April 8, 2016, by The Ingenuity Lab

Ingenuity16 Mentor Profile: Mel Berry

During Ingenuity16, a range of successful business men and women based in Nottingham and further afield have got stuck in mentoring the University of Nottingham’s budding entrepreneurs. Their guidance and advice has been incredibly useful for the students and alumni competing for the £100,000 prize fund.

Over the next few weeks, we will be uploading profiles of some of Ingenuity16’s mentors and coaches so you can find out a bit more about them and their top tips for success.

This week, we’ve heard from Mel Berry, who is a mastermind in both the Sports Marketing industry and in mentoring for Ingenuity16.

Company name:

Very Berry Sports Marketing LTD

Website:

www.very-berry.org

Role:

Founder and Director

What is your educational background?

I migrated into the working world from the water. After completing my A Levels, I chose to focus on my swimming career, and began working at a gym in a snooker club.

I entered the real working world when I set sail for the United Arab Emirates and work for a range of companies, including The Hilton, Reebok and Speedo. I then went back to the UK to start my time in the corporate world in Nottingham working for Speedo International.

How did you originally get involved with the Ingenuity Lab?

I’ve known Ingenuity Lab Manager, Steve Chapman, for many years. I love what the Ingenuity Lab are trying to achieve and find it so rewarding to work with up and coming talent. It’s great to see the journey that University of Nottingham students and alumni are on with their start-ups.

What piece of advice would you give to anyone interested in setting up their own businesses?

Have faith in yourself and believe in what you do, but make sure insight supports this.

I think it’s also really important to surround yourself with people who can support and help you. You will doubt yourself at times throughout the process of setting up and maintaining a business. Having a strong support network is so valuable in keeping you going through these tougher times as an entrepreneur.

What do you think are the key challenges that new entrepreneurs will face when setting up a business?

I think you become a stronger entrepreneur through experiencing the setbacks, barriers and difficulties. Life is a great teacher for that one.

What work are you currently involved in?

Very Berry Sports Marketing Ltd focuses on sports marketing and health and fitness campaigns that are currently female focused. There are some really exciting projects around behavioural change in this sector at the moment, meaning it’s a really dynamic and interesting time to be involved and help shape the future of sports marketing.

If you started your business today what would you do differently?

Nothing! If you could bottle hindsight you would be very wealthy. Learning is all part of the journey..

Thanks you for taking the time to share your words of wisdom with us Mel. If you would like to find out more about Very Berry Sports Marketing Ltd, please visit their website.

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