Andrew Hulbert first put direction towards his entrepreneurial interests when he was appointed the Project Manager for the Entrepreneur Society at the University of Essex. Since taken this role he has been spurred into a host of other entrepreneurial activities including taking the role as Intern for the East of England Region, being a member of the Orange Graduate Panel and organising/being part of teams for events such as Epoch and Yomping. Now into his final year at University, Andrew has taken the role of Enterprise Champion for the Make Your Mark campaign as well as organising entrepreneurial speakers at his University and now holds the position as External Relations Officer for the Essex Entrepreneurship Society.

Andy Lopata is one of the UK’s leading business networking strategists. He is the co-author of two books on the subject, including the Amazon UK bestseller ‘…and Death Came Third! The Definitive Guide to Networking and Speaking in Public’. Andy built his reputation as a leading expert on networking and referral strategy in eight years as the Managing Director of UK-wide network Business Referral Exchange, before leaving to set up his own business early in 2007. Andy is also a director of the new online business network, Word of Mouse.

I’m Corrina Gordon and I run You Inspire Me, a coaching and development busines dedicated to helping young women start their own inspirational ventures. I’m passionate about people turning their ideas into reality so that the world can benefit from their vision. I’m a certified coach and use a wide range of tools to help my clients clarify and articulate what they want to achieve with their business or project and then deal with limiting beliefs which could sabotage their plans.

My name is David McQueen. If I was to sum up what I am known best for is helping people to leverage themselves for career success. As a professional speaker, faciliator and coach I work with young people in schools and colleges. I also coach and train adults who wish to improve their presentation skills, find work, get promotions or develop their own business. From using traditional methods to embracing social media tools my focus is to get people to enjoy their career journeys. Working with organisations as well as individuals. I find the best way to do that is also be authentic in the way I run my business and manage my own career which to be frank has been exciting but filled with its own challenges. On a personal level I am happily married with two energetic, creative and sometimes challenging daughters. I love music, poetry, philosophy and the way people interact across different cultures. I am a firm believer that our careers are intrinsically linked to our happiness and contentment, and as they take up so much of our personal time why not work on getting it right.

Duane Jackson is what some people would call a serial entrepreneur, although he’s not comfortable with the label himself. He just sees himself as “very busy”. As well as running Key One (a web development company) or KashFlow (a provider of bookkeeping software), he is also involved in two other privately owned start-ups. Between all these other responsibilities he also helps to moderate the UK Business Forums and run the London based networking group, trustNetworkers

Running a marketing business, a children’s theatre school, a home, three teenagers and a large dog should be enough for anyone, but I am also a passionate networker, who gets a real buzz out of putting people in touch with each other for their mutual benefits. Experience ranges from full time plc board director right down to helping people plant and launch their businesses. I’m a member of several thriving networking groups, and am known for my practical appraoch to life. I love working with younger people who have a passion for business, and am currently helping my 19-year-old nephew set up his own business in my spare time.

Jack Butler is founder of Future Foundations – a training and support services organisation specialising in personal development and soft skills for young people - and the Sparkle Network, a peer support network for people in the early stages of their career. Why did you start running networking events?

Julie has been the Business and Enterprise Coordinator at Barnwell School for the past three years.

Hi, my name is Julie and I’m the Marketing and Account Executive at the Centre for Women’s Enterprise, University of Bedfordshire. My role specialises in marketing and promotion, client and stakeholder relations and event organisation. I’m passionate about helping women of all ages to start their own enterprise or helping them in growing and developing established businesses. I’ve worked within the Centre since October 2005 and have been involved in the co-ordination of various events for women including an award winning MBA programme, leadership training, business growth training and a starting a business programme in the local community. My previous roles have included working in a senior mortgage underwriting role at the head office of a large UK high street bank in addition to other retail and customer facing roles.

Kay Westgate is project co-coordinator for Lowestoft Youth Action, an independent youth group providing a voice for those aged 14-24. She works to support youth having a role to play in the local community around Lowestoft.