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Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Meet the Foodies


    This event brings together food business owners who have carved out their own unique spaces and are revolutionising the vibrant culinary world. From reimagining classic beans and crafting innovative ready meals, to blending diverse cultures through vegan Caribbean cuisine, West African snacks, and Mauritian restaurant experiences.

    From navigating a saturated market to promoting change, our panellists will share the highs and lows of their entrepreneurial journeys, offering valuable insights and practical advice.

    On the day, you can expect to:

    • hear first-hand accounts of building a food business from the ground up, including overcoming obstacles and celebrating wins
    • learn how to creatively build a loyal and growing social media following and generate revenue
    • discuss the challenges and opportunities of operating a food business in today's market, including adapting to changing trends and consumer preferences
    • explore innovative approaches to scaling and sustaining a thriving food business
    • uncover the growing importance of health and wellness within the food industry
    • see how cultural backgrounds are transformed into valuable opportunities for new customer markets
    • connect with fellow food enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and our speakers
    • enjoy a delicious product tasting from one of our featured speakers.

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How to understand sustainability trends in the UK right now


Ever popular on Start-up Day, we’re happy to welcome back global market researchers Mintel to share the inside track on emerging trends affecting your business ideas right now.

We’ll cut through all the jargon and data to bring you all the big headlines trending in key sectors and, of course, in sustainable living.

Richard Cope is a Senior Trends Consultant at Mintel and author of its Sustainability Barometer. In his presentation he will share some of the most up to date trends data that will focus on how do you sell sustainability to consumers.

Some of the main sections covered will be:
The sustainability drivers of consumer buying behaviours
How to learn from the best brands
The latest news on emissions, measuring carbon footprints and waste reduction
Power of using the right language in describing your sustainable practices and priorities
How sustainability in the UK compares across the world.

You can access Mintel data in Business & IP Centres across the country. Our expert staff are there to help you pick out and understand the stories such as these behind the stats, and inform some really key decisions as you build your business. Visit bl.uk/business to find your nearest Centre

BIPC Worcestershire's In conversation with Craig Carr - the thrills and spills of running your own business

Join Angela Podmore from Kinetic Communications as she talks to Craig Carr, founder and owner of Fairburn Heating Solutions, who will share what led him to start-up his business 15 years ago and valuable insights into how both he and the business have developed. Craig will be discussing the strategies he’s adopted along the way and the key ingredients to success in business, to inspire those considering or just starting out on a business venture. We’re going to find out how Craig turns fear of failure into fuel whereby he learns from mistakes and takes his business forward. Craig will share his favourite business books – be prepared for some surprising titles!

Inspiring Entrepreneurs: High street heroes


High streets are the beating heart of our local communities. Having a presence on the high street gives businesses a unique opportunity to connect with their customers, and the responsibility to meet their needs as these change and evolve. What additional service could you offer to those who interact with your brand in person? What extra impact could you generate by sharing your spaces with neighbours and fellow makers?

We have brought together a panel of three loved and respected local businesses, our high street heroes. Their founders will share practical tips through their inspiring stories and tell us more about their individual journeys.

Mary Otumahana, award-winning musician and founder of The RecordShop; a grassroots independent organisation based in Wood Green, that focuses on making an impact with a multipurpose music space located on the high street. By providing access to a recording studio and music career training, Mary is leading a mission to educate, inform and inspire inner-city youths to connect to their community through music.Hellen Stirling-Baker, founder of children’s store, Small Stuff, has led her business from an experimental pop-up shop to a successful, eco-friendly bricks and clicks model at the heart of her high street in Crookes, Sheffield. A perfect example that being a small shop doesn’t mean you can’t have big values; Hellen is a local leader who champions ethical suppliers and supports other retailers, often sharing her shop for community-building events. Hellen is the deserved winner of this year’s High Street Hero for the Small Awards 2022.Carolynn Bain, founder of Afori Books, the first Black-owned bookshop in Brighton. Carolynn almost did the opposite of most during the pandemic; inspired to stock only Black authors in response to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, she started her business as an online shop. Demand was so high however, that Afrori Books was approached to open a physical bookshop in Lighthouse, a local Arts-based charity, with fit-out costs successfully crowdfunded.

We are running this event with the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) who are also champions of high street businesses and are here to help, all year round.

The Sustainable Start-up: building climate conscious principles into your business from day


For anyone starting (or scaling) a business in 2021, sustainability is likely on your radar, but how do you walk the walk from day one? In this session, we’ll be looking at how to embed a climate-conscious mentality to all aspects of your work, offering a series of tips to guide your decisions on everything from banking and web hosting, to products and packaging. Whether you’re a sole trader working from home, or a retailer with a shop front, we’ve got you covered - with room for a Q&A at the end if you have any particular burning questions.

British Library's Introduction to intellectual property

Join BIPC London’s intellectual property information expert, Jeremy O’Hare, for this introduction to intellectual property.

An understanding of intellectual property and its protection is vital for anyone with an idea, whether it’s an invention, a brand name or a song. This online webinar will introduce the four areas of intellectual property and help you understand which may apply to you and your business.

These four main areas are:
PatentsTrade MarksRegistered designsCopyright

Michael Cashman

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