Your Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES)

Fantastic opportunity to work for #YES! 💚

Congratulations David Houston from all of us at Your Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES)!! Thanks again for sharing your know-how at last week’s #YES24 Lunch&Learn session on regulating #medical #innovations. Always wonderful to have YES alumni involved!! We look forward to hearing about your research collaboration with Mölnlycke Health Care when we next catch-up. https://lnkd.in/ecJGxbAk

For all those involved in the #YES24 #biomedical theme this was a discussion not to be missed in an increasingly regulated environment! 💊💉 A big thank you to our five industry experts – Shweta Agarwal, PhD of Cqura Ltd; Dr Bev Brown BSc MSc AFHEA of MindTech HRC; Sarah Bolton of CHEATA - Centre for Healthcare Equipment and Technology Adoption; Suzy Dilly of NanoGenics and David Houston of TRANSDIAGEN – for sharing how regulations shape the development of cutting-edge #medicaldevices and #pharmaceuticals; giving an insight into the transformative role of AI and digital health technologies; and providing us with the know-how on how to navigate the regulatory frameworks governing these #innovations. Thank you Francisco González for hosting another insightful discussion in our Lunch&Learn series! Wonderful to have #YES alumni David and Shweta involved too. Hopefully there’s more promising regulatory experts amongst this year's group!! Next week, Professor David Falzani MBE will be sharing his top tips for avoiding the #1 mistake businesses make when it comes to #pricing. David recently won the Sales & Marketing category at the Business Book Awards 2024 for his book ‘Double Your Price: The Strategy and Tactics of Smart Pricing’! Want to find out more about YES? Visit our website: https://lnkd.in/gCnEcBWf #UnleashYourIngenuity 💚

🥙 What a treat for our #YES24 cohort yesterday lunchtime!! A big thank you to Craig Leadley of Campden BRI for leading such a thought-provoking and seamless panel and to food #entrepreneurs Kavya Krishnamurthy of Veekes and Company, Gareth Payne of Adamo Foods and Mike Spurr (BSc FIFST) of The Good Pulse Company for sharing your personal experiences on scaling-up products from your development kitchen to ensure market success and your top tips. 👏👏👏 Here’s a snapshot of those tremendous top tips: 🧀 use a transitional flow sheet to visually represent your stages of food production – from raw ingredients to the final packaged product 🧀 get help as no one knows everything 🧀 be agile and responsive to feedback 🧀 invest in people and build your network 🧀 make the most of good quality free technical resources - Campden BRI with their free ebooks; the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) and their technical information sheets; and the Food Standards Agency with tools on hazard analysis for example Craig good luck from us all at #YES in your new role at IFST!! Next week at #YES24, we’ve got another stellar panel talking about regulating #medical products!! 💉 Want to find out more about YES? Visit our website: https://lnkd.in/gCnEcBWf #UnleashYourIngenuity 💚

📊 Data is central to shaping the way we live, work and interact but it also raises privacy, security and ethical challenges that need careful consideration. And for many businesses, data is not just information it is a strategic asset that can enhance performance and create lasting value. A big thank you to Andrew Jenkins, CEO and Founder of Kinewell Energy, Charlie Gale, Founder of the Data Union Café, and Dr Henry James, Founder of Medscribe, for sharing your #entrepreneurial journeys and how #data is a key enabler for driving innovation, personalising experiences and optimising operations in your businesses. You #inspired us all at #YES24!!! 👏👏👏 Francisco González thanks for hosting three more memorable fireside chats! 💥 How do you scale a product from your development kitchen to the market? That’s next week’s tasty topic at #YES24!! 🥙 Want to find out more about YES? Visit our website: https://lnkd.in/gCnEcBWf #UnleashYourIngenuity 💚

