Environmental sustainability at events
Interesting interview with Jamie White, award-winning Irish entrepreneur and founder of Leading Social and The University Of Life events
1 min pitch for what you are doing now?
So right now I’m at an interesting point where I’ve heavily invested myself into The University of Life and we’ve established two really positive events in Fresh Resolutions & The Start Summit which are both in their second years. I’m now building a team around the business and looking at what’s next whilst also ensuring the business supports our ambitions. We’ve an idea for another conference that’s very exciting but also want to look at building out some online courses and ebooks together with some of our speakers under our overall theme of “sharing life lessons from one generation to the next”.
How was the last year, what worked well, what didn’t as you would have liked?
Last year’s event was both interesting and challenging. Launching anything new takes a tremendous amount of energy to get it off the ground, to win people’s confidence and bring partners on board. It was a little draining if I’m completely honest but I’m grateful that we’ve persevered and gotten to where we are now as there’s a nice foundation established from which to take stock and build from. I’m really so happy now with the partners and partnerships we have, and similarly the experience we’ve built up. Before starting I thought we’d have what we have now a lot sooner, but having got stuck in and journeyed through things I’m actually very appreciative that we are where we are now.
What are your plans for the future?
Ultimately The University of Life and our events are all about the sharing of life lessons from one generation to the next, it’s about inspiring others and we want to do this on as grandest as scale as possible. To do that right, we’ll need to invest heavily in our online infrastructure and so that’s what we’re focused on right now and hopefully with this, we’ll be able to bring some of our events out then internationally too.
‘What is your definition of success?
Our definition of success is doing well by everyone that we come in contact with, so our attendees, our suppliers, our partners and our staff! I think this is how you sow the seeds for long term success.
Is this a green event?
Yes, 100%. We strive to be green in every way possible. So for example’s sake, all food served is delicious vegan food to help introduce our attendees to a more environmentally positive and sustainable diet, it’s all served in compostable packaging as well as all drinks. Our attendee bags are reusable. We then operate on a zero waste policy, so all branding etc. is reused through our suppliers.
We even partner with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland to arrange scholarships for entrepreneurs nationwide that making a difference in the world we live in to come to the event and benefit from it free of charge. I’m sure there’s a lot more than we could be doing, but we’re trying to do as much as we can.
A lot of my inspiration for this comes from my sister Holly White who’s a very strong ambassador in this space and who’s had a really positive impact on me and how we do things.
Which influencers and websites do you follow to keep up to date with the latest developments?
Keep an eye on the Instagram page @theuniversityoflife_ where we will have all the information you need as well as a live stream of content on the day! Other than that our website is packed with everything we are working on for The Start Summit : www.thestartsummit.com
Last chance to enter @accountantonli9 competition for #TheStartSummit tickets! Check it out below?? https://t.co/VEKvUmPTId
— The University Of Life (@TheUniversityO) May 22, 2019
How can people find out more about what you are working on?
I’d really encourage people to follow us on social media as I’ve mentioned above but for me, the best way to really experience what we are trying to build is to come along to one of our events! We are really trying to create something different with them and have meticulous attention to detail. Separate to that, I’m always open to talking to anyone interested in what we are doing so get in touch with me!
Finally, what do you hope attendees will feel when they walk out of the conference at the end of the day?
A few different feelings to be honest! We build our events to have zero sugar coating and really cut through the noise in this space, so attendees will be leaving much more than just inspired. I’d like to think they walk out with the confidence and knowledge to address what they’re doing wrong and double down on what they are doing right.
See more about the event here
The Start Summit 2019 – An Environmentally and Socially Responsible Event 8th of June, Dublin Castle
‘If you’re building a business for Ireland, you’re in the wrong building.’
A lot of you have been asking (if you know you know) for a short clip from @patphelan at #TheStartSummit last year on building a strong sales team for your business with the vision of expanding globally. pic.twitter.com/HryZaJPuT2— The University Of Life (@TheUniversityO) May 22, 2019
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