Exeter student entrepreneurs celebrate awards

Among the success stories were:

ModMyPi (winner of Graduate Start-Up Award) - ModMyPi was launched by University of Exeter graduate Jacob Marsh in March 2012 in response to the high levels of interest and demand for the Raspberry Pi minicomputer. The company produces case solutions for the Raspberry Pi and turned over almost £1M in year one with £100,000 profit. 

The Young Ones (winner of Student Start-Up Award) - a business founded by University of Exeter students Tom Carson and Chris Rea in response to the ‘onesie’ craze which took off in 2010. The duo spotted a gap in the market and now supplies custom onesies to over 20 universities in the UK, with end users ranging from individuals to sporting groups and societies. The core of the Young Ones business model is the ability to quickly spot trending fashions and source high quality but lower priced alternatives. This has led to the company turning over £120k with a profit of £50k to date and making headway in the American university market.

Special guest at the awards, Nick Wheeler, founder of Charles Tyrwhitt Shirts and non-executive director of The White Company, said: “With the UK showing signs of a stagnated economy, it has never been more important to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs. Fast, flexible and lean start-ups will be the lifeblood of UK business in years to come and it is therefore vital that businesses, Government and organisations such as SETsquared work together to make it happen.”

Other Exeter winners included David Solomides, who received a Business Mentor of the Year award; and Edward Noel, President of the Exeter Entrepreneurs Society 2012-13, who was named a Student Enterprise Champion. 

SETsquared, a partnership of the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey, runs a number of initiatives and events to help foster entrepreneurialism in university students, regularly teaming up with some of the UK’s biggest companies and most successful entrepreneurs to deliver workshops and training.

Partnership director, Graham Harrison, said: “These awards rightly celebrate those who are working at the coalface to embody and support the Government’s agenda for entrepreneurship and growth. There are some incredible success stories from the nominees and winners and I hope their tales will inspire others across the country.”