Growing the economy. Creating jobs. Solving problems. When entrepreneurship thrives, everybody wins. Now, Queen’s is aiming to grow its innovation-driving entrepreneurship ecosystem – and the University needs your help.
Queen’s University already has a sterling reputation for working with industry and creating businesses from academic research – in fact, it’s just created its 100th spinout, AilseVax, which will identify and develop novel therapeutic vaccines for cancer patients.
But it’s also been working to grow and develop first-time student entrepreneurs, with the Students’ Union Enterprise team running early stage start-up programmes such as QUB Dragons’ Den and the Student Lean Launch Programme. This summer, QUBIS – the commercialisation arm of Queen’s - is investing in student and graduate start-ups by providing grants to enable them to work full time on their business ideas through QUest, a programme of support to validate and develop their idea to ensure they have strong market fit. Soon, InQUBate will launch – a newly focused entrepreneurial network, bringing together all the University’s expertise to support student innovation and enterprise. And your expertise could make all the difference.
“We have 210,000 alumni across the globe who have amazing experience across all kinds of sectors,” says Brian McCaul, Director of Innovation at QUBIS. “Imagine if we could open up that incredibly valuable depository of knowledge to our entrepreneur community.”
Why is it so important for the University to support entrepreneurship at all levels? “NI is a low start-up economy, which makes Queen’s unusually important,” points out McCaul. “If we can create ten or 15 businesses a year that make up for that lack of start-up activity, provide a stream of bright young entrepreneurs, invest and create, that would have an incredible impact.”
And just going through the process involved in creating a business is hugely beneficial, says Professor Emma Flynn, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise. “You learn how to make an impact in the world through ideas,” she says. “And you develop skills including market testing of an idea, learning how to talk to investors, making a case for investment and support, and building up a network.”
If your first idea fails, entrepreneurial experience will give you the mindset, spirit and the skills to bounce back, she points out. “And that might mean that you create another company that is more successful later. Or it might mean that you take that mindset into a charity, into public policy or a business.”
And there are so many ways for alumni to contribute – and benefit – says McCaul. “Perhaps you could spare 20 or 30 minutes to give your opinion on an idea in your sector. Maybe you’re interested in mentoring an entrepreneur, either short or long-term, and being actively involved in helping to grow their business. Or maybe you’re interested in potential future funding or investment opportunities. Just a bit of time, talent and experience can make a huge difference to these young entrepreneurs.”
Want to play a part in developing the next generation of entrepreneurs? We’d love to talk to you - just contact inqubate@qub.ac.uk for an informal chat or sign up here to stay in touch: https://forms.office.com/e/m0GwBBcEuy
Yolanda Cooper (Management, 2007)
It was a classic lightbulb moment: Yolanda Cooper (Management, 2007) had come up with a product that didn’t exist – but should. Now, her three-in-one hair tool is going global – and she wants to inspire others to do the same.
Cooper’s entrepreneurship journey began in a rather unlikely place: being stuck in Dublin Airport with overweight luggage. “It was because I was carrying a ton of different hair tools,” she remembers. “I thought: why isn’t there just one tool that does it all?”
She left her job as Head of Global Marketing at a beauty brand and launched The Conscious Beauty Group, a parent company that now includes three brands: We Are Paradoxx, which specialises in sustainable biotech haircare, Mini Humans, an eco-friendly baby care brand; and Supernova – multi-tasking hair tools, with the PRO being the world’s first integrated straightener, wand and tong. “We created Conscious Beauty Group as a platform to allow us to build multiple beauty brands in different verticals, but all with the common denominator of sustainability at their core.”
It’s been a long and demanding journey. After a five-year development process, the Supernova PRO has just been granted a patent and will launch in July. But Cooper says that her degree was the perfect preparation for an entrepreneur’s life. “It gave me a fundamental understanding of all the aspects of running a business: economics, finance, innovation, entrepreneurship, marketing and ethics. It helped me understand that you don’t necessarily need to have a specialism – but you do need to know how to spin ten plates at once. And it gave me the leadership ability to know when I need that specialist knowledge, and to bring the right people in.”
Cooper says that universities and their alumni communities have a vital role to play in inspiring entrepreneurs like her. “In fact, I’d say it should start in primary school! I’m always encouraging my eight-year-old to invent things. When I was young, I’d invent things and my Dad would say, ‘Surely if it’s a good idea, it would already exist’. And I’d always say that everything has to be created at some point. Every industry evolves.”
And despite her busy schedule, Cooper is keen to give back – she’s already spoken at Queen’s and her old school, Belfast Royal Academy, about her experiences. “I’ve met so many young people who have these amazing ideas but don’t yet have the business acumen needed to execute them. I feel that it’s our duty to pass our expertise along – particularly when you’re a female entrepreneur, as role models are so important.”
Find out more about the support that Queen's Management School can offer businesses.
Jack Fullerton and Joseph Gillan from Atlas Smart Solutions — © Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
If you need something that doesn’t exist, invent it. That’s what keen weightlifter Jack Fullerton (Computer Science, 2021) did – and now his company, Atlas Technologies, is punching way above its weight.
