The UoB start-up that helps International students in the UK and tips from its founder Ashily Feng

Ashily Feng graduated from the University of Birmingham with a Marketing and Communications masters in 2018 before creating her own start-up. Ash & Even UK Ltd is a digital platform which actively supports International students during the transition between home and their chosen UK university.

The business connects students (who may be unfamiliar with the UK) with reputable service providers which includes; legal services, university application consultants and social events. Ashily wants to give International students a positive experience and ensure they avoid the trap she fell into as a new student in the UK.

Ashily: I spent £9,000 on a career coaching programme in the UK and it turned out to be a scam with the organisation targeting International students like me. I had no idea how to seek legal justice. Sadly, I am just one of many and it was made even more difficult for me by the language barrier and cultural difference. Therefore, I made a decision to create a brand that supports international students’ adventures through bespoke services where they can be understood and inspired. I wanted to unapologetically create a space where our clients have the best start possible and explore their life in the UK without hassle. 

As an International student, Ashily Feng successfully applied for the Start-Up Visa which is supported by the B-Enterprising Team at the University of Birmingham

Having a start-up visa is a prerequisite to setting up my own business in the UK. Home Office launched this visa specifically for International students who wish to create a business in the UK. 
Most UK universities are appointed by the government as official endorsing bodies and are able to issue endorsement letters to their own graduates. With a start-up visa, you are allowed to have a part-time job to support your life while running your business. Therefore, this is an ideal route for students who want to start a business in a more flexible way. 

The B-Enterprising team played a most indispensable role in my business as they gave me access to professional support: I have long actively been getting involved with and benefited from workshops and events hosted by the B-Enterprising team, therefore, I am

aware of the dos and dont's of running a business that I would never know on my own.

B-Enterprising offers 1-2-1 coaching sessions and a weekly training programme as part of UoB Elevate, which enables me to learn from more experienced business advisors and grow with like-minded entrepreneurs, further enhancing my skills in business fundamentals, such as financial management, IP and sales. 

That support helped us become a lean business. I have also had valuable opportunities. Although the initial success we have achieved proved the viability of the business in the short term, it’s likely that startup founders, including me, will have various assumptions that customers will love our product or services a lot. Networking minimises my assumptions through exchanging ideas and information, validating the market with other professionals, industry leaders, potential customers, and other entrepreneurs within our industry.

Overcoming challenges with my business...

In 2021 we worked with a highly experienced solicitor but he often ignored our customers messages and was very slow to react. This caused an issue for our business as our customers were not getting the best service due to the fact the solicitor stated that he had 6 months to react to any customer query by law so this delay had an effect on the business and affected our word-of-mouth marketing which has been so important for our growth.

 

To overcome this, we cut our losses and terminated the contract with this solicitor, sent an apology to our customers who had been affected by it and found another responsible lawyer who was able to provide excellent service. We learnt from this and from then on, we set detailed Terms and Conditions for anyone working with us to ensure they have a customer centric mindset in place. We learned that attitude matters more than anything.

Ash & Even has seen great success in just a few years.

June 2019: Ashily was accepted onto the NatWest Pre-Accelerator Programme.
February 2020: Ashily's Start-Up Visa was endorsed by the University of Birmingham.
September 2020: Joined the UoB Elevate programme a university start-up incubator located in the heart of Birmingham city centre.
January 2021: the innovator visa was granted by The Home Office.
March 2022: Ash & Even were finalists at VentureFest Pitch Up 2022.
April 2022: Revenue for the business went past one quarter of a million (£250,000).

My advice for anyone starting a business is:

• Think about what you really want to do - crafting a business plan and running a real
  business can be very different so do your research thoroughly and ask yourself whether it is something you would devote all of your time and passion to before committing to it.
• Do not let anyone get in the way of what you really want.
• Be proactive and resilient.
• I recommend talking to people in person who are already on that journey. You will acquire more information by meeting people to support you through the process.
• Feel comfortable moving out of your comfort zone.
• Speak it out loud when you need help.
• Fail quick and fail smart - like everyone else life isn't always rosy all of the time. There must be unexpected barriers in your way when you start running your business. It is okay to make mistakes and fail at first. I believe failures are the stepping stones for your success in the end.

Find out more about the business on the Ash & Even business page here

Visit the University of Birmingham Start-Up Visa webpage for more information

With thanks to Ashily Feng
Blog arranged by Kerry Brunn, Edited by Bob Lee