Business Start-Up Boot Camps
Make A Difference
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Summer Start-up Bootcamp
The Summer Start-Up Bootcamp 2025 is an intensive program designed to empower students, graduates, and aspiring entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds to develop, validate, and pitch their business ideas across various industries.
With a total funding of £14,000, the initiative ensures that £10,000 is allocated specifically for grants to support the most promising ventures. The Bootcamp will run from 29 May to 3 July, featuring workshops every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 4pm, and will commence with a launch event.
The program will culminate in a "Dragon’s Den"-style pitch event, where participants will have the opportunity to secure grant funding to advance their business idea.
All courses, all industries/ sectors and all levels of learning are welcome to join.
Please note: This is exclusively for University of Suffolk students, as well as the alumni community of University of Suffolk.
Schedule
- Launch Event: Thursday, 29 May 2025 | 4.30pm – 7.00pm
- Workshops: Every Tuesday & Thursday (From June 3 to July 2 2025) | 10.00am – 4.00pm
- Final Pitch Event: Thursday, 8 July | 4.00pm - 7.00pm
Session Outlines
|
Date and Time |
Location |
Session Theme |
Topics and Activities |
|
Thursday 29 May 2025 4.30pm - 7.00pm |
Seminar Room A0.08 (The Atrium) |
Launch Event |
Welcome from Enterprise Team, Inspiring Keynote Speakers, Icebreaker Activity
|
|
Tuesday 3 June 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm |
A1.09 |
Idea Generation & Validation |
Creative thinking tools, opportunity spotting, design thinking sprint, business model canvas intro, peer feedback sessions |
|
Thursday 5 June 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm
|
A1.09 |
Business Planning Fundamentals |
Lean start-up methodology, planning templates, understanding customer profiles, mission/vision/goals |
|
Tuesday 10 June 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm |
A1.05 |
Social Enterprise & Impact Business
|
Understanding social entrepreneurship, impact measurement, B-Corp intro, stakeholder engagement, case studies |
|
Thursday 12 June 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm |
A1.10 |
Marketing, Branding & Digital Strategy |
Defining your brand, social media content planning, storytelling, SEO/SEM basics, intro to Canva & similar tools |
|
Tuesday 17 June 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm |
A1.09 |
Using AI to Power Your Start-Up |
AI for market research, content creation, chatbot building, automation tools (ChatGPT, Notion AI, Zapier etc.) |
|
Thursday 19 June 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm |
A1.09 |
Funding & Financing Your Start-Up |
Bootstrapping, grants & competitions, intro to crowdfunding, budgeting & cashflow, business banking & record keeping |
|
Tuesday 24 June 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm |
A1.05 |
Intellectual Property & Legal Essentials |
intro to IP law & legal essentials for start ups |
|
Thursday 26 June 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm
|
A1.10 |
HR, Leadership & Team Building |
Building a team, leadership styles, conflict management, building a culture, managing volunteers/contractors, inclusion & wellbeing in start-ups |
|
Tuesday 1 July 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm |
A1.10 |
Pitching Masterclass: Perfecting Your Pitch |
Storytelling for pitching, structuring your pitch deck, visual aids, handling Q&A, peer-to-peer practice |
|
Tuesday 8 July 2025 4.00pm - 7.00pm
|
Seminar room A0.08 |
Dragon’s Den Pitch Event |
Formal pitch presentations to a panel of judges + awards and celebrations after |
“Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose. Social enterprises demonstrate a better way to do business, one that prioritises benefit to people and planet and uses the majority of any profit to further their mission. Social enterprises contribute to reducing economic inequality, improving social justice and to environmental sustainability"
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