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Business

Former athlete strides to business success

16 April 2013

 

A Teesside University graduate who went from being an international athlete to a thriving entrepreneur has been singled out by Business Secretary Vince Cable as an example of how graduate companies can reinvigorate the economy.

Anthony Borsumato set up digital sports agency 13 Strides when his athletics career came to a premature end through injury.

He immediately enrolled on an MSc Multimedia Applications at Teesside University from his hospital bed and after gaining a grounding in design and programming, launched 13 Strides, which now counts Channel 4, Microsoft and Nova International among its many clients.

The company, which is housed in Teesside University’s Phoenix Building, has been selected to feature in a national campaign ‘start up: a story’ which aims to celebrate the contribution that university enterprise and graduate entrepreneurs are making to the UK economy.

The joint University Alliance and the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) campaign was launched on Tuesday 16 April at the Houses of Parliament by Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills.

Anthony said: 'I spent my twenties travelling the world doing the 400 metre hurdles. It’s not a career that can last forever and it came to an abrupt halt when I was 29, at the World Championships in Paris. I hit one of the hurdles, landed badly and shattered my ankle.

'My cousin Kevin, also a hurdler, and I had always had our eye on starting a business together. Combining a love for sport and digital skills, we created a digital agency focused exclusively on sport, and called it 13 Strides, the optimum number of paces between barriers in the 400 metre hurdles. I approached Teesside’s enterprise arm and they had space for us in their incubation centre and we started-up.

'The guidance we got from daily courses and drop in sessions with lawyers was great but I think being surrounded by ambitious and like-minded people was just as important. There were always lights on somewhere in the building and, being competitive, it inspired us to keep working hard.'

13 Strides has continued to expand and whenever they need to recruit, Anthony calls on the talent from Teesside University. They now have seven members of staff – all graduates from the University’s School of Computing.

Anthony added: 'Brendan Foster, Chairman of Nova International, came to meet us at Teesside and being based at the University with so much talent around became a part of the pitch. They’re now our biggest client.'

Professor Cliff Hardcastle, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Business Engagement) at Teesside University, attended today’s launch event at the Houses of Parliament.

He said: '13 Strides is the perfect example of what a graduate start-up business can achieve and I am delighted to see them receiving national recognition of this nature. Anthony and his team used their sporting background and academic knowledge to really deliver a niche service and we are proud to have played a part in their success.

'As the University for Business, we value our contribution to the regional and national economy and being engaged with business is absolutely at the heart of everything we do. We will never stop being committed to the economy of the North East and we will never stop working with business. I will continue to encourage people to have ideas and encourage people to be responsive and flexible, so that we can provide the best opportunities we possibly can.'

Professor Steve West, Chair of University Alliance, added: 'Entrepreneurial graduates are a huge driving force for innovation, employment and economic growth. The central role that universities and their graduates play in realising the Government ambitions of an entrepreneurial society is now widely acknowledged.'


 
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