National entrepreneurial success

A student from the Liverpool Business School has been named Young Entrepreneur of the Year in a national competition that celebrates student entrepreneurs.

Annie O'Toole, founder of crowdfunding business Juxdit impressed judges on the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) panel with her celebration and support of youth entrepreneurship.

She previously worked with the LJMU Centre for Entrepreneurship who deliver enterprise and self-employment workshops in curriculum across the University. This helps to identify student entrepreneurs across LJMU and offers business advice, work based learning, enterprise days and conferences.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Annie said:

“I'm thrilled to have been awarded with the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. This is just the start of my journey as an entrepreneur and the support and help I've received from Liverpool and the North West has been amazing. I'm very proud to be part of the Liverpool Creative and Digital scene, this is a testament to the hard work that is going into enterprise within our region.”

Emma Robinson, Director of the LJMU Centre for Entrepreneurship commented:

“We are proud to support young entrepreneurs like Annie when they begin their business journeys. Through making grass roots support accessible for students, developing enterprise and employability skills alongside academic study and our links with NACUE, many students are turning their ideas into reality with successful businesses.”

LJMU is ranked in the top 20 UK universities for graduate business start-ups and in the top 10 for the number of businesses created and number of active firms according to the latest Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) Survey.