The Young Entrepreneur Networking Association (YENA) run free, un-intimidating networking events for young people aged from 15 to 30 and they’re launching in Bath this Thursday, March 12, at the Guild Co-working Hub.
Founded after realising that there was severe lack of young people at other networking events, YENA has built a reputation for bringing together some of the best talent to discuss ambitions, projects and goals and build confidence.
“Bath is so close to Bristol and just as enterprising, so the city was a natural progression for YENA expansion”
With Bath being their first venture outside of Bristol since they launched in 2013, director and founder of YENA, Ash Phillips explained:
“Bath is so close to Bristol and just as enterprising, so the city was a natural progression for YENA expansion.”
“Building a strong network locally can be the make or break of success”
“The team in charge of YENA Bath are avid YENA supporters and attendees already, they want to see it benefit those around them in their city of work. Building a strong network locally can be the make or break of success.”
Encouraging the growth of talent and ideas:YENA invites
young people from all backgrounds and experience
Not just networking
YENA events are free to attend and, not only do they offer the chance to have a go at networking and meeting new people in a relaxed and non-pressured environment, they also include inspiring talks from successful business minds from the local area.
“We are fostering the leaders of tomorrow and that is a truly exciting thought”
Past Bristol YENA events have included talks from Bristol Mayor, George Ferguson, IMDb founder Col Needham and most recently Nick Davies of the first CSR social network, Neighbourly.
The launch in Bath this week will include a talk from Rosie Bennett, founder of Store Next Door and entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Bath Innovation Centre. She’ll be exploring the highs and lows of running a startup.
Motivating speakers: Col Needham, founder of IMDb,
chats to YENA attendees
Ash told us: “Seeing so many people, from such different walks of life, coming together to be genuinely inquisitive about what the others are doing, is the best part of YENA events. People really do want to listen and help where they can.”
“YENA truly inspires those who attend, either by the experience of our speakers, the peer-support or competition in the room. We are fostering the leaders of tomorrow and that is a truly exciting thought.”
Inspiring confidence
YENA have seen a huge positive response to their Bristol events so far – with an impressive regular attendance of between 35-45 people each month. Not only that but in 2015 they’ve already reached over 320,000 people via their physical and digital channels and aim to reach over 1.5m by the end of the year.
YENA has also received demand from other cities to expand and is doing so in 2015 with a target of reaching 12 locations in as many months!
“We’ve seen businesses start and flourish among our ranks, and members visibly build in confidence”
It’s not just the group that’s growing though, Ash told us about some of the many young members and the achievements they had made since attending the YENA events:
“We’ve seen businesses start and flourish among our ranks, we’ve seen people leave jobs, find new ones with our keynote speakers, and visibly build confidence in discussing their ambitions and ideas, month on month.”
Get your free ticket to the YENA launch in Bath via Eventbrite
Many thanks to Ash Phillips for talking to us. You can keep up to date with the latest YENA events via their website: www.yena.co.uk or follow them on Twitter at @YenaGlobal. You can also check out previous YENA talks and interviews on the YENA Youtube channel.
