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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 shifts
    • Learn how music artists and creatives are transforming wider popular culture and redefining Blackness
    • Analyse diverse business models utilized in the industry
    • Discover new opportunities and potential pitfalls
    • Put your specific questions to our expert panel.

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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.

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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.

The Sustainable Start-up: building climate conscious principles into your business from day


For anyone starting (or scaling) a business in 2021, sustainability is likely on your radar, but how do you walk the walk from day one? In this session, we’ll be looking at how to embed a climate-conscious mentality to all aspects of your work, offering a series of tips to guide your decisions on everything from banking and web hosting, to products and packaging. Whether you’re a sole trader working from home, or a retailer with a shop front, we’ve got you covered - with room for a Q&A at the end if you have any particular burning questions.

Wellness Warriors: the women reshaping the health and fitness industry


Celebrate International Women’s Month with us at the British Library as we bring together an inspiring panel discussion with five boundary-breaking women entrepreneurs who are transforming the health and fitness industry. As part of our Inspiring Entrepreneurs series, this event provides a unique chance to hear from influential women business founders and put your questions to them.

Our ’wellness warriors’ will share their extensive experience of setting up and scaling personal training businesses, fitness apps, pioneering athletic wear brands and more. With the fitness industry valued at just under $100 billion globally last year* and with the Olympics fast approaching, these women have harnessed the booming interest in health and wellbeing to establish innovative brands, programmes and communities focused on empowerment and inclusivity.

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur curious about the landscape or an established founder looking to stay ahead of the curve, this session will leave you feeling inspired, informed and ready to take the next step.

*Statista, August 2023

On the day, you can expect to:

Gain valuable insights into the evolution of fitness entrepreneurship and innovations reshaping the health and wellbeing industryExplore emerging business models in health and fitness - from apps to in-person clubs to community-focused chainsDiscuss how businesses and individuals are supporting marginalised communities within the fitness industryAnalyse how fitness brands leverage social media, influencer marketing, and ecommerce to grow their audiencesUnderstand how fitness influencers build successful brands and e-commerce identitiesGet answers to your specific questions to propel you forward in your business journey.

Kitchen Table Talks: adapting to the times with Julie Deane OBE

Join Julie and the BIPC to hear the ways the Cambridge Satchel Company are adapting to the times and how, with creativity, practicality and optimism, we can continue to move forward.

Have you found yourself spending more time than ever around your kitchen table? Maybe you’ve been collaborating with team members over video call, or swapping nights out with home-cooked meals? Luckily the kitchen table can be just the place where great ideas can be born. Take it from Julie Deane. Starting at her very own kitchen table with a budget of just £600, her company - the Cambridge Satchel Company - has become one of the UK’s greatest retail success stories. Julie now invites you back to her kitchen table to share her experiences and thoughts for the future to help your own business thrive.

Julie will cover how going back to basics doesn’t mean downgrading ambition and growth, but instead, helps create focus where it’s needed and opens doors you may have overlooked. She will discuss how gaining clarity on the business you need to be today can help you make your money and resources go further.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Building the Black Economy


Join our panel of experts to learn how Black entrepreneurs are building empires online by using their influence and creativity.

You will hear from six inspiring entrepreneurs at various stages in their careers and across a range of industries, as our panel come together to discuss the considerations they took into account when building their businesses and the insights they have learnt along the way.

Whether you are just thinking about starting a business, a business owner who wants to learn more, or perhaps you wish to establish a stronger network, you’ll leave this event feeling inspired and engaged.

On the day, you can expect to:

Learn how the Black Lives Matter movement prompted the rise in Black enterprises and powered increased support for themUnderstand the financial reality of starting a business in today’s changing marketExplore Black-owned businesses in theatre and the arts and the importance of representation on the stageRecognise the power of the Black pound and how to convert this knowledge into assets for the Black economyLearn about the importance of social media for building Black businesses.
Following this will be an engaging and thought-provoking Fireside Chat – a discussion on community building with Black Pound Day founder and So Solid Crew member, Swiss.

About our panel

Rachael Twumasi-Corson, CEO and founder of Afrocenchix Ltd. At 19 Rachael co-founded Afrocenchix, an award-winning ethical start-up that creates safe, effective, vegan certified products for Afro & curly hair.Emmanuel Asuquo, founder of The Eman Effect UK, is a renowned, financial adviser, media personality, wealth building entrepreneur and international speaker.TJ Atkinson is a Property Investor, who specialises in transforming homes into beautiful, creative masterpieces. Alongside growing his portfolio, TJ supports people in his community with getting started in property.Indie Gordon is Head of Program at Foundervine and founder of Halo safety app. She aims to empower today's and tomorrow's companies, ensuring they’re tech-enabled and can weather the storm of any social, economic or environmental change.The panel will be moderated by Khai Shaw, co-founder of the theatre company Nuu Theatre. Khai has collaborated with the English Touring Theatre Company and the Bush Theatre.

Fireside Chat

Swiss is the founder of Black Pound Day, the UK's biggest economic movement that supports Black-owned businesses. He is a cultural influencer, business leader, author, and highly acclaimed musician and member of So Solid Crew. Alongside his passion for music, Swiss founded the Black Pound Day movement to support awareness and growth of the Black businesses and economy in the UK and global diasporic communities. Recently, Swiss opened the first permanent retail store at Westfield London, Europe's biggest shopping centre, and continues to actively support hundreds of businesses across the country.The chat will be moderated by Jacqueline Brown, BIPC Business Support Programming Manager, serial entrepreneur and founder of businesses Africa Fashion Guide, Wax and Wraps and M.O.R.Empire. Since 2011, Jacqueline has helped start-ups to build and launch sustainable fashion businesses from scratch with coaching, digital tools, community and connections.

Michael Cashman

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