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Liam Jeffery, co-founder of StudentVenture

Liam at the Global InsurTech Summit with students who have gained work experience through StudentVenture

Meet Liam Jeffery, a 2023 BSc Economics graduate, who co-founded StudentVenture, a business tackling the shortage of relevant industry experience many students face upon graduation. His company aims to bridge this gap by offering students practical, hands-on experience while they are still at university.

We caught up with Liam to learn about his inspiration for creating StudentVenture, his entrepreneurship journey, and the challenges he has encountered along the way.

What inspired you to come up with the idea of StudentVenture?

As an economics student, I noticed a lack of real-world opportunities related to my degree. Despite applying for hundreds of placements, internships, and graduate roles, I faced constant rejections. This struggle wasn't unique to me; my housemates, peers, and countless others across the UK are experiencing the same challenges. I believed I had so much potential but there wasn’t an avenue for me to contribute what I had learnt at university to the real world. This experience inspired me to create StudentVenture.

Can you tell us more about your business model? What does the student journey look like from start to finish, and how is it beneficial for students?

StudentVenture connects companies and students through a unique and mutually beneficial programme.

Companies subscribe to StudentVenture and can then interact with students via projects, internships, workshops, webinars and hackathons (rapid and collaborative engineering events lasting 24 to 48 hours).

Students create an anonymous account to browse and apply for a range of opportunities by completing a small task to showcase their skills. Companies review these tasks and select candidates based on their submissions, eliminating unconscious bias. Successful applicants then collaborate with the company, tracking their hours and progress on StudentVenture. This model allows companies to build a talent pipeline and gain fresh perspectives, while students gain real-world experience and opportunities.

How is this programme different to a placement year?

Internships and placements are very competitive and often limited to big corporations that can facilitate a year internship or a 3-month placement.

StudentVenture programmes are all paid and provide shorter-term opportunities, starting at just 1-2 weeks, based on project needs. This flexibility allows medium and small companies to benefit from student support without long-term commitment. These shorter programmes also remove the pressure for students trying to find a balance between work and study, making it accessible for everyone.

How did you build the business model for StudentVenture, and where are you at with it now?

In the first year, our priority was focusing on gaining traction by acquiring clients and building a student database.

We’ve recently partnered with UNiDAYS, who are promoting paid degree-related opportunities to students using their platform. UNiDAYS reaches around 29 million users worldwide, and we’re hoping this collaboration will help us gain a lot more student contacts as we aim to expand to a global user-base. So far, we have worked with clients from the US, Denmark, Belgium and the UK. Our next step is to focus on developing our US client base, followed by the rest of Europe.

We are now at a stage where we are looking for investment. We're looking for £216,000, and are in discussions with a few investors at the moment.

How have you incorporated sustainability into your business model?

We have a very low carbon footprint, as we don’t have a set office space and prefer using Zoom calls to reduce travel when collaborating with both national and international clients.

We recently worked with a company called TransRe, based in the US, who specialise in renewable energy research. This has provided us with an insight into the importance of sustainability and is something we will now consider when making business decisions.

On the whole, how did the Business School help you in your business journey, and were there any modules in particular that stand out?

The Business School gave me a fundamental understanding of how the world works. In particular, the Microeconomics module gave me an understanding of individual consumer psychology and why people make certain purchasing decisions. The Macroeconomics module taught me how the government and companies work together, broadening my understanding when it came to creating my own business model.

Have there been any challenges with launching your business and how have you overcome them?

Our initial challenge was generating enough interest from both students seeking work experience and companies willing to participate.

At an Insurtech Insights event in London, a CEO's advice was to "focus on the problem, not the solution" this led me to reconsider why companies were hesitant. We realised the issue was a lack of clarity on the value StudentVenture offered. By highlighting how we connect students with relevant experience and help companies access skilled, motivated talent, we solved two problems at once, creating a win-win for both students and businesses.

What advice would you give to a student considering to start their own business venture?

Jump in at the deep end. You will only see what you're capable of once you take risks and delve into the unknown.

My advice is to not just focus on one part of the business. There are many elements. You will need to continue to build your product whilst selling it and market it efficiently to receive investment. It’s also important to develop a strong network to engage with regularly, you could end up meeting your next business partner, investor, or client.

Patience is a virtue. Keep taking the right steps - keep persevering - knocking on doors – the rewards will come and sometimes not in the way you expect.

If you are a student, and would like to find out more about StudentVenture opportunities, please contact: student@studentventurerecruitment.com

If you are a company, and would like to know more about employing students through StudentVenture, please contact company@studentventurerecruitment.com

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