Home
	About us Introduction Key Partners Who We Are
	The Start-up Kit Business Advice Business Incubation CD-ROM Business Concept PYES Proof of Concept Boot Camp Workshops Resource Centre
	Event Calendar
	Success Stories
	FAQs
	Links
	For Staff
	Contact us
	News
	Resource Centre

 

Success Stories

 

Mark Fairbairn

Leeds Met graduate Mark Fairbairn has just completed the Yorkshire Entrepreneurs Boot Camp to help kick start his multimedia business.

Mark intends to offer multimedia services and e-learning packages to the commercial vehicle, construction plant, and agricultural machinery industries as well as clients in the military – and his skills in this area have already been backed by his father’s business training consultancy, which is considering investing in his business idea.

 

Memory Catcher

Creating a treasured keepsake to capture those special occasions is the idea behind ‘Memory Catcher’ a memory book created by Leeds Metropolitan University Graduate Tom Hook.

Aire Sustainability Consultants

Developing sustainable strategies for organisations is the aim of Liam Newton’s business ‘Aire Sustainability Consultants’, a new sustainability consultancy based in West Yorkshire.  Their services include creating business solutions and setting goals to ensure that organisations are sustainable in relation to the planet, people and profit.

 

Red Kite Security

Managing Cultural & Major Events graduate Tim Robb has successfully launched his business Redkite Security Services at the Devon County Show.


Having worked in security and the events industry for several years organising and managing events, Tim realised there was a severe lack of quality, customer focussed security personnel, so this inspired him to take the plunge and start up his own security business.

 

GopherDeals.co.uk

Mike Moss, a graduate from Leeds Metropolitan University recently launched a unique website and promotion service that allows people to ‘Gopher’ the city’s food and drink vouchers.

GopherDeals.co.uk provides access to free promotions for a variety of products and services such as discount restaurant vouchers in Leeds City Centre.

 

Rabbit Hole Designs

Rabbit Hole Designs is an enthusiastic web design and development studio located in the centre of Leeds. It all started in 2006 when Leeds Met students Mark Martin and Tim Ovens met while studying their degree in Multimedia Technology. They were both quick to recognise (and start exploiting!) each other’s talents, allowing themselves to be challenged and tested on many different projects. They enjoyed relative success in university, both in relation to results and awards won through various competitions.

 

Human Film

A film written, directed and produced by Leeds Met graduates has received two awards at the Berlin International Film Festival 2010.  ‘Son of Babylon’ is the second feature film for ‘Human Film’ and it unearths Iraq’s hidden horrors as it takes its audience on a journey through Iraq in 2003, just after the fall of Saddam Hussein.  Son of Babylon was awarded the Amnesty International Film Prize Award & the Peace Prize Award and has been sold to many countries around the world including Colombia, The Benelux, Finland and Sinagpore.

EKO

Down to earth designers who love to create is the inspiration behind the creative agency ‘eko’, a video production, new media and graphic design company founded by Andrew Watkins and Daniel Taylor in 2007.  Based in York, eko has produced corporate films for major clients such as Vodafone, 02, Bupa and Barclays as well as creating iPhone applications, designing and installing software for interactive kiosks, and completing a short film for Aviva which is currently being broadcast on ITV interactive.

 

 

Leeds Met graduate James Jelliman is the founder of ‘Burning Studios’ - a music recording & production company which offers recording (studio & mobile), mixing, mastering, sound design & composition services. Operating from a studio in Kirkstall, Burning Studios has to date produced albums for rX28 and Madam Laycock & Her Dabeno Pleasures, both albums are available on iTunes, as well as Molotov Sandwich which is due to be launched in London in April 2010.  Other clients include Yorkshire Forward, the creative digital company Jam Jar Collective and the film production company Left Eye Blind.

Katherine Moss and Johnathan Gallagher, graduates from Leeds Metropolitan University in Multimedia Technology, decided to combine their skills to co-found a business called Kooji Creative. Kooji Creative is a multimedia design agency that produces specialist flash websites, interactive media and graphic design.

 

 

 

Abdullah al-Wali graduated in July 2009 with a BSc in Music Technology and his business partner Luke Valerio-Depledge finished his BSc in Creative Technology and Sound in the same year. The two of them are now eagerly anticipating the launch of their business venture, Bigfoot Studios, which is set to open for business in February 2010.

