Business School to give businesses a creative boost at Venturefest Yorkshire
Entrepreneurs and business managers
visiting Venturefest Yorkshire on 16 February will learn why the
apparently simply decision in the 1960s to sell the four finger
Kit-Kat as a two finger bar demonstrates the immense power that
creativity and innovation has in successful businesses.
In an exclusive free presentation, York St
John Business School is giving entrepreneurs and business managers
the opportunity to learn how to harness creativity and innovation
to help their organisations thrive in today’s challenging economic
climate. Delegates will also find out practical information about
how they can access local business incubators provided by Science
City York and hear about their success stories.
York St John Business School’s senior lecturer
in marketing Keith Brighty will deliver the presentation with York
Press Business Awards 2010 finalist Dario Grandich of Snapshot
Media, a rapidly growing web business which grew from a spare room
enterprise to a company with an international client base in just
12 months.
"When you’re running a business, it is easy to
overlook the simple things that can make a massive difference,"
says Keith. "Learning how to foster a spirit of creativity and
innovation and build this into your day to day thinking will
deliver outstanding results. And knowing where to go for high
quality support locally is extremely useful knowledge to have –
that’s why we’re thrilled to have this opportunity to speak at
Venturefest."
Keith will explain what innovation and
creativity means in a business context and highlight how York
Science City’s business incubators give entrepreneurs the right
balance of academic and corporate support to help them transform
their ideas into tangible business success. Dario Grandich, sales
director of Snapshot Media, will speak about the support his
organisation has received and how he thinks other entrepreneurs can
benefit.
"The idea of selling the traditional Kit Kat
in a half size is a perfect example of how creativity works," adds
Keith. "Rowntrees – as they were – were able to enter a whole
new market to compete with biscuit brands by cutting the size from
four to two bars. Often innovations, such as this, appear
obvious with hindsight but are only able to flourish in a
supportive environment.
"Many established organisations find this new
way of thinking is best achieved by bringing in somebody new on a
short term basis which is where Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
(KTPs) come in. The KTP programme enables suitable businesses to
appoint a graduate ‘associate’ on a project basis so they can
benefit from fresh ideas and the latest academic thinking – and
grants are available to help businesses fund this too."
Keith and his colleagues from York St John
Business School will be on hand at Venturefest to help delegates
find out more about how KTPs work and how their organisations can
benefit.
For further press information
please contact Karen Nixon at The Partners Group
on T: 01904 610077 or E: karen@partners-group.co.uk
or Amy Hall, PR & Communications Officer on T:
01904 876466 or E: a.hall@yorksj.ac.uk
