STEAMhouse Incubator recently hosted its official launch event at Birmingham City University’s (BCU) Millennium Point building, inviting entrepreneurs to witness the Incubator’s success since opening its doors in March 2020.
Posted 05 November 2021
Thought-provoking presentations
Richard Scutt, STEAMIncubator Programme Manager, who oversees the programme with colleague Jennine Jones, opened the event – which took place on Thursday 4 November 2021 - with a warm welcome and overview of what the Incubator offers.
Much emphasis was spotlighted on creating a diverse community of startup businesses, with three entrepreneurs supported by the Incubator giving impressive presentations.
Shovon Wiggan, CEO of Inspire-A-Doll, gave us an insight into her business journey which is a multi-cultural doll range representing girls from around the world.
“This is a new brand surrounding dolls from different ethnic backgrounds,” said Shovon.
“(It celebrates) their individuality, pursuing dream jobs, and discovering forgotten women in history around the world. Set in a magical place, high up in the clouds where dreams come true for little girls with big ambitions.”
Hardeep Randhawa, founder of PROLIMBS, gave a thought-provoking presentation surrounding his company, whose mission is to significantly reduce the number of lower limb amputations which occur globally due to diabetes.
“STEAMhouse Incubator has provided me with invaluable support through the introduction to experts within the field of diabetes and through the introduction to a mentor and business advisor,” he said.
Simon Caulton, owner and founder of fashion startup Ones Trainers, gave a heart-warming presentation on his Ones Trainers business journey, inspired by his daughter who had been diagnosed with leukaemia in 2017.
“My daughter had over two and half years’ worth of treatment and all the struggles we went through taught me how to take one step at a time, the message behind my brand,” he explained. .
“I remember clearly –I’m just about go to the hospital. I have no idea what the day is going to hold, everything could change in a day.
“I dug down and put my shoes on, but I just wanted a comfortable pair of shoes, to take a deep breath, take a step and be able to walk to the hospital – that was my one step journey.”
The centre for collaborative innovation
Joanna Birch, Director of BCU’s Research, Innovation, Enterprise and Employability directorate, closed off the evening with a powerful overview into why the STEAM agenda is so crucial to the development of our city and how it helps to bring a community of like-minded individuals together as a team.
“STEAMhouse is a centre for collaborative innovation,” she said. “We help enterprises in our region flourish and prosper.
“We do this by cultivating a space that supports people to start-up, learn, experiment, grow and innovate.”
The launch event left attendees feeling “inspired and more motivated than ever” to start their own journey into being an entrepreneur, supported by STEAMhouse Incubator.
If you have a business or a business idea that you would like to push to the limits of success, come and see how the incubator can support you into making your dreams a reality.
Email steamincubator@bcu.ac.uk, based on the Ground Floor of Millennium Point at Birmingham City University, open 7am to 11pm, seven days a week.
