{"id":20666,"date":"2022-03-23T09:29:35","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T09:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=20666"},"modified":"2022-03-23T09:29:35","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T09:29:35","slug":"i-launched-a-start-up-alongside-my-ou-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/student-stories\/i-launched-a-start-up-alongside-my-ou-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I launched a start-up alongside my OU studies\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Entrepreneur and Business Studies<\/a> graduate Nick Bassan says The Open University was the perfect place to launch his smart-tech clothing brand.<\/p>\n

After two attempts at university, Nick, 29, says the OU gave him the flexibility he needed to achieve a degree \u2013 all while continuing to grow his business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to apply learnings from my course to both the job I work at and the business I\u2019m developing. It was a match made in heaven,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The freedom and flexibility allowed Nick to spend any spare hour focused on building his business from the ground up:<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the freedom that the OU gave me. They provided me with a wide range of course materials like books, videos, and other materials, and they let me choose how I approached my coursework in a way that best suited me. The OU are so well built for the digital age and perfectly suited to me as an entrepreneur.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The \u2018light bulb\u2019 moment <\/strong><\/h3>\n

After working in the design industry, it was a role at a high street fashion store that first sparked Nick\u2019s idea for a business.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was working in Next, I used to speak to a lot of customers who returned items,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt was always the same thing \u2013 that the product doesn\u2019t fit right. And I thought, \u2018this is a problem I can come up with a solution to\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

He got to work developing the idea for Niqolas Bassano<\/a>, a clothing brand that would have wearable technology at its core. It soon attracted support from the Princes Trust Enterprise Programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs well as enhanced design and fit, I wanted to focus on the sustainability side of things and use technology like digital passports,\u201d said Nick. \u201cIf you scan the label of a garment, you\u2019d be able to see where the yarn and fabric was milled or where the product was manufactured, all the way to recycling centres where you can recycle the product.\u201d<\/p>\n

The perfect place for an entrepreneur <\/strong><\/h3>\n

It was while developing his concept that Nick realised returning to university would give him the best chance of future success. He soon found the flexibility a world apart from his past experiences of education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of freedom in The Open University,\u201d he said. \u201cAt brick university, when I was in a lecture room with so many other students, I felt restricted. At the OU, you have the freedom to approach each task in so many ways using the course materials. I think that\u2019s the best way because you\u2019re not constricted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings are fast and instantaneous. I think that\u2019s because it\u2019s a university that was born digital. The OU has always been online. Look at how quickly the OU could adapt to COVID, for example. I definitely think it\u2019s where the future of learning is. That\u2019s what really worked for me as you only need a laptop to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another pleasant surprise was how Nick could apply the learnings from each module directly to his start-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne module covered subjects like supply, logistics, economy and the social world. I thought, \u2018This is tying into everything I\u2019m doing!\u2019 I knew this is where I should be, and I wish that I\u2019d studied at the OU years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Achieving a degree dream <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Balancing a business alongside his studies took a lot of determination \u2013 something which Nick believes sets OU graduates apart:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the challenge of working and studying, and that\u2019s what the OU is all about. It\u2019s working around your schedule and moulding studies around your life. I think that experience is worth more because it shows that you\u2019ve done other things while you\u2019re studying.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of Nick\u2019s hard work was realised when he completed his degree in 2019. He admits, at times, he wasn\u2019t sure he would get there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really surreal on graduation day. I just didn\u2019t think that it would ever be me up there on the stage. But it was really cool and definitely an achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ambitious entrepreneur Nick continues to develop his business and one day hopes to support other entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many lives I want to change and so much work I have to do to fulfil my purpose being here,\u201d he said. \u201cThe ultimate ambition is for me to have an office that I can employ people to work for our business and ultimately give them security for their own lives. I want to support other people in the same position as me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to give others the inspiration to pursue their own dreams and ambitions.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Be inspired with more Stories of Ambition <\/strong><\/h4>\n

Nick is part of our new \u2018Stories of Ambition\u2019 campaign, which showcases four inspiring students who have the ambition to change their lives through The Open University. Discover what it\u2019s been like for them to study at the OU and watch their videos now at Stories of Ambition<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Entrepreneur and Business Studies graduate Nick Bassan says The Open University was the perfect place to launch his smart-tech clothing brand. After two attempts at university, Nick, 29, says the OU gave him the flexibility he needed to achieve a degree \u2013 all while continuing to grow his business. \u201cI was able to apply learnings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[874,1525,1640,1643,2146],"class_list":["post-20666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-stories","tag-fbl","tag-news-home","tag-ou-home","tag-ou-news","tag-students"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}