Business start-up

Teesside Launchpad provides space, support and advice for anyone looking to start a new, high impact venture in Teesside.

For people with big ideas and the drive to create a new business – the Launchpad provides members with a stimulating environment, real creative spaces and the ability to meet, share and collaborate with like-minded start-up founders and gain access to some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs and investors.

Ideate space

A space to play, collaborate, ideate and meet. This is our informal social space, a place to breakout from a workshop, meet with team members to whiteboard out a great new project.

• Free Wi-Fi
• Xbox One
• 1080p HD projector
• Wireless 7.1 Surround Sound
• 3D Smart TV with internet
• We Present – Wireless presentations x32 users
• Giant whiteboard
• Table tennis table

Maker space

Our maker space is a place to print in 3D, stitch, solder, hack and hot wire.

• Free Wi-Fi
• Orion Delta 3D printer
• Cube 3 3D printer
• x2 sewing machines
• Logo embroidery machine
• Overlocker machine
• Soldering stations
• Raspberry Pi

Learning space

Our learning space is a place to learn, present, pitch and collaborate. It is home to all of our workshops, challenges and training programmes. It is also the boardroom for the Launchpad steering group. Coming in 2016: Lean Launchpad 10 week start-up programme

Lean Launchpad is a business model development programme for early stage entrepreneurs from the Teesside student and alumni community. Led by The Forge, Lean Launchpad helps you develop your business ideas with a view to supporting a future application to enter the Teesside Launchpad accelerator. Our first Lean Launchpad will take place over 10 weeks starting in February 2016 with up to 12 successful teams each winning a £1,000 start-up grant.
Find out more

Coming in 2016: Ultimate Me!

Ultimate Me is a behavioural development programme designed to help students taking part in Teesside Launchpad and Accelerator solutions to develop the attitudes and behaviours required for successful start-up founders.

• Personal preference profiling with Myers-Briggs type indicator
• Personal development plan
• A series of half-day workshops, experiential activities and online lectures focusing on:
  • Self-management
  • Problem solving
  • Creative thinking
  • Influence and persuasion
  • Self-confidence and positivity
  • Persistence and resilience

Delivery of Ultimate Me workshops will take place in the learning space at the Teesside Launchpad. Delivery is scheduled to start in February 2016.

entrepreneurs@tees offers a range of exciting events and challenges to help you become an entrepreneur of the future, and add powerful evidence to your CV of your business sense and capacity.

entrepreneurs@tees works closely with Teesside Entrepreneurs, the student enterprise society, to help develop your enterprise skills and make sure you make the most of your time at University.

If you want to be the next Alan Sugar or just want to learn and experience business in a fun and informal way the entrepreneurs@tees programme could be for you. Contact us for more information at ents@tees.ac.uk

Beer mat business idea challenge – £50 for 50 words!

The best business ideas are normally the simplest. Management guru Mark Southon said ‘if you can’t explain your business idea on the back of a beer mat there’s something wrong with it’. So prove him right. Look out for beer mats in and around the campus during Welcome Week and describe your idea in 50 words to win £50.

Teesside Entrepreneurs, the student enterprise society, is looking for students to get involved in running it. In particular they need a management committee of enthusiastic and dedicated members who can manage this year’s activities and events.

Membership is open to students, alumni and graduate businesses and is a great opportunity to meet some interesting people, make new friends and put something really useful on your CV. To find out more, email ents@tees.ac.uk.