Member Article

Success brewing for enterprising Manchester graduates

Former Manchester students Paul Delamere and George Grant have tasted success with their start-up, ShinDigger Brewing Co.

The pair, both 24, studied respectively for the Master of Enterprise (MEnt) and the BSc in International Business, Finance and Economics at Manchester Business School.

They have entered the world of craft brewing with the help of government funding and now supply more than 60 stockists in England and Scotland.

George said: “We were shocked by how many people our age were put off ale because of a perceived ‘old man’ image. We wanted to challenge this perception by building our company on an ethos of “Enjoying the Moment”.

“And that is where the name ShinDigger, derived from ShinDig – to party, comes from. We don’t actually own a brewery. We are gypsy brewers. This means our beers are brewed at different breweries across the North-West.

“Basically we trial recipes on our homebrew kit in our flat. Then we upscale on someone else’s commercial kit. This business model has enabled us to start-up with very little capital.

Their academic background has also played a big part in developing their business.

Paul said: “The MEnt degree played a really important part in getting ShinDigger Brewing Co. off the ground. It offered the perfect environment to start planning our business. The practical skills we were taught were directly transferable with regards to helping us do this.

“We were also able to get vital mentoring and connections from Manchester Enterprise Centre, which has had a big impact on how far we’ve come today.”

“The students and lecturers on the course also offered a great sounding board for our ideas and gave us useful feedback.

“A big draw of the course was how much it immerses you into the entrepreneurial world. You eat, drink and live entrepreneurship, with everyone else on the course just as passionate about it as you, so it is a great place to develop and learn.”

Paul and George, both 24, were also finalists in the Venture Further competition in both 2013 and 2014.

Paul said: “Venture Further offers a great opportunity to develop a business idea. It forces you to take a deeper look and answer some really tough questions about it.

“There is also the opportunity to get some much needed start-up money to get the idea off the ground.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .