Interview: Varsity Pitch finalist M-24

Every year our Varsity Pitch competition attracts hundreds of applicants, this year was no different with over 400 applications. Our Varsity Pitch finalists were in a calibre of their own, with exciting businesses in fashion, leisure, tech and more! During the Varsity Pitch final we caught up with Mat Dusting, 26, founder of M-24, who shared his entrepreneurial journey.

10689516_854293367963261_9216912338594226476_n

M-24 recycles old truck tarp from lorries and converts it into durable products like duffle bags, rucksacks and messenger bags. All of the bags are made in the UK and are all individual because of the unique designs collected from lorries.

Mat’s first successful experience with business was launching a clothing brand at university - a hoodie business. He explains: “I built a website and went to my head of marketing at university who sent out an email to 3,000 alumni. She she told me when she was going to send out an email and they could pre-order all of these hoodies.

“I made about £2000 overnight. That was my first taste of doing something on my own and I haven’t looked back since.”

Aston University alumni and Product Design graduate, Mat applied for the Varsity Pitch competition on recommendation of a friend. One of the key reasons why Mat applied was to get the support and guidance of mentors and feedback on business.

He continues: “It also seemed like a really great place to get involved with like-minded people, [gain] good exposure and there’s the potential to win money as well.”

Mat was one of the six Varsity Pitch finalists that attended our bootcamp session with TATA Ltd's business experts. Attendees were given help and advice to help them grow and perfect their business models. Speaking about the experience Mat says: "..to get feedback from all different angles has made me alter my thinking slightly [of] how I go forward."

Mat was part of the 86% of the finalists that indicated that since the event they felt confident or very confident to grow their business.

It was really interesting to speak to a comprehensive range of people, with different backgrounds - to get feedback from all different angles which has made me alter my thinking slightly to how I go forward.

Mat considers self-belief as the most important skill needed to be an entrepreneur.

Mat says: “You’ve just gotta absolutely love what you’re doing as well. You can start the most amazing brand in the world, but if you don’t wanna continue doing this you’ll never succeed. Ultimately, I think negotiating power is a big thing.

“You have to be a people person I think, getting on and promoting yourself. I think you’re that number one salesperson in your team. It is crucial as well. Ultimately, that desire and hunger is top.”

Our Varsity Pitch Grand Final took place on 21st November and was our last event of 2014. Our next event will be the 2015 Student Enterprise Conference in Liverpool.

For more information please visit here, and don’t forget to follow us @NACUE @TheSEC2015 #SEC2015!

Add comment

JComments

Our Impact
Our Mission
Our model

We've achieved a great deal in a short number of years, though there's much more too do in supporting our mission of 'Powering the Enterprise Generation'.

32,000

Students

19,926

Event attendees

20,505

Followers

42,000

Reach

16,512

Businesses

43,439

Jobs

Powering the Enterprising Generation

Our mission is to support the development of education and student engagement throughout college and universities by championing student enterprise societies and peer-to-peer learning. NACUE started from an extraordinary movement in student entrepreneurship, providing young individuals with a platform to be experimental, creative and inspiring in their approach to enterprise and entrepreneurship, encouraging a bottom-up approach to inspiring the next generation.

Today, we see over 200 enterprise societies, powered by peer-to-peer groups, who are championing the success of young people throughout their interactive programmes by forging collaborative relationships with their institutions to provide greater experience and development opportunities for their peers. Establishing regional links with locals SME’s who are keen to open their doors to emerging talented, proactive and enthusiastic graduates perpetuates this.

Our work is dedicated to supporting the development and encouragement of entrepreneurship amongst young individuals and forms the sole purpose of NACUE. To learn more about NACUE and the services we produce, click here.

As a not-for-profit, we raise charitable donations that allow us to widen the opportunities available to young people in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship, strengthening student engagement, the quality of education and connecting and representing student enterprise societies and student entrepreneurs worldwide.

NACUE is a charitable organisation that supports 32,000 students and young people every year. As funding becomes harder to obtain, we rely on the generous support of donors to ensure our programs can continue to change the lives and aspirations of the younger generation.

A donation of any size goes a long way to furthering our work and really is greatly appreciated. Every gift matters in aiding our mission of ‘Powering the Enterprising Generation' but we mainly rely upon the generosity of our members and alumni to do this. By making a single or regular donation you can make a big difference. To learn more about how you can donate, please follow the links below.

Donate now

Large national network

NACUE are delighted to have supported a huge number of student-led societies over the years. You can see the number of established student-led societies on an interactive map below

College

University

Society

Who we work with

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are at the very core of NACUE, everything we do is to better the startup and self employment ecosystem. We believe that entrepreneurs will shape the future, and we bolster this through our events, our network and our advocacy.

Students

NACUE works with students in Colleges and Universities right across the UK, helping support them in their entrepreneurial goals and connect them with like minded peers.

Educators

NACUE works collaboratively with educators and academics in supporting the development of entrepreneurial mindsets in young people.

Our events

Our events offer the young people we work with the opportunity to connect with our wider network, the experts and seasoned entrepreneurs in our community and the chance to be inspired to take the leap of faith into entrepreneurship. These events are attended by students and graduates from universities and colleges up and down the UK, as well as students from across Europe. Student Societies take centre stage at our events, alongside innovators, game changers and trail blazers of the UK startup ecosystem.

Varsity Pitch 2024 Competition

The Student Enterprise Conference 2021

The difference we make

Alex Deung

Society President, Entrepreneurs Durham

It has been a great pleasure working closely with NACUE. NACUE has supported me both on big and small issues within my role. Without NACUE’s support, Entrepreneurs Durham wouldn’t be where it is today.

Wendy Funnell

Head, Centre for Entrepreneurship

The pleasure of seeing young people start something from nothing and watching them as they’re growing is wonderful. If we hadn’t had NACUE, we couldn’t do a lot of what we’re doing now. I can absolutely, categorically say that.

FE Student

FE Student, Enterprise Society

I am enjoying it (the enterprise society) a lot, and it’s great to be achieving something real. So often in college we plan to the point of doing the activity but then never actually do it.