Kent Graduate Scholarship
20% alumni discount on your postgraduate tuition fees.
ASPIRE
Start your own business with ASPIRE
Do you want to develop a business idea or launch a start-up? Are you interested in learning more about entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation? Then ASPIRE, the University-wide space for entrepreneurship and start-ups is here for you.
21 October, 14:00, LT1, Sibson, Canterbury
Business Start-Up Journey: Launch
Meet two University of Kent founders who turned their ideas into ambitious, real-world businesses.
Alan Gurung
CEO & Co-founder of AdvisoryAI
At 22, Alan founded his own wealth management firm to solve
the problems he’d faced as an advisor – using AI to streamline the admin
burden. Three years on, AdvisoryAI is the largest AI
provider in UK financial advice, an AI-native, award-winning operating system
with over £120 billion of client assets, used by 10% of the UK financial advice
market.
🏆
Fintech of the Year 2026, 🏆
Best Tech in Show at EATT 2026 🏆
Schroders Innovation Award 2025
Danika Hossain & Arshia Bhatnagar
Co-founders of Bhangra Blends
Bhangra Blends is a premium ready-to-drink cocktail and
mocktail brand inspired by bold South Asian flavours. Founded by best friends
Danika and Arshia, the business was created to bring authentic Indian-inspired
flavours into the mainstream drinks market.
Since launching, Bhangra Blends has achieved a number of
exciting milestones, including:
🏆Raising
a six-figure investment 🏆Available
in 100+ UK’s venues 🏆Stocked
in Costco
FREE BUFFET
The event is free to attend but registration is required.
Be inspired with ASPIRE
ASPIRE offers exciting and practical entrepreneurial and start-up experiences through interactive workshops and events and one-to-one support with start-up experts.
There is a dedicated ASPIRE space on the Canterbury campus and regular workshops in Medway both designed to inspire and encourage creativity.
ASPIRE support is available for students from any course at the University of Kent.
ASPIRE takes inspiration from the Global Development Goals to embed sustainability and ethical practice into every business.
The Business Start-up Journey
Bring your ideas to life in a 18-week extra curricular programme that ends with a Dragon's Den style pitching competition.
The Business Start-up Journey provides a step-by-step guide to starting a business. Working alongside other student entrepreneurs helps you test the strength of your idea and transform it into a rounded proposal. You'll learn how to assess risk, turn challenges into opportunities and develop leadership, communication, presentation and teamworking skills. Great skills that give you an edge in whatever field you launch your career in.
ASPIRE Drop In Sessions
If you need advice on any aspect of starting a business – from market research, projecting incomes and costs to marketing and web – we can help at our drop in sessions that run from 09:00 to 17:00 every weekday. Come and meet us on the first floor of the Sibson building.
ASPIRE Space
ASPIRE’s open-plan workspace in the Sibson building has been specially designed to provide a collaborative working environment. ASPIRE Space provides a flexible space, where you can work quietly on a business case for a potential investor, rehearse that vital pitch with your partners, or take advantage of the resources we provide.
Do it Yourself - with a Selfie Year
Instead of a Year in Industry opt for a Selfie; Self-Employed Year in Industry.
Use your placement year to launch your own business. You will be supported by ASPIRE’s entrepreneurs in residence via regular sessions and activities. You will gain essential skills necessary to run your own business and enhance your employability.
How I started my fashion business
Kent graduate, Emay Enemokwu, talks Business Start-Up Journey and the next big step for Jehucal.