There was plenty of jargon flying around this week for our #YES24 cohort to digest as #finance was on the menu. Many thanks to Sue, David and Leigh for using everyday language to effectively explain the buzzwords … bootstrapping, pre-money/post-money valuation, runway, sweat equity and EBITDA to name just a few. 😲 Sue Staunton, of James Cowper Kreston, provided an in-depth insight into how a business can thrive with a solid financial foundation. 🏦 David Scott, of PharmaConsulting, passed on plenty of information and top tips on how to use his financial model to generate a cash flow, profit & loss, balance sheet and valuation. 📈 And leigh cassidy, an environmental scientist and entrepreneur who has been involved in several innovative ventures, spoke from personal experience about raising and managing finance and sidestepping potential problems. 📗 Checkout our recent YES blog with Leigh - Mentoring the future: inspiring the next generation of innovators with YES - who is a great believer “that initiatives such as YES are vital to help budding STEM entrepreneurs grow their network, and develop their social skills.” [https://lnkd.in/e5JwYtJM] What was your buzzword of the week!?! Next on the menu – #data! #UnleashYourIngenuity 💚

Wow, what a week!! Thanks Chris, Cissi, James and Alicia for treating #YES24 to a masterclass in both IP and commercial strategy. Patent attorney Christopher Hartland, of Potter Clarkson, provided the know-how on protecting your invention and Cissi Nilsson on the how-to when it comes to Safety By Cilia. Protection against infringement, promoting a competitive marketplace and economic impact were also part of the conversation. ⚖️ Chief Business Officer James Lapworth, of NanoSyrinx, gave us a deep dive into marketing and commercial strategy and demonstrated how they are inter-connected, complementary and inseparable. And we 💚 seeing the business model canvas in action with Dr Alicia Showering of BugBiome. Today is our idea submission deadline. Big problems require big solutions so be #creative everyone!! 💡 #UnleashYourIngenuity 💚

To celebrate the start of #YES24, here is our YES case study on Fiona Marston OBE, PhD, who has been involved with the Your Entrepreneur Scheme since 1997. Fiona is often asked to attend the YES competition is a judging capacity and discusses in her case study how being an entrepreneur is about being creative; and the support that the YES programme and KTC offer to students in developing an entrepreneurial mindset. Use the link below to access this case study, which is hosted on the KTC webpage. https://lnkd.in/eDM82ajg #Innvoation #Entrepreneurs #KnowledgeExchange #Research #CreativeThinking

#YES24 took flight last week with Lydia Mapstone, PhD, the CEO and co-founder of BoobyBiome, providing a wonderful insight into starting up the company alongside Dr. Sioned Fôn Jones and Tara O'Driscoll, PhD following their participation in #YES18. BoobyBiome has secured significant funding to develop novel products like a breast milk preservation device and microbiome supplements including a £1.6M Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst Grant in August. What a journey in just six years! It was great to see so many of our new cohort of #Master and #PhD students, #postdocs and #technicians online to hear from such a trailblazer – big thanks Lydia for sharing BoobyBiome’s journey so far! We’re very proud of you and the #team! Thanks also to Francisco González for encouraging us all to dream big without worrying about the practicality when it comes to our #YES idea and Hannah Noke for giving us a clear direction on what’s needed in the business pitch. IP and commercial and marketing strategies up next!! ⚖️📊 #UnleashYourIngenuity 💚

Introducing our New Case Study Series: Success Stories from the Your Entrepreneur Scheme As #YES24 begins, are you looking for inspiration and practical advice to kickstart your entrepreneurial journey? We're excited to announce the launch of our new case study series, featuring success stories from previous University of Reading Students Sawsan Khuri PhD SFHEA FRSA, Stephanie Bull, Ahmad Abdullrahman, Andrew Goodall, Claudia A. and Saumya Sood, PhD who have participated in the Your Entrepreneur Scheme (YES,) and our own Entrepreneur in Residence Fiona Marston' OBE, PhD's experience of supporting the YES competition. Your Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) is an innovative global competition developed to raise awareness among Master and PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, research fellows and technicians how ideas can be commercialised. The KTC provides support to teams from University of Reading who take part each year. Discover how our previous participants have benefitted from YES in their careers, through our case study series. https://lnkd.in/e7SYWiYX #YES24 #CaseStudies #Entrepreneurship #SuccessStories #KnowledgeExchange