Thinking of starting a business?

Vol. 25, Issue 05, 07 October 2022

Many students often have ideas during their study time on how to come up with extra cash. Some students turn these creative ideas into real money makers. Do you have a fantastic or crazy idea that could launch your own business?

At Xamk, there are many things students learn in their own field and also others through cross-disciplinary studies. In the field of Business, students have quite a lot of entrepreneurship emphasised in their studies. There are even courses that are tailored to students that are planning on becoming an entrepreneur through their studies.

But what if you are not sure if you really want to take the leap into entrepreneurship but would like to try out some money-making ideas during your study time? Well, there are also many ways in which the various projects, societies, and departments can help. Xamk has a whole department, Xentre, that is dedicated to Research Development and Innovation (RDI), and this is also achieved through helping start-ups get noticed and established through various events and activities. There are pitching events, networking, festivals, national and international projects, company development ideas, and more. Staff of Xentre along with lecturers, help students to find their way through entrepreneurial ideas and bring them to the notice of investors and other interested parties. One of the biggest start-up events of Xamk, *ship Festival, will be seen next time in May 2023 – if you are thinking along these lines, then don’t miss it!

Start-up ideas can be varied, what might sound like a crazy idea among friends, can turn into a multi-million-euro business in a short time. Who would have known 8 years ago, that a Finnish food delivery service idea would become so successful – Wolt. There are others like it that have seen a massive take-up in home deliveries, especially during the recent pandemic – a bad time for most around the world, but great news for home delivery companies.

BBC News (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54422464) recently reported that team of three students in the UK realised at the start of the Corona crisis that finding a job after graduation at that time was going to be difficult, so they decided to start their own company, Snackcess, to offer businesses the opportunity to send small snack packages to their remote employees. They did not see the idea as a long term plan, rather just a quick way to make money, but seeing their turnover growing to over ten times in just a few months, they soon realised this was the start of something bigger.

So never think that your ideas or plans are too grand or too small, you need to start somewhere and there are many in Xamk willing to help even if it is just to discuss your dreams for becoming an entrepreneur without an idea. Richard Branson began his road to entrepreneurship by founding a school magazine at just 16 years old, and look at where he is today.

Now let’s see what I can do with Insider…