 

Enchanté Leeds Magazine is packed with high-quality photography, art, design and interesting articles – with some exclusive interviews thrown in for good measure. Founders of the publication, Anna Newman and Laura Harris, are both graduates of Leeds Metropolitan University. Anna graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Property Management, and Laura a Bachelor of Arts in Photography and Digital Imaging. The combination of the degrees enables Enchanté to have a diverse range of expertise.

 

In recent times, the UK government through the department of health has introduced a system of exercise referrals from GP surgeries to gyms and other fitness centres, leading to opportunities for personal trainers. Business partners, Leon Gabbidon and Rachael McCarthy exploited this gap in the market and started up Legends Personal Training.

 

 

Alison Tynan graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Sports & Exercise science. The BSc honours graduate has since gone onto start up her own business, Body Train.

 

Sarah Parrott graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Creation & Enterprise, whilst also working for the university as the Business Schools Senior Secretary, a post which she still holds today, in conjunction with her business, Moments Wedding & Event Planners.

 

Thomas Dixon graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in July 2006, achieving a first class honours in the Bachelor of Arts degree, Film and Moving Image Production. He then went onto start-up his own video production company, Infinite Productions.

 

 

Howard Barnett

Howard Barnett, BA Honours student in Business and Management, graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2008 with a HNC in Photography and Digital Imaging. Howard, who has been a budding photographer since an early age felt it was time to turn his hobby into a business, having previously worked as a managing director for a Sony subsidiary.

 

Jane Helliwell

Jane Helliwell graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in 2008 with a degree in Screenwriting. She put this knowledge to good use, starting her own business as a freelance Screenwriter in 2009, calling her company JFH Productions, specialising in comedy.

 

Brew

Thomas Bellhouse graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in the summer of 2007, with a Bachelor of Science in Creative Music and Sound Technology. The experience Thomas gained from his degree course was invaluable to the starting-up of record label company, Brew.

 

 

Holbeck Foods Ltd

Holbeck Foods Ltd, a social enterprise, supplying locally sourced fresh food and vegetables, run by Leeds Met graduate Lee Griffiths, was declared winner of Strictly Come Business at the Grand Final held in the Ghandi Hall on Friday 5th June 2009.

Lee, who achieved a HND in Business Management in and gained further enterprise support from Business Start-up, acknowledged how proud he was to have received his award back at the University.

Skills Finder

 

Ismaila Jatta graduated from Leeds Met in 2006 with a 2:1 degree in Computing – Computer Communications. He is currently completing his Masters Degree in Mobile and Distributed Computer Networks and is due to graduate in November 2009. The knowledge gained from his time at university plus over 5 years of industrial experience working in IT has contributed considerably towards the development and launch of his online business ‘Skills Finder™’, which went live on the 1st of June 2009.

The Fruit Box

 

Jonathan Russell graduated in 2008 with a degree in Marketing before going on to start his fruit delivery company ‘The Fruit Box’ in April 2009.

The Fruit Box specialise in delivering the finest fresh fruit to offices in Leeds with a regular delivery service available Monday to Friday, offering handpicked fruit from the Yorkshire Produce Centre to guarantee customers receive only the best produce.

Lift2

Tom Sutcliffe is an Events Management student at Leeds Metropolitan University, and is currently in the process of setting up a social enterprise, Lift2.

Uni Book Club

Paul Rossington graduated from Leeds Met in 2008 with a first class honours Business Studies degree. Paul enlisted the help of Chris Wilkinson, a software expert and Simone Tanda, whom he met whilst studying in Germany to start an online book store for students, www.unibookclub.com.

Gemma Holmes has completed two years at of her degree in IT Management for Business at Leeds met. She is currently taking part in the ‘Placement Year Entrepreneurship Scheme’ or PYES, a placement year where students are given the chance to run their own business.

 

Leeds Met Creative Music & Sound Technology graduates Stuart Childs and Chris Martin started trading in September 2008. Their business, Outpost North, specialises in Sonic Branding – a new and innovative solution to the marketing and advertising needs of the business world.

 

Russell Agro graduated in the summer of 2006 with a degree in Film and Moving Image. In 2008 he launched Glassland Media with his business partner Jamie Watson, a creative video production company which produces high quality videos for the business and broadcast markets.

