Diverse digital businesses take free desk space in Brent

Five diverse digital businesses have taken up the offer of free desk space, unlimited access to studio facilities, meeting rooms and 5G broadcast at a creative workspace in Wembley Park. 

As we reported in March when Take Your Shot Studios first opened, the workspace has been set up provide entrepreneurs with resources and support to scale up their existing businesses and allow them to use a space that may not be affordable to many. In particular, it seeks to help entrepreneurs from under-represented backgrounds and especially encouraged women and those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds to sign up.

Photo by Steve Parkinson 

Since our report, five dynamic enterprises have taken up residency: community cinema organisation Filmscope CIC; comms agency Kallure; business consultants McAlpine Care; creative agency Vishanti Media; and Talk 2 Dan, a recruitment and consultancy agency that helps young people (16-25) break into media. 

Maria M Marshall, CEO and Founder of McAlpine Care, says: ‘Being a business owner or an entrepreneur is a very, very lonely journey. Having a co-working space is absolutely amazing because you’re not alone.’ 

Take Your Shot Studios is thought to be a first-of-its-kind initiative, the idea is to provide a home, platform and supportive community for entrepreneurs working in digital to take their businesses to the next level. It was established through a partnership between the tech businesses Slenky and Ultra Education CIC, in collaboration with the London Borough of Brent. 

Slenky, founded by Cec Richards, helps businesses across the UK use mobile and social media to create opportunities and communicate their brands. Social enterprise Ultra Education CIC, which was founded by Julian Hall, teaches entrepreneurship to children aged 7-18. Having both experienced the barriers and challenges facing digital entrepreneurs, Richards and Hall can bring valuable insights to the community at Take Your Shot Studios. They’re keen that fellow entrepreneurs, small enterprises and the wider community can all become stakeholders in the initiative. 

‘It’s been a privilege to work with two experienced local founders who are determined to help others enter their sector,’ said Cllr Mili Patel, the Deputy Leader of Brent Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Reform, earlier this year. 

‘One of the main pillars in our Digital Strategy is to boost digital skills in Brent, which will create a whole new wave of opportunities for local people. This is a huge step in the right direction.’ 

To qualify as a resident enterprise and take up the offer of free desk space, a business must meet three criteria: 

• Be a legally registered entity. 
• Be trading/have a cashflow or paying customer(s) 
• Be digital or 100% reliant on digital for growth 

Businesses that meet these criteria are invited to apply to Take Your Shot Studios.

In related news:

Multimillion-pound Project Gigabit contracts in Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk

Free social media support for Lincolnshire businesses