"You can try to plan everything out, but things always change. Also, use all the opportunities available to you at Aston."

Tell us about your journey so far

We’re two working-class lads who have always wanted to have our own business, but we were faced with the problem of being two poor students with no money. But we made no excuses. We started recording a podcast back in February as it required no money to set up and we’re both avid fans of podcasts. We began recording a couple with just ourselves, but we knew we needed to upgrade our equipment and reach out to guests. We entered the Santander Enterprise competition in March and secured £250 seed funding which went on upgrading microphones and allowing us to buy a camera.

Subsequent to being successful in the competition, we were fast-tracked onto BSEEN where we then received another £500 which went on upgrading kit. We reached out to a number of academics at Aston with large profiles to guest. We recorded six podcasts with lecturers however May came and it was our final exams, university was almost over and we didn’t want to go down the graduate job route and knew we needed something more commercial in the short term to generate income.

So, with our kit we had bought through prize winnings, we took a right turn and went down the video production route. We used our networks and found a gap in the B2B space and started recording for a small number of clients. This then turned into more and more clients with us investing everything back into our business. We are now at a stage where we have cinema range cameras, high-end lighting rigs, top of the range microphones and editing equipment. Our pipeline opportunities are ever-growing and we’re looking at acquiring office space and hiring in the near future.

Why did you decide to study at Aston Business School?

The reputation and placement year opportunities. - Connor and Joe

What was the highlight of your Aston experience?

Meeting so many different people - Connor
Passing economics exam - Joe

How has your time at Aston Helped your business?

The support from BSEEN has been unbelievable, the opportunities, advice and mentorship from them have been incredible, I couldn’t recommend them more to up-and-coming entrepreneurs. - Connor and Joe

What is next on the career horizon for you?

We are going to build Narce Media to be the go-to b2b video producer in Birmingham within the next 2 years and nationwide within 5. During this time we will be looking to get our fingers in other business ventures along the way. - Connor and Joe

What advice would you give to someone looking to start or run their own business?

Just start. Just start doing something and the rest will follow. You can try to plan everything out, but things always change. Also, use all the opportunities available to you at Aston. BSEEN is such a great unit and everyone at Aston looking at starting a business should check them out. - Connor and Joe.