From Exams to Intern to Employee - Why Students Should Consider Starting Out in Startups

June 2014; After what seems like months of late-night essay writing and pre-exam cramming, I finally finish my university exams. Two days later, I had moved back home with my mum, ready for my first day of my first proper post-grad job.

Applying for the internship at KTP made perfect sense. Working in food? Check. Putting to use my OCD grammar skills honed from three years of essay writing at university? Check. Opportunity to be creative and write? Double check. I loved the idea of working for a new company and seeing the business develop right from its very beginning.

In the student world, the word ‘intern’ is bandied around in a negative way far too often. Despite the fact that students are told that ‘having a degree is not enough’, thousands of students every year leave University without the right kind of skills and experience that make them attractive to employers. Internships are a great way of gaining some of these skills. I can’t speak for all interns, but gone are the days of making the tea and filling; instead, I was offered a chance to gain practical experience in a professional environment and have a real input into the company.

Working in startups and SMEs is an opportunity passed up by far too many graduates. At university, it was never suggested to me that I should consider working for a smaller company; instead, I spent three years attending career fairs dedicated to big name brands and corporate companies, feeling pressured into applying for top grad schemes that offer a handful of places and yet receive thousands of applicants. Whilst I’m not going to deny that these offer fantastic opportunities for the right person, students should know that this isn’t the only route. After all, big doesn’t always means best.

Far from ‘making the tea’, my internship was interesting, varied and, most importantly, enjoyable. Trusted with the mammoth task of building up KTP’s artisan community, I found it rewarding to see tangible results of my work and learn some new practical skills away from the ‘classroom’. What’s more, I got to attend industry events, learn about the food industry and countless opportunities to network and build contacts with a variety of people. In just three months, I got a unique insight into the food industry and the fast paced world of startups.

The opportunity to work for Kitchen Table Projects full-time was a bit of a no-brainer. You’ll still find me tweeting about our foodie musings or blogging about all the new goings on in the food world, but being full time has given me the opportunity (and confidence) to make some of the ideas I developed during my three month internship a reality. Being an employee let me directly implement my ideas on our strategy and share my ideas on our plans for the future.  

I think this is what I like the most about working for a small company; I’m able to carry out tasks that I wouldn’t ever think of being assigned to in a larger company with dedicated employees for that particular job. That’s the other great thing about working for a small company - you know everyone in your team personally and your fingers are in every pie. Unlike working for a big name brand with thousands of employees, you build relationships with your co-workers, make an impact and get noticed by the people who matter.

Working in our office at Impact Hub Brixton has been another highlight. Working in the Hub has given me exposure to a vibrant and exciting slice of startup culture, meeting and discovering new, innovative enterprises on a weekly, if not daily basis. It’s such an inspirational environment to work in, and the sense of community that the Hub fosters really fits in with everything we do at KTP. Plus we have tea and cake spread on Wednesdays (yup, that sold us too.) Working in an awesome office doing a job I genuinely enjoy - I’m pretty sure those aren’t the kind of words that a graduate utters very often.

For now, I’m looking forward to working on some really exciting projects leading up to our launch (keep your eyes peeled!), as well as meeting some more exciting people, expanding our team and, of course, our launch!

I would urge any students thinking about working in startups to give it a go - and don’t be put off by the ‘i’ word, either. Internships are a great career springboard: a chance to open those all important doors, make a difference within a company and focus your mind on what you really want to do with your life. Remember, everyone has to start somewhere and starting small doesn’t mean insignificant. Don’t forget the little guy!

Photo by Flickr User Brunel University.

Industry Insider: Mark Dodds, Roythornes

We first met Mark back in July when we attended the NPD Food conference that Roythornes organised and hosted. It’s great to have Mark as an industry insider - we caught up with him to hear a little bit more about the work that Roythornes do and to get an interesting insight into the food industry through a legal lense.

Tell us a bit about yourself! Who are you and what do you do?

Roythornes is a top 200 law firm with a strong presence in the agri-food sector.  In a nutshell we help food businesses face the challenges and opportunities which are all part of running  a business.

How do you help small businesses?

