I teach a tech start-up module for Masters students here at the University of Bristol. For most of the ~150 finalist engineers who take the module its their first taste of start-up and we shamelessly focus on the 'business' aspect rather than the 'tech' as the rest of their degree handles that. Most of our … Continue reading Entrepreneurship equals Employability

Towards the end of 2016 I got tipped off by a colleague to the Do Lectures 'Side Project' event - which looks pretty cool but it's on my birthday and birthdays are for family (and I don't have £900 to take the family!). The notion of a 'side project' however really connected for me; I've always … Continue reading Side Projects

As part of a previous role chairing an interest group for the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) I wrote a popular blog post on using entrepreneurship models for supporting careers advice - this is that blog updated for general use. It’s becoming increasingly vital to talk to young people entering the job market about enterprise and entrepreneurship; more … Continue reading Personal Business Models

Habit #1 Write your ideas down We have hundreds of ideas every day, but we tend to fail to seize them and act on them, often because we can’t remember them. Many successful creatives swear by keeping a notebook, journal or sketchpad to capture their thoughts. Habit #2 Focus on quantity not quality The more … Continue reading Have a more innovative year – 10 tips for creativity in 2017

I’ve got a bit of a thing about serendipity and it’s role in creativity. I’ve always believed that we largely make our own luck and I love a phrase one of my former managers uses - “engineered serendipity” - how do we create situations in which we are more likely to be lucky? New ideas come … Continue reading The Value of Serendipity

A couple of weeks ago I spent a day with the Philosophy Department at the University of Bristol for a series of talks on Creativity - I was curious to discover what this corner of higher education had to say about the process of developing and executing ideas. It was genuinely fascinating - if a … Continue reading The Philosophy of Creativity

I have had a series of conversations this week about problem-solving and a new insight struck me; its only a small insight, but maybe a valuable one. I think problem-solving can be usefully explored and developed via this sporting metaphor - match fitness vs on-field tactics. They're not wholly mutually exclusive or opposites I know, but … Continue reading Problem Solving: Fitness vs Tactics

Over the course of November I’ve been freelancing at Bath Spa University running a series of events on enterprising career paths. This is the third of three blogs about the events I've facilitated. The third event in the series was focused on entrepreneurship, and we defined this within the series as being about starting up … Continue reading Make Your Own Career #3: Entrepreneurs

Over the course of November I’ve been freelancing at Bath Spa University running a series of events on enterprising career paths. This is the second of three blogs about the events I've facilitated. The second event in the series was focused on artists and creatives looking to sell their work. We knew from previous experience … Continue reading Make Your Own Career #2: Artists

Over the course of November I’m freelancing at Bath Spa University running a series of events on enterprising career paths. Bath Spa University has a vested interest in supporting enterprising students for several key reasons: They have a higher than average number of students in self-employment 6 months after graduation (12-14% compared to nationally 5-6% … Continue reading Make Your Own Career #1: Freelancing