Meet WYSPR the 'Friendvertising' social media company created by Essex graduates

WYSPR, a social media advertising agency and market research company set up by recent Essex graduates Oliver Bourne and Eliot Wood, represented the University of Essex at the Santander UK Universities emerging entrepreneur awards 2020.

WYSPR uses the power of the regular Instagram user as a means of promotion and data collection, which they call Friendvertising. The two friends secured funding from EIRA through the microfinance scheme for start-up costs in getting their business proposal off the ground.

As part of the Santander awards, participants were invited to enter a crowdfunding campaign competition, with a first prize of £6,000. Despite the WYSPR team entering the competition late in the day, their four-day campaign – backed by their own company’s Friendvertising solution – soon caught up with the competition, coming in at a close second.

Co-founder Eliot Wood said: “We were really honoured to be nominated by the University of Essex to enter this competition. Although we didn’t win, missing out by just five pledges was a valuable demonstration of the power of Friendvertising.”

 Both Eliot and Oliver studied at Essex Business School and completed placement years during their degrees.

• Read the full WYSPR case study on the ERIA website
• Read more about WYSPR being selected for the Santander Universities Emerging Entrepreneurs Programme on our news pages