‘Swappd’: From Engineering to Entrepreneurship

A Masters degree can often be a route to a different career or life path. Here, Joshua Goring shares how he moved from engineering to entrepreneurship with his new venture Swappd.  

Starting my own business has always been a life goal of mine and after hearing about the opportunities to learn essential business theory and gain practical experience on the EIT programme at Strathclyde, I enrolled on the course.  

After finishing my engineering undergraduate degree in 2019, I decided to take some time to learn about business when I came across the entrepreneurship course at Strathclyde Business School, and this academic year I completed my MSc in Entrepreneurship, Technology and Innovation (EIT).   

Being on the programme was an excellent entrepreneurial experience. The lecturers not only did a great job of teaching and engaging with students but also encouraged us to take business ideas further and engage with the local entrepreneurial networks in Glasgow. 

The students on the course were from different cultures and were all very business-minded, so it was easy to discuss and talk about new innovative ideas. Furthermore, the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship’s strong ties to the entrepreneurial scene in Scotland provided great opportunities to interact with local start-ups, businesses and attend business events. 

The modules I completed gave me a lot of practical chances to work with groups on new business ideas and whilst working on a sales module, my friend Ole Wiesen-Bergner and I believed we ‘struck gold’ with a new business idea that we wished to explore further. 

Our big idea - later named ‘Swappd’ - was for a new social media platform for business professionals looking to create networks of valuable connections with the people around them (Check it out at https://swappd.app). After speaking to our lecturers, some guest speakers and friends in the Strathclyde Entrepreneurial Network (SEN) about our idea, we decided to take it further. 

The last semester of the programme saw students undertake a virtual incubator project. This 12-week project was a great way for us to do some valuable market research, user testing and then put together a credible business plan for Swappd.  

Finishing this assignment marked the end of a great journey at Strathclyde, one where I had gone in with an interest in entrepreneurship and came out set up for my first entrepreneurial journey. I would recommend this course to anyone who has an entrepreneurial flair. If you have a current business or are thinking about starting a business in the future, then this course will give you the fundamental skills you will need. 

Currently, we are using the plan made in the final semester to entice new talent to join the business, especially people with technical experience, so we can get the app finished and move forward with our launch plan. We are also working with SEN to get as much support as we can in terms of finance and mentorship. Expect big things to come from Swappd! 

To find out more about the MSc in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology click here

About Joshua Goring

Joshua Goring is a student on the MSc Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology programme at Strathclyde Business School. Joshua completed an undergraduate degree in engineering.