Educating, inspiring and connecting entrepreneurs through
Startup Grind Glasgow University Startup Grind is a global initiative across 600 cities and 125+ countries that aims to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. Having attended many Startup Grind events in both Glasgow and Edinburgh over the past five years, I was presented with the opportunity to launch a local chapter for Startup Grind University of Glasgow in order to nurture the entrepreneurial community on campus. Following a formal application process, including a video pitch, which I successfully completed, I then focused on getting buy-in from the various stakeholders around entrepreneurship support at the University. Due to my long-term involvement in entrepreneurship activities on campus, I was aware of other entrepreneurship activities taking place on campus and I also had a well-developed network at the institution. I started building rapport with the key stakeholders and started negotiating our collaboration in a way that would maximum benefit for all parties involved whilst minimising overlaps among each of our activities. By using my pitching, sales, and negotiation skills, I was able to secure support and significant funding from the key stakeholders which then allowed me to focus on building my team. Having successfully recruited a Co-Director and negotiated a partnership with the Glasgow University Entrepreneurship Society, we were able to host our inaugural event in September 2018. Organising and hosting the event put my public speaking and events management skills to the test as I had no prior experience organising events at such a large scale. Nevertheless, due to my diligent planning, I was able to book the venue, secure a speaker, arrange catering, and promote the event to students and staff across the University in only a few weeks prior to the event. Overall, through my role as Director of Startup Grind University of Glasgow, I have demonstrated my leadership as well as the ability to work collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders and build a vibrant community around a worthwhile cause. The inaugural event was a massive success as it attracted 50 students across many disciplines at the University, many of whom returned for other events in the series. In fact, the entrepreneurial community on campus has been growing and thriving which resulted in my winning the prestigious Rookie Director of the Year Award at the Startup Grind Global Conference in Silicon Valley 2019. |