I liked the feeling of having a centralised campus that helped the university feel more like a community."
Justin took an entrepreneurial path after graduation and has been working to set up Showzee.com, an online platform where people can share their talents and interests.
My career
Since graduating from Birmingham Business School, I have chosen to go the route of working on my own internet start-up business, something I had begun during my time at university. Showzee.com is a platform to showcase your talent and interests and connect with like-minded people. It is like a LinkedIn for everyone, based around visual content - a place to share what you do, rather than who you are.
Since the beginning of this year, I have been managing a small team of developers from an office in Prague, working towards launching a minimum viable product. We will be entering beta testing within the next couple of months and have also raised a seed round of investment. I’ve had to learn a lot along the way, switching between a variety of roles such as marketing, system design and product management.
The journey is only starting and I am excited to bring the product to market.
Why Birmingham Business School?
I chose Birmingham Business School because it was well regarded but also proactive in terms of the research and teaching that was taking place to further its position as a top institution for studying business.
The wide range of modules to choose from was very appealing, as at that stage, I still had no idea about what I wanted to do, so it meant I could keep my options open and discover what I was good at and which parts of business I enjoyed the most.
Also, as someone who was interested in starting a business, the multiple opportunities to get involved in entrepreneurship were a big draw and also provided a path to get involved in the wider Midlands start-up ecosystem, an area that has seen huge growth and investment for young companies.
Having its own train station turned out to be far more convenient than I ever imagined."
The Birmingham experience
One of my favourite aspects of the University of Birmingham, and one of the things I miss the most is its campus. It was one of the best campus universities I had visited during my open day visits and I liked the feeling of having a centralised campus that helped the university feel more like a community.
Being from the South, another great aspect of the University is its excellent transport links. Having its own train station turned out to be far more convenient than I ever imagined. It meant I could quickly get into central Birmingham for business and networking events.
Tips and advice
Stay open-minded and make the most of all the events and opportunities provided as you never know who you might meet or what you might learn.