Northumbria graduates named in top young business talent ‘35 under 35’ list

The Journal’s 35 under 35 list reveals the ones to watch in the North East across a range of sectors. This is the second consecutive year that Northumbria graduates have featured in the list of young entrepreneurs and leading professionals making a name for themselves.

A number of Northumbria graduate entrepreneurs make up the exciting list who started their own business with support from the University’s Student and Graduate Enterprise service. The graduates listed studied degrees ranging from Business Studies, Fashion Communication to Design for Industry and have started businesses across digital, technology and retail sectors.

Dan Robson - 35 under 35:

Dan graduated from Design for Industry and set up Green Digit Limited upon graduation. His idea for SEEDCELL came about after working on a placement in a plastics packaging factory. He realised packaging could become part of the product to help reduce waste. Inspired by ‘guerilla gardeners’ who find unused land and plant seeds to make it more aesthetically pleasing, Dan began to develop his SEEDCELL seed germination system.

The University supported him through proof of concept stage, developing a prototype and also helped him write a business plan that secured him significant venture capital investment. SEEDCELL is now stocked in over 100 retail outlets.

Student and Graduate Enterprise offer a free start-up support service to Northumbria graduates. If you have an idea, new innovation or hobby you would like to turn into a business, the Student and Graduate Enterprise team can help you. The business does not need to be related to your degree.

Our dedicated team of specialist mentors provide tangible support in areas including legal, finance, marketing and PR. They can help you develop your business idea, understand legal issues when starting up, create an effective marketing strategy and identify routes to investment.

Student and Graduate Enterprise also provide free office accommodation on campus in The Hatchery that includes a dedicated space, ICT and access to meeting rooms. (Subject to availability and T&Cs)

For further information please email the team at nu.enterprise@northumbria.ac.uk or visit the Student and Graduate Enterprise webpages.