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Essex Startups

Make Me An Entrepreneur

Student Jonathan Bartlett giving a presentation

Make Me An Entrepreneur is a series of six-week programmes focusing on enhancing the opportunities for underrepresented groups within our entrepreneurial community.


Each week a guest speaker will share their own start-up journey experiences and provide expert industry insights into the opportunities and challenges they have encountered.

Upon completion of any of the programmes, participants have the opportunity to pitch for up to £3,000 of funding to develop their business idea further.

In the Spring term of 2025 we have four programmes within the series, these are detailed below:

Our programmes:

Thrive: Flourish as a freelancer

Our Thrive programme has been designed to support prospective freelancers to develop confidence, knowledge, and a professional network.

Each week we will learn about the different elements of starting a freelance business from real-life sole traders across a range of industries. equipping you with all the knowledge and know-how to start your very own freelance business.

Dates: Weekly workshops starting Wednesday 22 January - Wednesday 26 February

Time: 10am-12.30pm

Pitch: The live pitch event will take place on Wednesday 5 March, 10am-12.30pm. You must attend all six sessions to be eligible to pitch.


Apply for Thrive

Futurist: Tech entrepreneurs

AI technology is already powering everything from self-driving cars to medical diagnosis tools, its power and reach to drive business thinking and innovation is only just being realised by industry and investors alike.

Our Futurist programme has been designed to provide prospective tech entrepreneurs with valuable insights into AI, big data, and the latest tech industry trends.

Dates: Weekly workshops starting Thursday 30 January - Thursday 6 March

Time: 10am-12.30pm

Pitch: The live pitch event will take place on Thursday 13 March, 10am-12.30pm. You must attend all six sessions to be eligible to pitch.


Apply for Futurist

Empower: Female founders

Our Empower programme explores the essential elements of building a start-up business from a female perspective.

This programme will enable women like you to embark on an entrepreneurial journey to discover your values and strengths, while boosting your creativity and resilience, and equipping you with all the knowledge and know-how to start your very own business.

Dates: Weekly workshops starting Thursday 30 January - Thursday 6 March

Time: 1pm-3.30pm

Pitch: The live pitch event will take place on Thursday 13 March, 1pm-3.30pm. You must attend all six sessions to be eligible to pitch.


Apply for Empower

BE ME: Black and minority ethnic entrepreneurs

Representation matters. But when it comes to starting a company, we know there are barriers for ethnic minority business owners.

Our BE ME programme has been designed to support black and minority ethnic entrepreneurs from our community to tackle the inequalities that start-up founders experience.

Dates: Weekly workshops starting Friday 31 January - Friday 7 March

Time: 10am-12.30pm

Pitch: The live pitch event will take place on Friday 14 March, 10am-12.30pm. You must attend all six sessions to be eligible to pitch.


Apply for BE ME

All programmes will take place in Studio X in the Innovation Centre, Colchester Campus.

This series of events is for individuals that have solidified their business idea and are ready to obtain a deeper understanding of their specific industry.

Places are allocated via application to ensure level of business knowledge and support among participants will be mutually beneficial.

Photograph of Innovation Centre Sign
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