Be the boss

Our award-winning programme of enterprise support, “Be the Boss”, supported participants to develop the skills needed to confidently set up and run their own business through action planning, one-to-one support from experienced business advisers, workshops and other activities.

The "Be the Boss" programme was aimed at:

• Graduates - with features designed with the graduates in mind, Be the Boss was the perfect solution for those looking to start up after graduation alongside other commitments
• Students - by using Be the Boss alongside their own studies, participants could stay on top of their assignments like never before. With no time constraint, Be the Boss offered guidance whether participants needed to get their idea going within months or if it was a slow burner for when they graduated
• Year Placements - participants took quality time to build their idea into a reality whilst at University. The place year in enterprise incorporated Be the Boss, Pitch Perfect and Enactus to deliver all the skills they needed to become a successful entrepreneur upon completion.

Be the Boss was the culmination of 8 years of funded start-up support research and development, merging the Design Thinking theory with the latest enterprise education in the industry.

Click on the video below to hear from some of our previous participants as they share their journey from business idea to start-up.

Key features of the "Be the Boss" programme:

• Mobile friendly - participants continued their journey through Be the Boss whilst on the move with the new mobile enhanced update 
• Digital workshops - Be the Boss understood that participants have a busy life therefore our workshops were pre-recorded as well as live
• In person or online - participants accessed their support in person with 121's both in person and online
• Data drive confidence - as an all-in-one solution, Be the Boss supported participants to build confidence in their ideas using data to target more effectively and ultimately have the confidence to start trading

Participants of the “Be The Boss” programme benefitted from:

• Innovation - experiencing the design thinking model first hand by researching, trailing, testing, tweaking and launching their idea whilst being connected to the Be the Boss community
• Ease of use - saying goodbye to complicated paperwork and calendar clashes with lectures. Be the Boss was intuitive and simple to use
• Efficiency - getting more done in less time with Be the Boss, the ultimate start-up tool for building your idea into a reality
• Flexibility - taking Be the Boss wherever, without wasting their time watching poor advice from untrusted sources. Whether their ambition was a side hustle, freelance, or Unicorn company, Be the Boss was here
• Investment  - Be the Boss is not just an educational programme, it's an investment in the future, the key to unlocking potential and driving innovation in our institution, region and nation
• Community - getting involved in our growing community of entrepreneurs, pioneers and being a part of something truly revolutionary

Applicants for the “Be The Boss” programme were students or recent graduates (within the last 3 years) who had not registered a business/social enterprise.

Find out more about the successes of our graduates in setting up their own businesses via Be The Boss 

Please call us on 01332 592680 or email betheboss@derby.ac.uk to find out more about the programme.