For small businesses this involves giving a great deal of advice on how to establish a business, how to make sure the all-important paperwork is in place and how to ensure that any innovative ideas are protected as much as they can be.  Companies (and not just small ones!) sometimes ignore paperwork and just get on with running the business, but sadly when something goes wrong – a supplier goes bust, and employee lodges a tribunal claim or a customer doesn’t pay, they realise how important it is.

What does your typical day look like?

Our daily routine is as varied as the food sector.  On a day to day basis we could be advising a large fresh produce supplier on their dealings with one of the ‘big five’ supermarkets, helping a small whisky producer defend a claim from an American law firm, or drafting a non-disclosure agreement for an entrepreneur with an idea that could revolutionise the way his sector trades millions of pounds worth of product a year.

At the end of the day, much of the advice we give is ‘business advice’ rather than pure legal advice, and I think clients appreciate this. Because we know so many people in the chain, we can put people in touch on packaging design, transportation, recipe development and specialist food public relations.

What does ‘artisan’ mean to you?

To us ‘Artisan’ is typified by the product rather than the scale of the business.  It means a product where extra care and attention is given to the ingredients, their supply chain and the production, resulting in a quality product.  Artisan producers often have a massive stake in their own business and a passion which is great to see.  Big corporates don’t always have the same belief in their product as they have many more stakeholders and their efforts and focus can be diverted elsewhere.

How can small artisan producers stand out?

Artisan producers can stand out by ‘sticking to their guns’.  It’s very tempting to keep driving costs down to make more profit but when this comes at the cost of using cheaper ingredients, or sub-contracting the product quality can drop.  It’s much better to increase profits by looking for more outlets and broadening product ranges.   Their passion also helps – when you have someone at the top that believes in their product and knows it inside out it makes such a difference.

How do you think small artisan food businesses should be supported?

Artisan producers need to know where to go for advice.  They should look for specialists in the sector who know for example, how retail contacts work, how to handle product recalls and who have contacts that may be able to help.  There needs to be opportunities for them to get together and share ideas – it’s very easy to become isolated as a small producer and any opportunity to exchange ideas, successes and failures(!) with similar businesses should always be grabbed.

What do you think is the toughest part of starting a small food business?

Apart from the isolation,  I guess the toughest part of starting a small food business is scaling a ‘kitchen concept’ up into production and sales.  For someone who does not know about the logistics of doing this it can be quite daunting, and this is where good advice pays dividends.

What do you think is the next big opportunity for small artisans?

I think there are a number of opportunities for artisan producers.  The first is in the growth in ‘free from’ foods.  There’s a real opportunity for producers of quality food products to provide food for those who have allergies which isn’t mass produced.  Just because someone has an allergy does not mean they don’t appreciate fine food!

The other opportunity is of course in maintain the principles of quality food.  The recent scandals over horse meat [and] unlabelled halal chicken in the food chain make consumers question where their food is coming from and what it contains.  There is more questioning about ingredients and some sections of consumers are coming round to the fact that if they can buy 8 burgers for 80p they may want to question the source.  People will pay for quality and it’s up to the artisan producers to shout about the provenance of their food!

What are your words of wisdom for someone starting out?

At our recent conference on new product development the head of our food team, Peter Bennett said “If you take one thing away from this event, it’s speak to no one without a Non-Disclosure Agreement in place.”  This is a document which protects your ideas and products if, for example you are talking to a retailer, and yes, it’s good advice to get one drawn up.

From my point of view I would say really think about what makes your product stand out – is it the flavours, the health benefits, the producer or even the clever packaging?  Once you have identified that you can build your business – making sure you have the right documentation in place from your lawyer of course!

What do you think of our big ideas and what we’re trying to achieve?

It’s so difficult for small producers to get a route to market these days as there are often costs involved which make some of the routes prohibitive.  Projects such as Kitchen Table Projects are so valuable to the sector in giving exposure to some amazing producers.

How can people find out more about you and get in touch?

We’re very happy to talk to artisan food producers about any situation they find themselves in.  We realise that sometimes people are scared off lawyers by the costs, but we’re not that sort of firm and you’re not going to get a bill from us for a quick chat, so please do give us a call.

Roythornes can be contacted on 01775 842500, or e-mail markdodds@roythornes.co.uk