Starting a business at WBS

28 July 2017

Tom shares his experience of managing a start-up while studying BSc Management, and his plans to build a warehouse facility run entirely on renewable energy.

I’ve always been interested in running businesses. I started a small marketing company whilst I was at school producing leaflets, flyers, business cards and the like for small local businesses, so running a company was always something I wanted to continue at university.

My logic was that my degree in BSc Management at WBS would provide me with the academic backing and knowledge to complement the practical experience of running a business, allowing me to have an appreciation and an understanding from both perspectives.

Having studied BSc Management for two years now, and given the fact that the content of the course is so relevant, there’s been a great crossover effect and I am able to both identify theories in the real world, which helps my studies and allows me to apply frameworks straight into my business. Not only this, but the business has recently won a grant from Warwick’s enterprise scheme, which is sure to help our growth.

In my first year at Warwick I founded a consumer products business with the help of some friends. The business sold consumer care products predominantly to mail order catalogues like Betterware and Kleeneze and we were able to supply them with all sorts of products, from beard oil to nail sprays, all of which were manufactured locally in Birmingham.

In February 2017, the business was acquired by WinchPharma, which I’m now involved with as a Director. WinchPharma operates predominantly in the healthcare industry with clinical, consumer, and software divisions.

We’re currently running a crowdfunding campaign allowing investors to purchase shares from just £5. The hope is to reach our £60,000 target to allow us to continue our expansion and implement our strong environmental policies through constructing an office and warehouse facility run entirely on renewable energy.

We’ve secured land and planning for the project and will use part of the funds raised to build the facility, which will be run entirely on solar and wind energy. It will also have a rainwater collection and purification system for our water needs.

Read more from Tom on the University’s website. Find out more about our BSc Management course.