Students talk business with guest entrepreneur speakers

Management and enterprise students at York St John University are gaining real-life experience from enlightening entrepreneur sessions. 

Five entrepreneurs, financiers, and small business creators, ranging from a multi-national company owner to a local lifestyle business owner, are dropping into business and venture creation lectures at the University.  

Valuable for aspiring student entrepreneurs, the guest speakers are offering their insights and top tips on how they created their business ventures, what they would do differently next time and what they are planning to do next. 

Two talks took place in December, with more planned throughout 2022. 

Dr Mark Hoyle, lecturer at York St John University and leader of the business and venture creation lectures, said: “This experience helps contextualise the students’ academic studies around entrepreneurship, giving them the opportunity to put theoretical questions to those who have real life experience. We want students to feel prepared and confident going forward in their own future business ventures.” 

Student Ethan Wilkinson who has been attending the sessions said: "I really enjoyed listening to those entrepreneurs and hearing about their real-life successes and failures, as you don't really hear about the failure side in as much detail in the textbooks.” 

Businesses taking part include Loftus Behaviour (Animal training), White Rose Equine Physiotherapy, and Cavebus Limited. 

Mark and his students are also asking business creators to take part in a survey to find information around the key skills required to start a new venture. 

Take part in the skills survey.