A business incubation programme, facilitated by the team at Vulcan Works, has celebrated the graduation of its second cohort of budding entrepreneurs.

Vulcan Creatives is a free six-month initiative which supports ambitious individuals to develop their businesses through dedicated workshops and business support activities, such as creating a business plan and learning the skills needed to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship.

Back in November, 10 new start-up businesses were chosen for the programme, funded by West Northamptonshire Council and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

The ambitious entrepreneurs were handpicked by Vulcan Works’ business growth manager Darren Smith, who works with each one to either turn their idea into a viable business or grow their fledgling enterprise with his specialist support.

Those who completed the programme recently attended a Vulcan Creatives Showcase to mark their graduation and during the event, each participant gave a presentation about their journey to specially invited guests.

Saphiah Otuo-mensah, who runs a clinical health and wellbeing business, said the progression of her business is solely down to Vulcan Creatives.

The nurse, social worker and public health specialist said: “I was at a real crossroads with my company and I was really struggling to balance the juggle of setting up a business with client work and running my family. I came across Vulcan Creatives and through this programme I was given the resources, the support and the validation to look at my business and decide what I want from it.

“As entrepreneurs we are so lucky to have the opportunity to build a business that we love. I came here six months ago saying I need help with my messaging and I feel like I’ve done that now and it’s all thanks to the incubator programme, the people that I’ve met and Darren’s fantastic coaching.”

Adam Lee, who founded the Northampton-based coffee brand Shoetown Coffee with his brother, now supplies the coffee at Vulcan Works following being part of the programme.

“It’s been really exciting to see how all the businesses have progressed,” said Adam. “When we first started the programme I had a vision for really good coffee done better,. Through the support and guidance from Darren and the people on the programme I’ve managed to launch our four main coffees and they’re now live on our website.”

Amy Lin planned to set up a preschool education company but during the programme instead decided to create a meditation channel on social media. She said: “The Vulcan Creatives programme was just amazing. All of the workshops that we had helped me learn so much about business and getting together with the group, getting feedback and ideas off each other, in person and in the WhatsApp group was so helpful.

“Darren is like magic. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably still be daydreaming. He knows how to take the ideas and turn them into a business, I don’t know how he does it.”

Blandine Davies met Darren shortly before the second cohort began. Her non-invasive aesthetics, health and wellness treatments company, has undergone a complete rebrand during the course of the programme. The grant she received from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund helped her to purchase her most popular treatment, the emcellar chair.

Blandine said: “Darren has helped a lot to focus me in terms of business strategy and the pricing side of things. The group has been incredible to bounce ideas off and it’s been a fantastic experience.”

Tia Dang, who runs a creative design studio specialising in branding, social media management, photography, and videography, was pleased to collaborate with Blandine for a content day. Tia described the course as “incredible” and said she has “learned a lot about business”.

Faye Taylor and Jack Green run website development agency Vulcn and have used the funding from the Vulcan Creatives programme to build their own platform for website hosting.

The high performance website creators have also built a newsletter solution feature for customers to use and a corporate website for themselves. They now plan to shout about their business and share their expertise more widely.

Game and digital media development company founder Robert Lambert is hoping to redesign his company website and release his own videogame in the next 12 months. His work with Vulcan Creatives has also included students from the University of Northampton, who help with the creation of videogames, which shows the reach of the programme in helping even more aspiring games makers.

Ben Hellon, joined the cohort to promote fitness and wellness services for former prisoners, however he withdrew from the programme before it completed after being offered an ideal opportunity to mentor young adults in the criminal justice system. He still attended the graduation ceremony in support of his peers.

Olivia Krawczyk, a graphic designer who specialises in design for charities and purpose led organisations, decided to make the leap into running her business full time shortly before joining the Vulcan Creatives programme.

Olivia, who has just won the StartUp For Good Award at the Midlands StartUp Awards, was looking for a better brand identity for her company, and One Kind Creative has been born from her work with Darren during the initiative.

She said: “With the help of Darren I’ve been able to nail down my name and my mission so my own brand feels like me. Thanks so much to everyone in the programme, it’s been really great to see everyone’s businesses develop.”

Darren, an experienced entrepreneur himself, said: “It has been an absolute pleasure working with all of the entrepreneurs in the Vulcan Creatives programme and I’ll still be here long after they graduate should they need any further advice or guidance.

“All the businesses that have taken part have embraced the opportunity with both hands and it is wonderful to share their journey of growth and progression. Starting a new business can be lonely, working out which path to take and how to fund everything so having this opportunity to share in a group and work through challenges together is really valuable.

“Thank you to West Northamptonshire Council for backing this programme financially with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund grants, which have been a fantastic boost for all these businesses looking to grow.

“I’d also like to thank everyone who provided their time and expertise for our workshops and events, which are a crucial part of the programme, and also Barclays Eagle Labs for providing the catering for our graduation ceremony.”

All Vulcan Creatives graduates receive up to 50% off workspace in the building after graduating.

For more information on Vulcan Creatives visit https://vulcanworks.co.uk/vulcan-creatives/