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University of Hertfordshire graduates who have a flair for winning

Press Release: Recent Flare award winner, Dr Heather Straughan of Recovery In-Sight Centre, is a now a finalist in the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Hertfordshire awards together with John Gyeni from findmyhouse.co.uk for the category of Recent Graduate.

Both graduates from the University of Hertfordshire have a flair for winning awards as Recovery In-Sight Centre won ‘Best Business Plan’ last month in Flare, the University’s business ideas challenge and Findmyhouse.co.uk was one of the eleven finalists.

The FSB’s Recent Graduate award will go to the best small business start up by an entrepreneur. Dr Heather Straughan has a BSc (hons) in Psychology and a PhD for In-Sight, a user-led group training people with bipolar disorder, and John Gyeni a BA in Business Administration. Both their businesses are successfully trading and have sound business, financial and marketing plans.

Recovery In-Sight Centre will be launched as a social enterprise later this year and provides training, research and self-help services to mental health professionals, service users and carers. They won a prize fund amounting to a value of £7,000, which included a laptop, office accommodation at the University and consultancy from Ruth Badger from BBC TV’s show The Apprentice. Heather comments: “Winning Flare has given us the impetus to move forward and develop the company as a social enterprise and, as we were already a successful business venture and I am a recent graduate of the University of Hertfordshire, I decided to enter the FSB awards. Recovery In-Sight Centre is however much more than an excellent business plan, we have an intrinsic social purpose and between our self-help groups in Stevenage and Watford we have more than 150 members. I hope to win the FSB Recent Graduate award on Thursday night and raise awareness of our company.”

Findmyhouse.co.uk, a property website designed to show students all the properties available to rent within their University town, won £1,000 investment in their business at the University of Hertfordshire’s UH Angels event, where they received most votes from a live audience made up of students and local business people. John comments; “Flare was an amazing experience and I had great advice from the judges, which included BBC TV star Ruth Badger from The Apprentice. This helped to prove that we had a viable business and encouraged me to enter for the FSB Recent Graduate award. I would like to win this award and if we do I plan to invest the prize money in further development of virtual tours on the web site so people can view a house from the comfort of their own home.”

Nigel Culkin, Head of Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Development at the University of Hertfordshire comments; “Flare proves to be a catalyst as winners and finalists are often inspired to enter other competitions and many who win come back to mentor other young entrepreneurs. We are pleased that Heather and John have made it the finals and hope they get the winner and runner up prizes.”