 

Adrian Larkin graduated from Leeds Met in June 2007 with a Masters degree in Film and Moving Image Production. The knowledge and skills that he developed when studying for this degree helped him to launch a video media productions company called True Media.

 

 

The Yurtel

Tom Dawe graduated from Leeds Met in 2005 with a degree in Events Management. Tom immediately enrolled onto the Business Start-Up summer school in July 2005, an event designed to help new entrepreneurs with practical aspects of starting a business such as finance, marketing, business planning and sales.  Using the knowledge and skills gained from the summer school Tom developed his unique and promising business the ‘Yurtel’, a hotel created from yurts.

 

309 Studios

Matt Ogden graduated in June 2007 from Leeds Met with a degree in Creative Music and Sound Technology, in which he excelled within a studio environment. His business partner Kevin Cooke, a Leeds University graduate, has extensive experience in the music industry as a producer, performer and teacher.

 

James Fawcett is a current Leeds Metropolitan University student, studying Graphic Design. He is also the owner and sole operator of James Fawcett Design, where he works as a freelance web designer and developer. He is passionate about his business and his customers, as shown by his website.

 

Enjays Pancakes

Enjays Creperie was founded in 2004 by Neil Tipping and Jon White, Events Management graduates from Leeds Metropolitan University . In June 2005, they opened their first restaurant situated on North Lane in Headingley. Today, Enjays is the UK’s number one, fastest-growing pancake company

Sarah Coupland

Former Leeds Met student Sarah Coupland Jenkins is fulfilling her long-held ambition of running her own graphic design business, and recently celebrated one year's trading.

 

Zen Rooms

Former Leeds met student, Mark Boreland, recently launched his new business venture, Zen Rooms.

 

 

Shaky Jakes

After graduating from his Events Management degree at Leeds Metropolitan University, Patrick Windle and partner Katie Duxbury have launched their first business, Shaky Jakes.

 

 

Guitar Raps

David Allard, a first year Multimedia Technology student from Leeds Metropolitan University recently set up his own business, Guitar Raps.

 

Mini-Roles

Mini-Roles, a new company founded by Carolyn Gardiner has been awarded the winner of the Business Start-Up 2008 Business Plan Competition.

 

heartdesign

heartdesign, a new company founded by David Hill was awarded the winner of the Business Start-Up 2008 Business Concept Competition (pre-trading) for the new invention of the 'Helping Hands' knitting aid.

 

Tutor Me

On the 7th of November a new and exciting tutoring Company based in Leeds was launched. ‘Tutor Me Limited' will provide private home tuition via a network of final year students who boast the latest teaching techniques across the curriculum. Add this to the fun and determined approach these “soon to be” teachers bring with them and this can only mean one thing, A*s all round!

 

Fruitlift

In February 2007 David Charlton and Tom Platt launched their company, Fruitlift, an office fruit delivery service operating in the Leeds area. David who studied at Leeds Met for a BA (Hons) in Leisure and Sport and a MA in Business Studies and Tom, who has a MA in Geography, have been friends since school and have always had the ambition of owning their own business.

 

RAW Design Studio

RAW Design Studio co-founded by Leeds Met graduate Steven Taylor and Robert Watson was launched in September 2006.

Steven, who studied Events Management at Leeds Met, and Robert, a Graphic Design graduate, have been friends for years and it wasn’t until one day over a pint they started talking about how they could combine their skills, knowledge and expertise to run their own business.

 

Optima Semper

Leigh Woolard graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in the summer of 2005 with a degree in Business Information Technology. He attended the annual Entrepreneurial Summer School 2006 organised by Business Start-Up @ Leeds Met where he acquired the practical information, advice and motivation needed to start a business.

Panoviewing

Events Management student Tom Greveson graduated from Leeds Met and in September 2004 set up his own business, Panoviewing.co.uk.

 

DDME Ltd

Inspired to ‘go it alone’ and take the plunge after attending the Business Start-Up @ Leeds Met Annual Entrepreneurial Summer School 2004, BTEC Graphic Design Graduate Paul Waddington is taking steps towards starting his own Digital Design Company ‘DDME Ltd’ (www.ddme.co.uk) Planning to work with companies throughout the UK offering design and development for CD-Rom, Broadcast Animation, DVD and websites Paul is amply qualified for the job.

	Disclaimer | Contact Us		© Leeds Metropolitan University 2008