Change of course for winningentrepreneur
Mar 3 2009 by jez Davison, Evening Gazette
As nebusiness prepares to launch this year’s If We Can, You Can competition in association with the North-east Entrepreneurs’ Forum, we looked back on a year of change for the 2008 Teesside winner, Matt Stirland
GUISBOROUGH entrepreneur Matt Stirland has learned a valuable lesson about walking before you can run.
Last year’s winner of the nebusiness-backed If We Can, You Can campaign - which is running for a second time this year - has had a change of heart after struggling to raise the £250,000-plus needed to kick-start his chain of healthy clubs for children.
Instead, the former fireman is ploughing around £25,000 of his own funds into a similar scheme, Streetlife, which catapults fitness into the classroom.
The venture uses technology in the form of a LifePod that monitors students’ heart rate and fitness levels as they go about their daily activities.
The data generated - described by Matt as “an electronic personal trainer” - allows students to learn about their fitness and draw up plans to live a more healthy life.
The 29-year-old says: “Originally, my venture was all about getting kids active - and it still is. The problem with setting up a chain of health clubs for kids is that they’re at school for three quarters of the day.
“Streetlife is an educational tool that spans more than just fitness. Through the technology, kids can monitor how the body and the heart is working.”
Matt, who is hoping to generate revenues of up to £100,000 in his first year, is also urging parents and employers to buy into the ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ mantra.
He’s challenging North-east businesses to embark on Survival of the Fittest, in which teams of 10 will use the Lifepod to track their physical activity and monitor progress. Local primary care trusts and regional development agency One North East are among those to have signed up for the scheme.
The last year has been a steep learning curve for Matt, who has sought the advice of experienced mentors such as IT entrepreneur Simon Brown, who runs Middlesbrough creative firm Calm Asylum, and Wearside car magnate Sir Peter Vardy.
The self-confessed ideas man says their input has helped him re-focus his business plan and see more clearly.
“Simon and Peter started asking me questions like ‘is the original venture too big’ and ‘are you trying to raise too much money’.
“They have both helped to keep me on the straight and narrow.”
He urges wannabe entrepreneurs to get involved in this year’s If We Can, You Can campaign, even if they haven’t yet had that lightbulb moment.
“It’s very important for people who don’t realise they have an idea. Experienced entrepreneurs can bring it out of them.”