Over lockdown, Fullerton envied the sense of community that the wildly popular running and cycling app Strava gave to its users. But as a weightlifter, there wasn’t a similar app available to him. So why not create one?
Together with co-founder Peter Gillan (Mechanical Engineering, 2022), Fullerton came up with the idea for the Atlas SmartBell, a smart adjustable dumbbell. As well as allowing you to change your weights at the touch of a button, it also records your workouts via a mobile app, Stronger – allowing you to connect and compete with fellow weightlifters.
But neither he nor Gillan had ever started a business before. So, they engaged with SU Enterprise for some advice on support available, both within Queen’s and more widely across the NI start-up ecosystem. Once they had a business plan in place, it was time to pitch to QUB Dragons’ Den – where they secured £10k of funding.
That was enough to create their first prototype, while Fullerton worked on the first version of Stronger, which concentrated on the workout tracker element. He made a short video showing what it could do and put it on TikTok. It went viral, with 700,000 views and 10,000 downloads. “That was amazing – we didn’t pay a single penny for that marketing,” he says.
Then it was time to scale up. Last year, they entered the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition. They won their category, giving them another €50k to take the business forward. The app now has 50,000 downloads, and the most recent version is set to launch soon, with the social and sharing element added. “Right now, we’re bringing in revenue with the app and we just need a couple more prototypes of the dumbbell before we launch,” says Fullerton. “And that will be part of the next big journey.”
He says the support they’ve received from Queen’s has been invaluable. “Our first pitch experience was QUB Dragons’ Den, which gave us great experience in answering questions from potential investors. For Seedcorn, we had to do a longer, 15-minute pitch, and Queen's SU Enterprise helped us to refine and rehearse it. They’ve always been there for us!”
Before he came to university, Fullerton had never considered becoming an entrepreneur. “I never thought I could create a company – I thought I’d just leave uni and get a job. But because Queen’s gave me all these ways of dipping my toes into that world, I realised that creating my own things is what I enjoy. I think it’s so important that we have these pathways for people who don’t even realise it’s possible.”
Find out more about opportunities for student and recent graduate entrepreneurs.
Maebh Reynolds (Mechanical Engineering, 2023)
Electric vehicles could help save the world – but only if practical problems like a lack of chargers can be overcome. That’s why Maebh Reynolds (Mechanical Engineering, 2023) and her co-founder came up with a simple yet brilliant solution – an Airbnb for car chargers.
In January 2023, Reynolds decided that just studying her subject wasn’t enough. She wanted to dive into the world of entrepreneurship – but she didn’t have any ideas. So, she went along to the Catalyst Co-Founders programme, one of the fantastic opportunities available within the NI start-up scene “I just went in with my skills, hoping someone would have a great business idea I could help with,” she says.
Within just a few hours, she met her co-founder, who brought up a pressing problem faced by potential electric vehicle (EV) drivers. Many would love to switch to EVs but aren’t able to have a charging point installed at their homes. In fact, there are approximately 20,000 home chargers installed on the island of Ireland, compared to only 2,500 public chargers.
The two put their heads together and came up with GoPlugable – an app that matches EV drivers who need charging points with local homeowners who are willing to let drivers use their chargers for a fee. Drivers can find, book and pay for the charger all on the app. By enabling motorists to share their chargers, GoPlugable empowers 30 per cent of drivers who can’t install a charger at home to switch to an electric car.
It sounds simple but turning it into reality has been a complex process. Luckily, the entrepreneurs have been able to turn to Queen’s SU Enterprise for support – even down to legal advice. “There are working parts to running a business that you just don't think about,” says Reynolds. “Our business involves a lot of legal technicalities, so SU Enterprise arranged for us to speak with a legal expert, who gave us incredibly useful advice.”
Having that network to call upon has been crucial, she says. “The SU Enterprise team are so helpful – if they can’t answer a question, they’ll know someone in their network who can. Creating those connections is fantastic when you’re in my position, and just been in education rather than the workplace.” She has particularly enjoyed learning from other entrepreneurs in a spirit of collaboration, not competition. “There’s so much value in speaking to someone who’s already been through the process and has a story to tell.”
In just six months, GoPlugable has gone from idea to reality. They have £10k funding from QUB Dragons’ Den and are also supported by New Frontier Ireland, giving them around £20k in start-up funding. In June, the team will have a minimum viable product – an early version that electric car users will use and feed back on, enabling more improvements to be made.
Having a vibrant start-up community doesn’t just benefit the entrepreneurs themselves but the whole of NI, she points out. “Entrepreneurship will help set us apart from the rest of the world. Start-ups will encourage more investment to NI, and that will mean we can support more in the future. If you have the passion, nobody cares about your background.”
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Want to play a part in developing the next generation of entrepreneurs? We’d love to talk to you - just contact inqubate@qub.ac.uk for an informal chat or sign up here to stay in touch.
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