A young entrepreneur who pioneered bracketless plant pot holders for tenants has urged students to pursue their business dream.
Tom Milner impressed judges of the University of Leeds’ Spark Business Plan competition last year by solving a problem faced by students and other renters.
He constructed plant pot holders that can be displayed on walls without any drilling – helping those whose landlords don’t allow holes to be made in the walls, and people who don’t feel adept with a drill.
This year’s competition is now open to current students and those who graduated within the last seven years, with prizes totalling nearly £10,000 up for grabs.
Spark is the business start-up service based at Nexus on the University of Leeds campus.
First prize is £2,000 with a second prize of £1,250 and a third prize of £750. There are two levels of entry – the pre-trading category and those who have been trading for up to 24 months.
Tom is studying for a Masters in Mechatronics and Robotic Engineering after completing an undergraduate degree course in Electronics and Computer Engineering.
He did a placement at a robotics firm and quickly became fascinated with 3D printing . That led him to think about how he could display his plants and effortlessly water them without causing a mess or making holes in the walls.
“I am massively into plants,” said Tom. “My parents have a large garden and have absorbed their passion for plants. My flat would not be the same without them.
“Drills and landlords are scary. I didn’t want to get berated for messing up a wall. They are nice – you can put them on glass walls too. I use a special type of tape that is strong but does not leave marks.”
Tom was already an Enterprise Scholar when he entered the Business Plan competition last year. He gained the scholarship through devising a music streaming service which he called Vinyl.
He described the scholarship as ‘game-changing’ as he gained access to facilities at Nexus and Helix and tapped into a network of like-minded people who were also problem solvers looking to make people’s lives easier.
The plan was to be an engineer but this is something I can do on my own. It has completely changed the course of what I want to do.
He was delighted to win the pre-trading category for the Business Plan competition with his product called Klip. “It was so validating and gave me the impetus to pursue the plant holder idea,” he said.
“The plan was to be an engineer but this is something I can do on my own. It has completely changed the course of what I want to do. I had never met anyone who had started their own business and now I have met quite a few people who have done fun things.
“The money takes the stress out of starting a business and the skills and contacts learnt at Nexus propel you forwards.”
He explained how he always wanted to be an inventor as a child and loved the Iron Man film.
“Leeds inspired me to develop my ideas. It is only through Spark that they could grow into something,” he added.
I want to keep things human. I hate the idea of generated content for instance. I think it is important to allow people to be creative.
Tom describes robotics knowledge as transferable. “I fully intend to use everything I get from my engineering degree for my businesses.
“I want to keep things human. I hate the idea of generated content for instance. I think it is important to allow people to be creative.
“I like to bring creativity into the engineering side. I decided to do a Masters at Leeds as it allowed me to carry on having access to Spark facilities and to the Spark network. It would be silly to miss out on this opportunity. I urge other students and alumni to enter the Business Plan competition. It can take you places.”
You can find out more about the Business Plan competition and enter here.
Further information
For more information contact Jane Lewis at j.lewis3@leeds.ac.uk or pressoffice@leeds.ac.uk