In conversation with Louisa Ziane, co-founder of Toast Ale


    In this, the first of our Inspiring Entrepreneurs interviews for Start-up Day, we meet and hear from social enterprise entrepreneur, Louisa Ziane, the co-founder of Toast Ale. This trailblazing brewing company, motivated by climate change and food waste, produces ‘planet-saving beer’ with surplus fresh bread.


Louisa will discuss how you can build a viable, profitable and job-generating business that still keep your core values front and centre, as well as how to integrate these principles into your brand.

As the Chief Operating Officer on the Toast Ale team, Louisa’s focus is on the productivity and people in her business so she will also talk about how leaders can drive innovation and change as the team and the business grows.

Louisa will be interviewed by Toast Ale board member and BIPC Ambassador, Paul Lindley, himself a formidable founder of childrens’ food brand, Ella’s Kitchen, and author of Little Wins: The power of thinking like a toddler.

As Toast themselves would say, “Raise a toast. Save the world. Cheers.”

Speakers

Louisa Ziane

Co-founder of Toast Ale

Paul Lindley OBE

Founder of Ella's Kitchen

More Events

The Beat Goes On: Black Voices in the British Music Industry


In celebration of the British Library’s “Beyond the Bassline” exhibition, we’ve assembled some ground-breaking Black entrepreneurs who’ve transformed the British music industry to share the secrets of their success, including the highs and lows of their entrepreneurial journeys.

At £2.5 billion, the UK is home to Europe's most valuable digital music economy (Statista, 2021, 2023). However, despite the undeniable contribution of Black music artists and entrepreneurs to these figures, 2021’s Black Lives in Music report found that among Black music professionals, 73% experienced direct or indirect racism and noted disparities in respondent’s earnings and ability to gain music funding.

As part of our Inspiring Entrepreneurs series, this event provides a unique chance to hear our panel discuss the challenges and realities of the industry and share their experiences leveraging their creative talent to drive positive change for other artists and innovators. So if you’re thinking about starting a business, or already running one, join us to gain insight into their journey – or simply be inspired!

On the day, you can expect to:

Examine how entrepreneurship has evolved in the music industry, focusing on the journey of Black music in Britain and how this has been impacted by trends and other cultural shiftsLearn how music artists and creatives are transforming wider popular culture and redefining BlacknessAnalyse diverse business models utilized in the industryDiscover new opportunities and potential pitfallsPut your specific questions to our expert panel.

How to align passion, purpose and profit when starting a business

London libraries are transforming the way ideas grow into successful businesses. By partnering with ten London boroughs, we are developing a community of new and existing business owners, which is free to join and open to everyone. Whether you are just setting out, need advice on protecting your intellectual property, or simply have a brilliant idea you want to discuss, we're here to guide you. Since April 2020, we have offered all of our Start-ups in London Libraries' services online, including our core workshops and virtual one-to-ones with our borough Business Champions, many of whom will be hosting sessions during Start-up Day. To find out more about Start-ups in London Libraries and how to join our thriving business community, visit bl.uk/SiLL.

During this session, we will explore ways to identify and develop the basic skills needed to start a successful business, including passion, leadership skills, understanding your competitors, and much more. The aim of exploring these fundamentals is to give your business a firm foundation to develop, grow and thrive.

During the workshop we will discuss:
How to identify your passionHow to discover what’s purposeful and meaningful to you personallyHow to draw attention to your values, principles and mission in lifeHow to explore the real reason why you want to start a businessHow to discover what it takes to make it happenAnd finally, how to show up authentically, unapologetically and on purpose.

Start-up Day 2021

The Business & IP Centre’s Start-up Day is back for 2021, during Global Entrepreneurship Week, with involvement from over 30 libraries around the UK and over 50+ speakers.

10.00 – 10.04 Lord Parkinson
10.05 – 10.15 Introduction from Dr Joanna Abeyie MBE
10.15 – 10.55 How to understand sustainability trends in the UK right now
11.00 – 11.02 2 minute silence
11.05 – 11.50 The Remakery - Surplus materials, workspace and ecosystem
11.10 – 11.55 BIPC Glasgow – Making a difference – starting and running a business with environmental impact
11.15 – 12.05 Introduction to intellectual property
11.55 – 12.40 Sustainable in the City
12.00 – 12.25 BIPC Norfolk – The Regenerative Business Revolution – Entrepreneurs wanted!
12.10 – 12.45 Getting started with sustainable photography
12.30 – 13.05 Lunch and learn – swap skills for starting-up
12.45 – 13.30 Santander - The Business of Sustainability
13.00 – 13.30 How to put sustainability at the heart of your business
13.10 – 13.55 BIPC Liverpool City Region – The power of sustainable business
13.35 – 14.20 The Sustainable Start-up: building climate conscious principles into your business from day one
13.45 – 13.55 Santander key notes
14.00 – 14.45 BIPC Cambridgeshire & Peterborough - Getting real with sustainability
14.25 – 15.15 Circular Economy Panel: prosperity in a world of finite resources
14.40 – 15.15 BIPC Northamptonshire – Doing good and making money
15.00 – 15.45 Community as a service
15.20 – 16.05 A guide to sustainable business with the British Library
15.25 – 15.55 BIPC Greater Manchester – Is a co-operative business model right for your business
16.00 – 16.50 Sustainability oh so white
16.00 – 16.45 BIPC North East – Developing a sustainable/green brand

You only need to register once to get access to the full day of events. You can then choose which sessions you attend.

Business headshot editing service
What you need to do:

Select your head shot photograph.
Compose an email with the image attached.
Put your name in the subject field (so we can keep track of the images).
In the email let us know what you might want changing, e.g. cropping to square or resizing to reduce the file size, making black and white, adjusting the exposure/brightness etc. Or just let us decide.
Send to BIPC@samlanephotography.co.uk
We will then adjust your image as requested – or ‘touch it up’ as we would recommend.
And then we will email it back to you as soon as we possibly can, and certainly within 24 hours.



Don’t forget to follow #BIPCStartUpDay across social media to keep updated on what all of our speakers have to say throughout the day.

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