The ‘Future stars‘ section of this month’s Spectator Business picked out two names very familiar to FreshMinds Talent. David Langer and Andy Young, friends and business partners from Oxford University, were part of an extraordinary crop of FreshMinds Ones to Watch last year. Back when we interviewed them in early 2007, they had recently launched an innovative business venture for groups and societies at university. They had already raised over £20,000 in sponsorship and advertising through the business, and in the year or so after being named Ones to Watch they turned this budding business into an impressive success.
GroupSpaces is a management platform that allows university groups and societies to publicise what they do and organise their membership on a day-to-day basis. So far David and Andy have raised funding in the region of six-figures and in April the company was named one of the 20 most promising UK web start-ups through WebMission.
David and Andy are a truly exceptional pair of young entrepreneurs. They aren’t the first Ones to Watch to start their own businesses, but they are the first to dedicate themselves to lives as career entrepreneurs straight out of university. In fact, lets be fair, they were entrepreneurs before we even met them in 2007 (having started GroupSpaces back in 2006). It is a bold move, particularly for two such talented people who frankly could have walked into any job with Goldman Sachs or McKinsey. So take the title of our scheme seriously - watch these two closely. They’re destined for big things.
Read more here
on Dec 11th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Congratulations David and Andy…
Although in the interest of fairness, I would like to point out that I am also a ‘One to Watch’, and was also running my first business well before I graduated last year! As I managed to miss the last couple of One to Watch parties and therefore haven’t updated you on my status I’ll let you off though, especially as David and Andy are both good guys who I know well.
Josh
on Dec 11th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Top stuff guys, great achievment. I am and will continue watching.
Keep up the good work
on Dec 11th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Joshua,
Thanks for your comment and I am so pleased you’re also doing well. I think the point of the post is to say how far many of our Ones to Watch have already gone. There are fantastic entrepreneurs in all eight generations of Ones to Watch, and while Dabid and Andy make superb examples, they are amid good company!
Let me know what you’re up to and perhaps we could profile you on the blog next.
Charlie