Launching our academy

RookieOven is actually approaching 5 years old. It all started in 2011. On the back of a failed startup I thought it would be a good idea to gather founders and enthusiasts from across Glasgow. My thinking being that by getting together for a few drinks we could offer advice and support to each other.

I fired out a tweet or two, set a date and surprisingly almost 30 folk showed up. From these simple beginnings we've grown a solid community of founders and people passionate about Scottish tech. I think we bring real value to the Scottish tech ecosystem but there's way more we could do. For a start what about the next generation of talent? I think RookieOven is well positioned to help them.

The Academy

We're working alongside Glasgow City Council and Skills Development Scotland to run a startup school for 16-18 year olds from Glasgow. Participants will be asked to come up with product ideas and over the course of the The Academy turn them into the foundations of a solid business. Each week we will call on some of the most talented founders in Scotland to come in and share their top tips, impart some amazing advice and provide inspiration to the young people.

RookieOven is home to businesses trading all over the world. From improving tourism in the Bahamas to making our farmers more efficient, companies in RookieOven are changing the world. And the people doing it are some of the brightest in the country. It will be an inspiring experience for the young people in The Academy to join us in our everyday work environment and have close proximity to this type of talent.

What will they learn

Our aim for The Academy is to unleash the creativity of the talent young people taking part. We'll work through creative and design thinking. We'll introduce participants to these concepts then take the output from this and make their idea's into viable and sustainable business with a valid, modern business model. We'll then work to market the product and communicating it effectively. This is all leading up to a Demo Day where participants will pitch their concept to a panel of industry experts. At this point participants will have the foundations of a business.

School is often a world away from the reality of the workplace never mind the reality of starting a digital business. We can make a huge difference to these young people.

Get involved

We're not necessarily looking for academic achievers. We want young people with a natural talent, that relish a challenge and have a passion for tech, design and innovation. Real passion will shine through on your application and will impress us more than straight A's and academic achievement.

Sound like you fit the bill? Get moving. Places are limited (we have space for only 16 of the most impressive young people in Glasgow) and applications are open now. The form is really short, really simple and shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to complete.

All those accepted will have to commit to participating fully in the academy and will need availability from the 31st May until the 1st of July and able to come to the RookieOven Coworking Space in Govan.

Any questions get in touch on Facebook, Twitter or email michael@rookieoven.com

Press Pack available here but get in touch if you have any questions