Having won £4000 of prize funding in the University’s ‘Take Off Entrepreneurship Competition’, Adam Knight, 22 has made a splash with his start up this summer.
Adam has taught swimming since the age of 16, and with the help and support of various business seminars run by Professor Simon Cox at the University, Adam set up his company Wings Swim School just before he graduated. Wings Swim School is a premium swim school with a maximum of three students per class, operating in prestigious, private locations.
Over the summer Adam ran a “Swim Safe Summer” campaign, delivering assemblies to over 3,900 children and teaching a total of 315 children how to swim. When asked what advice he would give to current student entrepreneurs Adam said, “If you are really passionate about an idea and there is a market for it, crack on. Loads of students think that because they lack business experience they cannot achieve their goals, I graduated with a Ba (Hons) in English Literature, but attended University run business seminars and joined the Entrepreneurs Society which gave me the confidence to turn a vague idea into a successful reality.”
Three months on, Adam has signed contracts with three health clubs in South West London, has assembled a highly trained team of seven teachers. He is optimistic about the future, “2014 is going to be a great year for Wings. The new year will see us expand our scheme at all three venues: the challenge will lie in maintaining the quality of our lessons as we increase in size.”
Adam noted that integral to his success were the University run “Take-off” seminars he attended. “Every Wednesday for two months I attended workshops on advertising, marketing, finance and business planning. With each week I grew in knowledge and confidence, and at the need of the process had transformed from a student with a dream to an entrepreneur with a plan.”
Professor Simon Cox, added “It is always very exciting to see our students using the support we provide through schemes such as the Take Off competition to set-up and successfully run their own businesses. Get involved sooner than later; make the most of the entrepreneurial workshops and schemes. They will give you an employability advantage, whatever you go on to do after graduation.”
If you are a Southampton student with an idea, go to the career destinations website where you can book onto the same seminars Adam attended. You can also join “Fish on Toast”, the society for student entrepreneurs or get involved with the Take Off Competition and Workshops.
To find out more about Adam and his company, you can visit his website at www.wingsswimschool.co.uk.