From the Oxford Brookes University News Archive
13/11/2018
Social enterprise Business and Marketing Management, recent graduate
Recognised is a socially minded business creating on-trend fashionable jewellery to empower people to raise awareness to causes.
“Our concept is simple – jewellery can look good as well as do good. We believe there shouldn't have to be a trade-off between style and substance. In fact our mission is to set trends in both fashion and social movements. We aim to raise awareness to important social issues and the causes you care about, through our Statement Popons™ - charms designed to support and raise awareness for those that are struggling”
Anneka entered the Enterprise Support Awards in 2018. She was awarded £3000. From there she received support and mentoring and was nominated by Oxford Brookes Enterprise Support to enter the Santander Universities Competition. She has made it to the People’s Choice Final and was given the opportunity to take part in the Santander Accelerator.
The accelerator was an incredible week! I had high expectations going in having heard about last years, and it met my expectations in every way. In terms of teaching, I took so much away and really benefited from a broad range of different topics, including Intellectual Property, Finance and Funding, Innovation and Customer Discovery, Profit with purpose and Attracting Talent. The sessions were all different, from Q&A Panels to practical workshops and lead by leaders within different fields. It really was an incredible opportunity getting to learn from and connect with these people.A real highlight though was getting to connect with other entrepreneurs on a similar journey, discussing our up's and downs together and generally having a lot of fun over the three days, particularly at the evening meals.
Coming away from the Accelerator, we are now so looking forward to the Final, if not, slightly more nervous than before. Having met all the other amazing businesses in the competition, all worthy of winning - the pressure is certainly on!
We have now launched our pre-orders and officially launch Recognised in October, so the final times in nicely for us. By the time we reach the final, it will be roughly a year since the competition process began for us, which feels like an amazing achievement to have got this far.
The enterprise team have truly been so supportive and have been behind us every step of the way - which has made all the difference. From workshops and 1-1's to helping us prepare for pitches, speaking regularly with my mentor to help refine the business and bounce ideas of - their support has been invaluable. Having made it to the final, I really am so proud to be representing Brookes, I know it would mean a lot for everyone if we were to win.
On a personal level though, winning would help us accelerate our business growth and set us in the right direction for success. In particular, winning the profit with purpose award would be incredible, as at the end of the day, our jewellery is all about uniting people and having an impact much wider than just our profits. Bring on the final!
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