• Who are you? Paul Rafferty, owner of StudiBudi

• What does your business do?

I am developing an app called StudiBudi that will take the struggle, stress and strain away from studying by helping the user develop their own mental abilities whilst remaining fun, personal, social and incredibly simple.

• Where are you based?

StudiBudi is based in the University of Strathclyde’s Enterprise HUB.

I work from the HUB because they have kindly given me hot-desking space for three months. I met with Dr Calum Forsyth beforehand, and he loved my idea. They offer support wherever I need it and students are my target market, so for testing it’s very handy.

• How did you get started?

It started with a problem, too many students hated studying and were disappointed with their exam results.

How come some people could do well and happily study, and others couldn't?

The answer was that everyone is unique yet we are taught, tested and judged in the same format.

I thought that was like testing the ability of all the animals in the zoo, by asking them to climb a tree.

I spent the summer of 2015 going to Business Gateway classes to learn the basics of starting a business, and started going to a few events and instantly knew, I was making the right decision, because I was loving it.

• What is your background?

People always say 'You must have a technical background'. The look on their face when I say I know nothing about apps is priceless. I have some highers from school, an HNC in Applied Sciences and 2 years of Chemistry with Drug Discovery Degree from Strathclyde which I am currently taking a year out from to develop StudiBudi.

• What is your top tip?

Start a business based on your beliefs, and not on greed. If your idea is something you believe in, and that is clear to see, other people will believe in it with you, and want to help you make it happen.

• How long has your business been running?

I have been working on it since August 2015, but StudiBudi LTD was registered on the 25th November 2015

• Has anyone helped you get started and how?

The HUB team at Strathclyde entered me into a Digital Pitch Competition which I won the maximum prize of £2000. Entrepreneurial Spark, Business Gateway, Princes Trust and S.I.E. have all given me great support. Aswell as working from Strathclyde Uni, I also have a place in Entrepreneurial Spark in Ayrshire. I can’t thank them all enough.

• Who was/is your mentor/or inspiration?

Frank Gormanley at Entrepreneurial Spark. Knowing that he would be taking a huge risk with me, he accepted me for the 6 moth growth program and has supported me ever since. Meeting with him help me refocus and stay motivated.

• Where do you plan your business to be in five years time?

In 5 years time, I see StudiBudi being a significant tool for students across the world that lets them develop a better understanding of their abilities, and help them do things they thought they could never do, all from the palm of their hand.

• Contact Details

Twitter - @Studi_Budi

LinkedIN - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/paulraffertysb

Email - yourstudibudi@gmail.com