Support and Expectations

Loughborough Enterprise Network (LEN) is here to support you as enterprising students and graduates of Loughborough University and Loughborough University in London.

What you can expect from Loughborough Enterprise Network

Our role is to inspire you to be enterprising, to develop the skills and knowledge you need to start your own business, be a proactive entrepreneur or to take your business to the next level.*

* Please note: There are some businesses that Loughborough Enterprise Network and Loughborough University cannot support due to ethical and moral concerns. More information on the types of businesses we cannot support is outlined at the bottom of this document. If you would like to know if we're able to support your business, please book an Initial Business Assessment with one of our advisers.

Loughborough Enterprise Network is committed to upholding confidentiality in relation to your business ideas and plans. It is OK to talk to us about these as we will not share this or details of your IP with third parties without your expressed permission.

We are committed to always letting you know should a change in our calendars or work commitments mean that we are unable to attend a meeting. We will also look to rearrange this meeting at a time suited to both parties.

We endeavour to be organised and prepared ahead of our meetings with you. The relevant adviser will read any business plans, model canvasses or other relevant documents providing they are sent to them to be reviewed 2-3 working days in advance of the meeting. They will bring a level of focus and knowledge to all meetings and will be committed to signposting / guiding you to the relevant resources and materials.

Our advisers and managers are committed to making themselves available and accessible to you to support your business journey as and when they can around their work commitments (e.g. you will actively find them working in the Enterprise spaces available to you on campus). This will be in accordance with their own work commitments and the Enterprise Office / University working hours unless otherwise stated by your adviser. 

For the most part, we operate an open-door policy, and students and graduates are more than welcome to ‘drop in’ and visit an adviser to speak with them or to outline any concerns and ask any relevant questions during our office hours (e.g. 2pm onwards).*

* Please note: If you are interested in visiting your Graduate Enterprise Adviser at The Studio, it is better to get in touch with them directly by email (thestudio@lboro.ac.uk) to arrange a meeting at a time that suits all parties.

How Loughborough Enterprise Network will work with you

While we are committed to supporting you in all aspects of your business journey during your engagement with us, it is also important that you understand what is expected of you should you seek our support for yourself and your business throughout your time here.

If a meeting is arranged with a member of the LEN team for the first time, to discuss your plans or idea for your business, this will take place in the form of an ‘Initial Business Assessment’. You will be asked some questions so that we can understand your business and its proposition to ascertain whether it is possible for us to support it.

Students and graduates will also be expected to complete an ‘Initial Business Assessment’ form ahead of this meeting taking place. They should expect to complete and send this form to the relevant team member at least 2-3 working days ahead of the scheduled meeting.

If your completed form has not been received ahead of the meeting, your meeting may not go ahead and may be rearranged for a time after which we have received it.

You will be expected to provide the relevant LEN team member with notice if you are no longer available to attend a meeting that has been booked. Please let your adviser know that you are unable to attend at your earliest convenience (ideally, at least 24 hours in advance of that meeting taking place) via email or phone call.

Should a pattern emerge whereby a student or graduate is regularly missing meetings with us, the LEN team reserve the right to assess the situation in relation to the ongoing support provided to that individual.

If you book to attend a LEN workshop, training session or event then we are expecting you to attend. We understand that things can happen beyond your control and that this may prevent you from attending on occasion, but please ensure that you let your adviser know in advance (as above) if you are unable to make it so that your place can be offered to another student or graduate. Please remember that we will have incurred financial costs and costs associated to catering for your attendance.

Special access and dietary requirements should be provided to the LEN team or workshop leader (via email or the relevant booking form) ahead of each event or training session.

We understand that the journey of a start-up business is never simple and that circumstances may change. However, please keep in touch and inform us if you significantly change direction. This is so that we can ensure that your business idea is something the University is still able and willing to support.

It is important to remember that your advisers support the needs of many students and graduates embarking on their business journeys. For this reason, your advisers can be very busy. However, they will always endeavour to reply to your emails and / or phone calls as quickly as they possibly can.

While following-up on an email to your adviser may be useful, please refrain from doing so unless you haven’t heard back from them in a week or more.

PLEASE REMEMBER:

While Loughborough Enterprise Network and its advisers may offer you advice on your business journey, we are not legal experts. Our advice may be limited due to our own roles within the university and we will advise you to seek your own legal or financial advisers, in addition to our support, where necessary. We are not able to advise on regulated topics such as your immigration and visa status.

The advice of Loughborough Enterprise Network is not guaranteed to make you a millionaire – success is determined by many factors, including your own drive and determination. However, we will do our best to support you on your path to success.

Finally, the University cannot support businesses that are deemed to be engaging in illegal or prohibited activity and is unable to provide support to businesses whose activities may have a negative impact on the University’s wider reputation. This includes businesses whose activities promote Gambling, Pornography and / or Alcohol, and businesses with a particular religious or political agenda.

While Loughborough Enterprise Network (LEN) and your adviser(s) are here to offer support (in the form of advice and guidance, but also constructive and critical feedback where necessary) on your business idea and / or existing business, their support of you as a current Loughborough University or Loughborough University London student or graduate does not mean that the University or LEN automatically endorse your business (including its products, services, activities or events). Therefore, If you require endorsement (e.g. permission to use LEN logos in relation to your business), please get in touch to discuss this further via LEN@lboro.ac.uk.

If you are an international student studying at Loughborough on a Tier 4 visa, you are not allowed to set-up a business in the UK. You should not register as self-employed or start-up a business nor should you be trading while here on your Tier 4 visa. Should you wish to know more about these limitations, please talk to Student Advice and Support.

If you think you might like to apply to develop your business idea in the UK after graduation (providing we believe it to be viable), please see our Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa page for details.