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Essex Blogs05 July 2023

Nelson Kersey Natata: iTeams and me

Essex Startups
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MBA student Nelson Natata participated in the iTeams programme to gain experience in engaging with local businesses to understand and assist with the challenges they face.

How it started...

I came to the UK from the Philippines to study for the Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at Essex Business School in January 2023.

I chose to study at Essex because of the MBA’s emphasis not only on business, but corporate responsibility and the consideration of sustainable operations. Essex has a wonderful university community and I love how green the campus is. I really feel like I do belong at the university, which feels a bit odd having only been here for five months, but it feels like home.

My previous business experience includes four years in the manufacturing industry and then a year working in environmental services as an Operation’s Manager. I participated in education exchange programmes in Japan and Canada which solidified my decision to study for the first time as a full-time student in the UK.

Meeting the Essex Startups team…

I first heard about Essex Startups during my induction week. I then started following their Instagram account and checking on CareerHub for any events or workshops the team were hosting. I joined several workshops, including ‘Be an inspirational leader’, which is where I found out about iTeams. I applied and was initially on the waiting list, but fortunately a place became available and I jumped at the chance to join.

The iTeams programme…

I hadn’t heard of the iTeams programme before applying but was drawn to its practical nature of learning.

Our team worked with the business Provide, who are a local start-up community offering health and social care services. They are an employee-owned company, which for me was very interesting as I’d never worked anywhere with that type of company model. Their range of services is very broad, and we were happy to work with them.

Over eight weeks, our team met with Provide and discussed different ways that we could fully address the challenges they were facing. Michael, one of the project managers from Provide, was very helpful and gave us lots of encouraging feedback. We also had the opportunity to consult with mentors, including Essex Startups Entrepreneurs-in-Residence James Cracknell and Magdalena Mahdy, who gave us very useful advice throughout our iTeams journey.

After meeting with Provide, we started to analyse their challenges and discuss how we could come up with a solution. We focused on their Unique Selling Point (USP) and by that we understood their business model more. One of the main challenges was deciding which solution was best, as there were many things we wanted to recommend. During the programme we were taught how to evaluate our suggestions, which helped us shortlist our solutions from ten to four! This led us to the final session where we presented our findings to an expert panel.

One of the solutions we pitched to Provide was the creation of an online portal to enhance direct engagement with employees. This would function as a one-stop-portal for employees, offering access to company policies, announcements, activities, and enquiries. This portal would allow Provide to track employee’s engagement and performance, with the aim of boosting employee attrition.

Nelson pitching at the iTeams finale)
Nelson pitching at the iTeams finale

How I’ve benefitted…

One thing I learnt from iTeams is that even if you think your solutions make sense, there are other factors you need to consider that may not be obvious. We learnt to do more analysis and evaluation of ideas before proposing solutions to ensure we had considered several variables. For example, it’s easy to think that increasing salaries will greatly help with employer attrition but that’s not simply the case. Other factors like the culture of the company and the way employees deliver the services also need to be acknowledged.

I benefitted from working with a great team. I got to work with people from different backgrounds and with various skillsets. I come from an economics and operation-based background, whereas my team brought experience ranging from marketing to data analysis to robotics. It was wonderful to see how everyone came together to create meaningful solutions. It became clear to me that you can be skilled individually, but when working in an organisation it’s the team you build around you that helps to add value. Not only for your own growth, but for the growth of the business in general.

What's next…

My next steps are to finish my MBA and once finished, encourage more people to further their own learning. Additionally, sustainability in business is something I want to learn more about. I plan to go back to the Philippines but there is still the possibility for me to stay in the UK for future learning…we’ll see!

Words of wisdom…

My advice to anyone considering applying for iTeams is to go for it! iTeams will open up lots of opportunities and learning for you.

You will meet with amazing businesses, that contribute to their communities, and with people from different backgrounds to create a solution for something very meaningful. Overall, adding the iTeams experience to my programme has really helped me to understand and learn more about business of different types and nature and model.

Find out more

If you have a potential business idea, or are interested in developing your business skills, find out more about the training, events and support Essex Startups offers to current students and recent graduates.

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Essex Startups

University of Essex

Essex Startups offers wide range of training, support and funding opportunities to our community of budding entrepreneurs. Whether you already have a business idea, or are simply interested in the possibility of working for yourself in the future, we can provide the guidance and support to help make your dreams a reality.

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