Students are bright sparks

Oscar Blazquez, Director of Iberica, was awarded £6,000 for making the most progress with his start-up business during his first six months at Entrepreneurial Spark.

Iberica imports a wide range of authentic Spanish food products, traditionally prepared with natural ingredients, and sells them through wholesale and retail channels in the UK including events and on-line. Oscar founded the business after living and studying in Brighton, enjoying the British culture but missing the Spanish food he grew up with.

Within six months at Entrepreneurial Spark, Iberica has doubled sales, grown a two-person team to seven, developed a business strategy, launched a website, rebranded, and developed and extended the product range to include an own brand label.

Oscar said: “I initially had the support of the University of Brighton’s Entrepreneurship Programme, and in 2013 I was awarded £2,500 from the university’s Enterprise Growth Fund to support the launch of Iberica’s website.

“Now I have also had the honour of receiving a £6,000 award from Entrepreneurial Spark. Our plans for 2016 are quite ambitious but having support from the University of Brighton and the resources and facilities provided by Entrepreneurial Spark, we are ready for the challenge.”

Oscar Blazquez, Director of Iberica

Dan Scott and Ben Le Brocq from the Bug Boys

Dan Stott and Ben Le Brocq, the Bug Boys, are both University of Brighton undergraduates (BSc(Hons) Geology and BSc(Hons) Product Design) and are developing an environmentally-sound insect-derived superfood.

Professor Debra Humphris, the university’s Vice Chancellor, said: “Dan and Ben are such a great example of the entrepreneurial spark that we must continue to promote in the university. I feel very proud to be the Vice-Chancellor of a university that encourages talents such as theirs.”

Dan and Ben are currently focussing on market research, competitor analysis and developing a pilot farm project, as well as researching and analysing the nutritional value of insect protein. They want to build a mini ‘bug farm’ so that they can learn how to most efficiently farm insects.

Both Iberica and the Bug Boys were members of the University of Brighton’s entrepreneurship programme, beepurple, where they received mentoring to get their product ideas realised.

Bug Boys, Dan Stott and Ben Le Brocq, said: “beepurple, helped steer us towards Entrepreneurial Spark where the incredible enablers have been guiding us on a path to even more opportunities. We couldn't recommend both beepurple and Entrepreneurial Spark highly enough for the opportunities they provide."

Go Kid Music is a production company specialising in children’s music delivered through events, shows, kids clubs and a CD collection. Director Al Start, is also one of the 20 original ‘chiclets’ at Entrepreneurial Spark who will be progressing to the next stage of the programme. Al was awarded £2,000 for demonstrating the mind-set and behaviours of a successful entrepreneur.

Al is currently working with a University of Brighton placement student on a film and photography project, and has also been awarded 150 hours of marketing support from the university’s own student marketing consultancy Bright Young Things, which gives marketing students the opportunity to work with real-life companies and products.

Al Start from Go Kids Music, Professor Debra Humphris, Vice Chancellor of the University of Brighton, Dan Scott from the Bug Boys, Oscar Blazquez, Director of Iberica, Ben Le Brocq from the Bug Boys and Judith Badger, the university’s training and development manager.

Fiona Anderson, NatWest’s Entrepreneurial Development Manager in Brighton, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to recognise and reward the hard work, perseverance and growth of these entrepreneurs. The valuable help and support that the University of Brighton has provided has been intrinsic to the success of these businesses.’’

For more information on the relationship between Entrepreneurial Spark and the University of Brighton, contact Judith Badger on 07984 122195 or email at J.Badger@brighton.ac.uk.