As we have shared, our friend and former colleague Paul Jordan passed away recently. I worked with Paul for a year or so when I first joined the Centre. I enjoyed my time working with him, especially on Startup Sussex, our student entrepreneurship programme which is Paul’s enduring legacy. He was very proud of the work he did to coach and mentor so many young entrepreneurs at the start of their journey. I immediately took to the programme and when Paul was seeking a successor to take over its running on his retirement, I had no hesitation in putting my name forward. I think he was pleased to have someone step into the role who shared his passion for it, and I was pleased to be able to do that for him.

So, our alumni have much to be grateful to Paul for as the founding father of StartUp Sussex. (I should mention that he worked closely on the creation of the programme with Peter Lane). Past winners have included Molly Masters with Books That Matter, a feminist literature subscription box that has gone on to win multiple national start-up awards. And Darren Tenkorang with TRIM-IT, a mobile barber service that has raised $1.1m of seed investment and been the subject of features on The Money Maker, BBC Business and Forbes. These are just two examples of the many businesses that have been born on the programme and gone on to great things. Being a part of their journey continues to be an absolute privilege and I will be forever grateful to Paul for creating Startup Sussex and bequeathing it to me.