Entrepreneurs' Question Time 2009

On 28 October 2009, three of our successful entrepreneurial graduates returned to Anglia Ruskin to share their knowledge with an audience of staff and students, both past and current. The speakers had come back to share their stories of their road to success, what drove them, the highs and the lows. It was a wonderful opportunity to hear from graduates who had made that leap into starting their own business and was an inspiration to all who were there.

Dr Chris Mitchell - Founder of Audio Analytic

Entrepreneur Chris Mitchell is a 29 year-old Anglia Ruskin PhD graduate. He started here on a Science Foundation course, since he didn't have A level Maths to enter directly onto the Audio Music Technology programme. As a great example of lifelong learning, Chris progressed to study BSc Audio & Music Technology, graduating in 2002 and gaining his PhD in 2007. Near the end of the PhD Chris was shortlisted by the National Council of Graduate Entrepreneurship in a hunt for the UK's future entrepreneurial talent, being one of just 15 selected to spend six months in the USA in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Reason for starting own business:

When it comes to internet browsing most of us can 'google-it' to find the info we need. But what if you wanted to find a specific sound? And if the sounds haven't been labelled, where do you start? Chris has been working on an innovative solution and is now at the helm of his own Cambridge-based company, Audio Analytic, which is gearing-up to shape the future of internet searches. As part of his PhD at Anglia, Chris developed a platform level technology that 'aligns music genre taxonomies' and his company is now further developing the product to take it to market. Put simply, it's a black box computer that 'listens' to sounds, and by analysing and identifying their audio signals it automatically attaches labels for them to be classified, and hence 'searched'. It can identify sounds from dogs barking to various genres of music and its adaptability means that it will suit several different markets, including internet searches, TV programme archiving and - most brilliantly - it could be used as an aid to security and public safety by differentiating sounds like screams and breaking glass on CCTV.

The Company:

Audio Analytic was officially formed as a company in September 2008. The initial goal was to productise the sound recognition technology that Chris had studied, and he's come a long way. "My degree helped a lot as it afforded me the time to find a course and direction I massively enjoyed and the PhD was an extension of that interest, which led onto my NCGE/Kauffman Fellowship. The fellowship helped me look at the PhD subject area in a commercial sense and allowed me to spend time in the US understanding how to commercialise technology and to set-up a company around it."

After his self-funded PhD, Chris is now working around the clock to see his idea to fruition. He has secured a £20,000 grant and the product is in commercial trials, supported with an EEDA proof of concept grant. Chris is currently awaiting the outcome of the trial so he can begin selling the product.

www.audioanalytic.com

Hilary Collins - Founder & Managing Director of Big Wave PR

Whilst studying at Anglia, Hilary spotted an advertisement in the window of Campus Travel in Cambridge. The company was looking for someone to put on events and write articles about independent travel - Hilary knew this would be the perfect job for her and made sure she got the role. In return for her hard work, Campus Travel paid for her to travel across Mexico and, more importantly, she had stumbled upon her ideal career: public relations. Hilary graduated from Anglia Ruskin in 1995 with BA Hons in Geography.

Reason for starting own business:

With her entrepreneurial flair, Hilary was very keen to start her own business. She had spent the previous 10 years in public relations and had worked her way up to Associate Director at a top 150 PR consultancy. In this post Hilary had led award-winning campaigns for Greene King and had also directed the public relations for BAA Stansted, BT, Parador Properties, APU, International Linen Promotion and Youth Music, amongst others. After the birth of her daughter, she knew it was the perfect time to set up her own business, so launched Big Wave PR.

The Company:

Big Wave PR was set-up in 2007 to provide fresh, creative and intelligent PR campaigns. Hilary says: "We're passionate about what we do and that's why all of our campaigns are bursting with energy and creativity. We're completely transparent with our costs to provide a cost effective service for clients, both large and small."

Their fresh approach has seen them achieve exponential growth, although they've only ever traded within a credit crunch and a recession. The company specialises in consumer public relations and their clients include the lager giant Carlsberg, property portal www.getagrip.co.uk, a chain of opticians, hair and beauty manufacturers and a renewable energy company, to name but a few.

In April 2009 Big Wave PR was spotted by industry leading journal PR Week as a major player in the Eastern Region. Big Wave PR is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

www.bigwavepr.co.uk

Nicholas Juett - Artist

Nicholas studied A Levels in Fine Art, History of Art and Computer Science at Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT), a subject combination considered unusual then. He stayed an additional year, training as a sculptor on the Foundation Level course, then studied painting at Reading University. A 14-year career in the USA followed, including studies at the prestigious School of The Art Institute of Chicago. Leaving the UK to study abroad on a Rotary International Fellowship grant, he realised how his own natural drive was supported by outstanding teachers at both his local comprehensive and the Cambridge School of Art (CSA) at Anglia Ruskin. Returning to the UK in 2001, he rented a studio at Wysing Arts Centre, on the outskirts of Cambridge. Having completed his PGCE at Cambridge, Nicholas divides his time between teaching children and his career as a painter.

Fast forward to 2009, and mobile phones and a laptop computer enable his dynamic career as an entrepreneur. Nick, who is dyslexic, can multitask using a wide range of software for all aspects of marketing, targeting, exploring, documenting, and aiding the creation of 'one-of-a-kind painting'.

Reason for starting own business:

"Before emigrating, I had started Studio Nicholas through the government Enterprise Allowance Scheme. My idea to echo Athena & Next by selling art in a shop environment as an alternative to the traditional art gallery, was unsustainable due to a lack of capital. I moved to New York where studio rents were a good deal cheaper.

I have always wanted success, but was aware that I would have to go it alone without any immediate financial reward. I realised my art might not be the fashion of the moment and that I might experience rejection, financial insecurity and many difficulties along the way, but knew I had to stick at it because I was capable of success. The result is less a model of success in business, more a trail of single paintings well positioned, which will be there when I am gone. The artist must also be entrepreneurial.

Luckily, opportunity presented itself here in my home town when I realised what kind of art and what subjects would appeal, and my business over these last three years has been to apply all the talents I have acquired."

The Company:

"The only Company I have is myself. My very own brand of marketing allows for an independent way of seizing the moment, one that combines my appreciation of technology with a skill that is in the actual doing - called simply painting.

As a painter I create pictures that exploit the Cambridge topographical landscape, combined with oil painting techniques established abroad. Everything I do, exhibiting at a range of venues, is to further my goal as an independent artist with only loose ties to commercial gallery representation.

The success of my activities as an artist will be measured in the future; the financial reward, though buoyant, amounts to little. Best thing is - I work for me, and it works for me."

Nicholas's paintings range from £45 to £3,000.
With his trademark vibrant colours and broad brush strokes he depicts Cambridge streets, rather than focusing on the more famous tourist attractions.

www.wysingartscentre.org

Lester Lloyd-Reason, Professor of International Enterprise Strategy at the Ashcroft International Business School

Lester Lloyd-Reason brought the evening to a close after the Q & A session by summing up what Entrepreneurship is all about and his considerable experience of it. Lester is a Professor of International Enterprise Strategy at the Ashcroft International Business School.

Lester has considerable experience of managing international research projects in the field of small business support structures, particularly in central and eastern Europe, and has published more than 90 papers in this area. He has developed two successful Action for Co-operation in Economics (ACE) projects for the European Union Phare Programme which have led to the development of strong international links with academics, NGOs and governmental agencies and developed a number of enterprise support initiatives. He has also been in receipt of personal research grants from the British Academy and the Soros Foundation and has acted as strategic adviser to a number of organisations both within the private and public sectors.