On Wednesday 12 March, Shiplake College hosted its inaugural Business Lunch. Part of the Shiplake CONNECTED careers and mentoring programme, this new initiative aims to bring members of the Shiplake community together for a panel-style discussion focussing on a specific industry or career path. The first Business Lunch focussed on entrepreneurship. 

Held in the lecture theatre and livestreamed for those who could not make it in person, the lunchtime event consisted of a panel discussion led by Headmaster, Mr Tyrone Howe. The panel featured four entrepreneurs including Old Vikings Ralph Burrows (19O) and Carl Harris (16S), as well as Emily Williams and Ian Stone. Having a mixture of Old Vikings and current parents with a range of entrepreneurial experience gave our audience a well-rounded insight into the diverse pathways to building a successful business. Read more about our panelists here.

Business students and staff, Old Vikings and parents made up the audience and were able to hear about each panelists journey in business and how they became an entrepreneur. The event also featured a Q&A session, where in-person and online attendees were able to ask panelists specific questions. Topics such as financing start-ups, managing a team and dealing with setbacks were discussed by our panel and gave the audience a unique opportunity to learn directly from those who have navigated (and are still navigating) the challenges and triumphs of building a business. 

We are delighted with the success of out first Business Lunch and are excited to annouce that our session next term will focus on Property. Details about this event will be released very soon so keep an eye out!

A huge thank you to everyone who attended and, of course, to our fantastic panelists for making it such an interesting and engaging discussion.