Swan’s Den returns for 2025!Â
Each year, Student Enterprise welcomes a new cohort of student entrepreneurs to take part in interactive workshops and pitch for seed funding in our flagship competition, Swan’s Den. Run in partnership with the University of Lincoln’s Students’ Union, we’re also pleased to welcome back Unloc as our facilitators for the bootcamp this year. Â
Applications open from 25th Nov – 31st Jan – bootcamp and final to take place in March. Initial applications are screened by a panel looking for viable business ideas with clear market potential and impact, and at the stage that they’re ready for funding and to begin trading / register. Successful applicants will be invited to our 1-day bootcamp, hosted in Sparkhouse and facilitated by Unloc.
The bootcamp gives attendees the essential knowledge on setting up and running a business, as well as covering the equally valuable soft skills needed to effectively pitch / present your business:Â
- Ice Breakers: Team-building activities to help finalists forge connections with each otherÂ
- Soft Skills Development: enhancing communication, leadership, and decision-making abilities.
- Business Structures: Understanding the key elements of business frameworks and legal structures.
- Business Planning: In-depth focus on the nuts and bolts of writing effective business plans, including financial planning, operations, and market analysis.
Successful applicants will then be invited to the final – pitching their business ideas to a panel of external entrepreneurs for the chance to win start-up funding. The competition is more than just one-off support – Student Enterprise will continue to support winners through access to our Trailblazer Network, exclusive workshop and events on running and growing a business and networking opportunities with the wider business community. Â
For more information about the competition you can email us at studententerprise@lincoln.ac.uk. If you are ready to go, you can view the application form here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=xEculd4FgkKDr19LRrFij2zD4gyMwBJLgYf1eERkPkRUM0tDSFpCVUk4VFRGUDNPTlBZREJDNkpMRy4u&route=shorturl.