The below post is a guest blog from one of our Launch Space incubation managers Kim Brookes. Kim has recently set up her own business, Perfino. Kim talks about how her job at UWE has helped to launch the business:
How my job at UWE helped me launch my new business
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kim Brookes and I am one of two Incubation Managers at Launch Space, UWE’s graduate start up Incubator based in the University Enterprise Zone.
I have been working at UWE for many years now giving advice and support to students and now graduates, alongside my other entrepreneurial endeavours. I love working with people who are brimming with ideas, energy and a can do attitude, and often feel I learn as much from them as they do from me. Starting a business is always a bit of a rollercoaster as nothing is certain and you learn as you go – there’s no such thing as failure in this world, just learning experiences, and an opportunity to grow as a person.
So not so strange perhaps that after 3 years of ruminating on an idea that I thought had potential and which appealed to my obsession with fragrance, I have now launched my natural scent jewellery business, Perfino, and am currently crowd funding to help it grow.
Perfino makes artisan jewellery that combines with wonderful natural scents to become your own personal diffuser. Studies show that 1/3 of us are intolerant to synthetic chemicals and that up to 60% of these chemicals can be absorbed into the bloodstream, making the wearing of commercial perfumes a bit of a gamble. So Perfino is offering an alternative way to smell great that is kind to the wearer and supports the sustainable production of natural essential oils around the world.
The learning never stops and I look forward to sharing my experiences with the start-ups in Launch Space as we all embark on a very similar journey, soaking up all the knowledge that surrounds us.
Find out more about Perfino here.
Graduated from any UK university in the last 5 years and got a business idea you’d like to put into action? Launch Space offers free desk space and business support for budding entreprenuers. Find out more via our website.
Located in the new £16m University Enterprise Zone on Frenchay Campus, Launch Space provides physical incubator space and enterprise support for graduate start-up businesses.
Launch Space will receive up to £2,000,000 of funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the programme’s Managing Authority. Established by the European Union, the ERDF helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects that support innovation, businesses, job creation and local community regeneration.