Enterprise Week

Enterprise week

The student enterprise experience is about enriching students by facilitating a range of events and competitions to help them learn more about the real world and hopefully use other people’s experiences to motivate individuals to succeed.

I attended an event called ‘Ella’s Kitchen’ hosted by Paul Lindley which lasted just over an hour and took place in the Old Board room at the university. Paul explained to us how he had set up his own business selling baby food. He believed in an idea, and using his past experiences to help him managed to set up a successful company, now the 9^th fastest growing in the UK. The idea was to encourage children to eat fruit and vegetables and to make it more exciting for them whilst making it convenient for parents. He has now even gained an award for ‘Food & Drink Brand of the year’

Paul had previously worked for Nickelodeon and KPMG so had a strong skill set before setting up his own business. The challenge of setting up the business itself, the will for it to succeed and self belief was what kept him motivated throughout the process. He invested his own money by re-mortgaging his house; however this was partly due to him wanting to keep control of the business. He wanted his business to be innovative and different, and entice children in a way other baby food brands don’t.

Ella’s Kitchen taught me the importance of innovation, self belief and the benefit of taking a risk if it is something you truly believe in.  He took into account what children think and the effect it has upon a parent’s decision. He entered into a market with huge competitors including Heinz and Hipp but managed to take 10% of the market share. Proving his idea was innovative and the consumers agreed.

Paul Lindley has motivated me to work harder throughout my degree to learn more about business, as in the future I am looking to open my own business. He has shown me that it can be done with a lot of hard work and passion and inspired me to reach my personal goals.