Entrepreneurial Spirit and Talent Celebrated at University Event
Student start-ups, businesses, entrepreneurs and those who encourage and inspire entrepreneurship were celebrated at a special event held at Wrexham University.
The Celebration of Entrepreneurship event shone a light on entrepreneurial spirit and success, with a host of start-ups exhibiting to showcase their business, as well as highlight the support they receive from Wrexham University's Enhancing Entrepreneurship team .
Among the student start-ups in attendance at the event were Translate-A-Bill – a service that uses their platform to translate bills and information into a clear and understandable format, whether that's for British expats needing help to navigate the structure of bills abroad or businesses looking to remove barriers between them and their customers by providing them with easy-to-read bills in their native language.
Chris Rowlatt-Wildgust, founder and CEO of Translate-A-Bill and current Master of Business Administration student at the University , said the support he has received from the Enhancing Entrepreneurship team has been 'second-to-none'.
'Setting up Translate-A-Bill has been an incredible journey so far. Our service truly is one-of-a-kind, and my ambition for the future is to be able to translate anything for a customer, accurately and swiftly. Ultimately, it's about accessibility and helping remove barriers for both individuals and businesses,' he said.
'I'm now excited for our next steps as a business – and the support we've received from the university has been incredible. Thanks to some funding from the Entrepreneurship team, we are now in the process of building some new software for the platform to help make life even easier for our users.'
Lisa Scully, co-founder and Director of Menopause Connect & Thrive CIC (Community Interest Company), who was also at the event, said:
'We are a CIC that is dedicated to working in partnership to improve community and workplace wellbeing across North Wales , with the goal of empowering individuals and organisations, and promoting better understanding and management of menopause-related challenges.
'The support we have received from the university's Entrepreneurship team has been invaluable – from their support and advice in us setting up as a CIC to helping us strengthen our local connections, we are so grateful for the team's support and it's been wonderful to celebrate entrepreneurial spirit and other local start-ups at this event.'
Liane Gregory-Roberts, founder of the Little Jewellery School and Applied Art graduate of the university , said:
'I feel proud to be at this event and of what I have achieved so far with fantastic support from the Entrepreneurship team. I lead jewellery making workshops using traditional silver smithing techniques, either in people's homes or their venue of choice.
'Starting up my own business has been a real learning curve, however the team have provided me with so much support from one-to-one sessions and workshops to marketing support and help setting up the business. In all of this process, it's really helped build my confidence. I can't thank the team enough.'
The celebration event was also attended by Mayor of Wrexham, Beryl Blackmore and the University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Joe Yates.
As part of the celebration a number of awards were also presented to the entrepreneurs and some of those who encourage and inspire entrepreneurship, including local businesses and lecturers.
The award categories and winners included: Student Start-up of the Year: Chris Rowlatt-Wildgust of Translate-A-Bill
Innovative Business Idea : Lindsey Williams of Fansi
Lindsey Williams of Fansi Social Responsibility Award: Lisa Scully & Emma-Jane King of Menopause Connect
Lisa Scully & Emma-Jane King of Menopause Connect Entrepreneurship Catalyst Award – Facilitator: Geoff Stevenson of Anstey Business Consultancy
Geoff Stevenson of Entrepreneurship Catalyst Award – Lecturer: Richard Hebblewhite, Programme Leader Senior Lecturer in Games and Computing; and Jack Harker, Programme Leader for Game Development, Game Enterprise and Game Art, for their work in Games Talent Wales.
Richard Hebblewhite, Programme Leader Senior Lecturer in Games and Computing; and Jack Harker, Entrepreneurial Mindset Award: Liz Rowlands of Liz Rowlands Coaching
Sasha Kenney, Entrepreneurship Co-ordinator at Wrexham University, added:
'We were delighted to host another Celebration of Entrepreneurship event.
'It was wonderful to be in a room filled with so many dedicated and driven entrepreneurs – individuals who work tirelessly to achieve their dreams and contribute to our vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, here in North Wales.
'It was also a real pleasure to present awards to some of these brilliantly innovative start-ups, as well as those who inspire, encourage and provide opportunities to our entrepreneurial community, here at the university.
'A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this celebration so special.'
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He said it is 'ridiculous' his wife's income cannot be used to meet the salary requirement despite her remote job as a content creator paying enough to mean they 'could move to the UK tomorrow'. Mr Todd said he wants to 'avoid at all costs' the prospect of being separated from his wife and child, adding: 'It just feels wrong, am I going to have to turn to my child when she's older and say to her: 'Well, sorry, the reason I wasn't with you for the first year of your life was because I was trying to get work for the family to move.'' Ed Moon with his wife Amber and daughter Maya, currently living in Taiwan and are trying to move back to the UK (Ed Moon/PA) British father Ed Moon, currently living in Taipei with his Taiwanese wife Amber Moon and four-year-old daughter Maya, is also applying to the family visa route to move back to the UK as Maya reaches school age. 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A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We understand the minimum income requirement for family visas needs to balance a respect for family life while also maintaining the UK's economic stability, which is why the Home Secretary commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to undertake a review. 'We are now considering its findings and will respond in due course.'
