Katie and […]

David Williams is an IOEE enterprise mentor who recently established an Enterprise Mentoring relationship with mentee Barbara Govan and her award winning independent TV production and training company, Screenhouse, despite being just 25 years old. We caught up with David to find out why age is no barrier to mentoring success. Leeds-based David Williams works […]

Entrepreneurship lecturer Dr Louise Chalkley of Anglia Ruskin University shares with us her thoughts on enterprise, education and the unexpected adventures life can present. Cambridge-based Dr Louise Chalkley has been an entrepreneurship lecturer at IOEE Centre of Excellence Anglia Ruskin University for four years. However, the 46-year-old’s route to academia has been varied and unconventional, […]

Rocketeer Enterprise is an IOEE Enterprise Academy on a mission – to change the world, one entrepreneur at a time. Rocketeer specialises in understanding how to benefit from being in the midst of the current digital and technology revolution, through supporting educational organisations, start-up companies, and wannabe entrepreneurs to succeed in the field of enterprise. […]

Anne King is a Personal Travel Consultant and runs her own business through Not Just Travel; one of the leading and fastest-growing travel agencies in the UK. After working as a PA for 20 years, Anne’s life took a turn on a family holiday in Florida that lead her to change her career, buying into […]

Enterprise learner Kerry Hector took part in an innovative scheme run by IOEE Enterprise Academy GGT Solutions on behalf of her social housing provider, A2Dominion Housing Association. The initiative gave her the skills, knowhow and funds to develop MovieMobil – a brilliant social enterprise that takes cinema into communities. We chatted to Kerry about MovieMobil […]

Simon Krystman, who has recently become an IOEE member, is the man behind IdeasPatch, an innovative route to funding the filing of patents for talented inventors, who often find themselves in a catch-22 situation of no-patent, no investment. We chatted to him about his unique business model and his own route to entrepreneurship. Despite graduating […]

London South Bank University (LSBU) is an IOEE Centre of Excellence, and their staff and students are doing exceptional work in the field of enterprise in education. We’re running a series of case studies to let you know about LSBU’s projects and people, and this month we met Anna Howard, LSBU’s Associate Professor of Enterprise […]

Danielle Sexton, 26, runs Aurora Creations, a wedding planning and crystal bouquet business servicing the North West of England. She began her journey to business success at the Wedding Planners Guild, an IOEE Academy that gave her both business knowhow and industry insights. Since starting her career as a florist’s apprentice aged just 18, Danielle […]

Paul Boross is also known as The Pitch Doctor; a company he founded to help corporate companies win business through ‘the art and science of persuasion’. He has worked with major organisations such as the BBC, Google, The Financial Times and MTV, and has released several books on motivational psychology. This month we met Paul […]

Paul French is an Executive Producer at Southpoint Films and a business mentor for local universities and the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme, as well as an IOEE Fellow. This month we shone the spotlight on him to find out how his mentoring career saw him transition into film production, and how forward-thinking is the key […]

Written by Richard Talbot-Jones. Husband and wife, Richard and Clare Talbot-Jones run Talbot Jones Risk Solutions, based in Felling, Gateshead. In a series of five blogs, Clare has covered highlights from her entrepreneurial journey including the first steps to starting Talbot Jones Risk Solutions with her husband. This month we hear from Richard, an IOEE […]

North Star Payroll, which has been up and running for around 18 months, is a Leeds-based start-up run by entrepreneur Liz McCarthy. On her journey to entrepreneurial success Liz enlisted the support of IOEE business mentor Dave Moore. We caught up with Liz to find out how the mentoring process worked for her. During the […]

James Watt and Martin Dickie are the founders of Scottish craft beer megabrand BrewDog. In one short decade, the pair have taken BrewDog from a shared passion for good beer to an international enterprise success story. The business now has a staggering 55,000 shareholders, and has orchestrated the largest equity crowdfunding scheme ever, worldwide. It […]

Richard and Clare Talbot-Jones, who run Talbot Jones Risk Solutions, are based in Felling, Gateshead. In this, the first blog of 2017, Clare explains why moving from employment to self-employment has seen the couple’s happiness rocket! For years, my husband would often wrap his arms around my sagging shoulders at the end of my long […]

The IOEE’s member base is incredibly diverse, with people from all walks of life signed-up to enjoy the privilege, services and benefits associated with it. To let you know just how broad a spectrum of people we work with, we’ve created Spotlight On… which, every month introduces you to an IOEE member with an interesting […]

Robert Lundgren Jones is a second year student at Northumbria University in Newcastle. In November he attended the IOEE’s Celebrating Enterprise Awards in the House of Lords as a nominee in the category of Enterprising Learner of the Year. Although the ambitious student didn’t win the title this year, he’s certainly enjoying impressive success as […]

Each month we will be showcasing case studies on enterprise in education. This month we spoke to third year undergraduate, Rodrigo de Carvalho, who is studying product design at London South Bank University while he establishes a social enterprise dedicated to helping protect children at risk of abduction. Rodrigo de Carvalho, 33-year-old Brazilian student moved […]

IOEE Centre of Excellence London South Bank University (LSBU) is a leading light when it comes to pioneering initiatives that inspire and enable entrepreneurial endeavour across all disciplines. We caught up with three LSBU drama students who are complementing every performance with a side-serving of business thinking. Forward-thinking colleges and universities are increasingly acknowledging that […]