Student earns £15k boost for skating school
A STUDENT entrepreneur from the University of Huddersfield’s Business School has skated to success after his business was awarded £15,000 of seed funding by one of the UK’s largest business pitching competitions.
Kierhardy Ansell is the owner of Skate It Yourself which encourages local youngsters to become more active through weekly skateboarding lessons taught by certified teachers at skating venues located across Huddersfield and Halifax.
After pitching his business to a panel of experts, Kierhardy, who originally comes from Northowram, was among the top four students in the final of the Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards 2019.
Kierhardy is currently completing the final year of his degree in Business with Entrepreneurship and first launched Skate It Yourself during his enterprise placement year (EPY).
The EPY is an alternative placement for students who want to explore the possibility of starting their own business whilst having the full support of the University’s Enterprise Team, based in The Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Centre.
“I have been passionate about skateboarding for as long as I can remember,” said Kierhardy.
“What really surprises people is when they find out I also have a passion for anything business-related.
“I enjoy creating new business models, writing business plans and learning as much as I can about the industry.”
The 22-year-old first came across the idea for the business when, six years prior, he was completing a community-action project as part of the national volunteer programme for 15-17 year olds, known as National Citizen Service (NCS).
Kierhardy and a group of friends decided they could make a difference by developing an initiative to “put skateboarding back into the hands of skateboarders, through positive action”.
This phrase is one Kierhardy still uses today when describing his company’s mission statement.
To complete the training programme he needed to become a fully-certified skateboarding teacher and secure a suitable indoor location, Kierhardy explained he had to think creatively in order to keep the costs down.
“I needed to raise the money to become qualified to teach,” said Kierhardy.
“With the help of the University’s Enterprise Team, I discovered the local council awarded grants to companies who help young people to become more active.
“I applied and they allocated me the funds I needed.
“I teach flat skateboarding skills at outdoor locations across Huddersfield but when I was looking for an indoor venue I was already aware there was a skate park located in the Orangebox Young People’s Centre, next to The Piece Hall in Halifax.
“Calderdale Council had recently taken on the responsibility of running the centre and when I approached them about it, they revealed they were having difficulty using it because of health and safety regulations.
“They now allow me to operate my lessons from the skate park at low cost, which has meant my profit margins have increased and the council no longer has an unused leisure facility,” he added.