Following the
SmarterGroup and associated companies, this blog will touch upon issues relevant to various parts of the business. Posts may be made by
SmarterGroup brand managers, in which case they will be likely to detail upcoming or existing businesses, or brand managers of individual companies, in which case they will be articles relevant within that particular industry.
The SmarterGroup was founded by University of Warwick graduate, Adam Arnold, with the intention of providing start-up advice and funding to entrepreneurs at school and university level.
After graduating with an Economics degree in 2005, Adam received support and guidance under the Enterprise Fellowship Scheme ('EFS'), which is sadly no longer in operation. EFS provided 5 placements each year to students at the University of Warwick, although operated in a similar fashion at other universities in the region. On those placements, students (often with no business experience) would be given coaching from industry professionals on areas of business such as cash-flow planning, pitching for investment, marketing and copyright/legal issues. Student ‘fellows’ would also be invited to networking events with real business potential.
The SmarterGroup offers support and guidance much in the same way as EFS, although offers investment and the opportunity of branded entrepreneurship under the Smarter name. The first company to launch is SmarterHousing, providing high quality accommodation to students and exlusive residential properties for sale and rental.
During his time as and EFS fellow, Adam was able to raise sufficient funding to launch SmarterHousing by January 2006, with a modest 30 student properties available to rent for the following September. An encounter with a rogue landlord who claimed to own properties he did not caused significant concern in the launch year [to be continued….!], although the company made it into January 2007 with nearly 100 properties available in Leamington Spa and Earlsdon. SmarterHousing opened their first office in Leamington Spa in August 2007, moving into bigger premises in the summer of 2008.
Moving into the 2008 – 2009 academic year, SmarterHousing are offering student accommodation to those at Birmingham, Coventry, Nottingham, Nottingham Trent and Warwick universities. An arrangement to promote UNITE properties has seen the company move into letting larger ‘hall of residence’ style student accommodation.
SmarterHousing is due to move into other universities, including those at Manchester, Edinburgh, York, Bath, Bristol and the London Universities, before the end of 2011. Portsmouth and Southampton have also been identified as opportunities.
Over the next 12 months two further ‘Smarter’ companies are set to launch, with details to follow.
