News
Graduation success for budding entrepreneur
Friday, 09 July, 2010
Entrepreneur Craig Troup (23) from Aberdeen will graduate at 2.30pm on Thursday 15 July with a First Class Degree in Retail Management from Robert Gordon University.
Craig's entrepreneurial spirit took form before he discovered the term, whether he was washing neighbourhood cars with friends for change or making comics for fun. "I even took my nerdy rock-collecting hobby to the next level by polishing them and making basic jewellery. I have to get some credit for even admitting to that one!" Craig jokes. "But once we had a home computer, and more specifically, the Internet, things changed."
Craig has always immersed himself in technology. On a whim one day, he decided to get involved with eBay, selling the odd knick-knack, soon discovering the addiction of achieving a positive feedback comment and an ever-rising number of pleased customers. Within a couple of months he was buying various products in bulk and selling them on, some with outstanding rates of return, such as glowsticks imported from Canada and software products, and others with a bit more risk involved, including pallets of untested home electronics - to his father's horror as they often filled the back garden and living room of his small house! Sometimes he brought friends into his money-making schemes, who would help him repackage glowsticks into smaller sets that he sold at his school, Oldmachar Academy.
Craig continues, "I had a lot of fun doing this but I knew that reselling products, although profitable, was not satisfying my creative needs.
"Just before starting university I came across a fascinating advancement in technology, called Electro-Luminescent (EL) Lighting. This is the lighting that you see in your car dashboard or behind the keypad on your mobile phone. It is flexible, durable, doesn't get hot and is attractive to the eye. After toying with various ideas I decided to apply it to apparel products for fashion and/or safety purposes. From this, I came up with Rough Edge and I got to work."
"I started by advancing my skills in graphic design, mostly through practice and asking for advice from professionals, who often critiqued my work. I built momentum for the company by producing t-shirts that showcased some of my designs and I quickly developed big plans for my little business. I took it to the Scottish Institute for Enterprise National Business Plan Competition in 2008 where it reached the finals. However, the looming pressures and commitment to my studies, as well as my lack of capital to fully develop my ambitious product line made me put the business on hold for a while."
"Fortunately, whilst working on Rough Edge, I was not only having a great entrepreneurial experience, I was quickly developing several useful skills. I had built websites for several concepts I had come up with, and my graphic designs had their own unique look due to my lack of academic influence, giving them personality, yet retained professionalism from my natural and learned understanding of business. I took the clearest natural progression from this, and began selling my skills as a service."
Craig's first client was a spin-off fast food restaurant, where he was provided with no brief and a hand written menu spread across several sheets of A4 that was supposed to be condensed to one sheet, front and back, for an undisclosed fee.
Since then, Craig has completed many successful projects for his clients, creating brochures, business cards, branding, logos, promotions, websites and more. As he has progressed through his studies he has become far more focused on operating as a business as well as understanding and applying important theories vocationally.
Craig continues, "As my confidence in my abilities increased I began a partnership with Gary Adamson, a talented young designer in whom I saw glimmers of genius and an abundance of enthusiasm. We have now begun operating at a professional level, with our company Out of the Ordinary Design (www.ootodesign.com) providing work at national and international levels for individuals and businesses. We now seek to expand our client base and develop long-term relationships that will sustain the enterprise.
"Further to this I plan on reinventing Rough Edge to build a brand suited for creative and eccentric lifestyles. Our vision extends further; to opening our own stores using my retail knowledge and developing a socially responsible culture that seeks to serve our clients with a level of work that lets them raise their game competitively without going bankrupt in the process."
Gail Caie
Senior Communications Officer
Robert Gordon University
Schoolhill
Aberdeen
AB10 1FR
Tel: 01224 262210
Email: g.caie@rgu.ac.uk