A programme to support graduates realise their creative business ideas from coworking spaces will continue following a successful pilot year.
Ymlaen! - a collaboration between Creative Cardiff, Rabble Studio and the Enterprise and Start-up team at Cardiff University - funded three new enterprises over the course of the pilot; providing a desk space in Rabble Studio, creative and business mentoring as well as networking opportunities.
Jannat Ahmed, founder and Editor in Chief of Lucent Dreaming, used the six-month opportunity to start an online and print creative magazine.
She said: "If I hadn't done this placement, I kind of be at sea, trying to find a job that was familiar and that I understood."
Holly Chesterton, founded Lightwaves - an organisation which aims to fund personal tutors to children in long term recovery. Holly said: "One benefit of the placement has been all of the networking opportunities."
Sadia Hameed, one half of arts collective Lumin along with Beau Beakhouse, said: "We came into this thinking we would become more of a business but after meetings with mentors and lots of advice we realised that we're here to gain a business model to help us as an arts collective run smoother - we're actually much more grassroots."
Watch the full video about the Ymlaen! placement project here:
Director of Creative Cardiff, Sara Pepper, said: "We are thrilled to see Ymlaen! continuing and developing. Understanding and communicating about creative career options is an important consideration for Creative Cardiff. We understand the challenges involved with setting up a creative career or business. Ymalen! sought to address some of these by working in partnership with partners and practitioners in the sector."
The Ymlaen! programme will now be rolled out to entrepreneurs across the creative sector and beyond. If you’re thinking about freelancing, starting a social project or launching your own business, Ymlaen! could help bring your ideas to life.
Offering desk space in a local co-working hub, professional mentoring and seed-funding, Ymlaen! placements are availabel to Cardiff University students and graduates through a Start-up Support Package.
