At the end of the year I always like to reflect and count the many Blessings that I have been given – so that the world knows that I appreciated them and will keep them flowing. So as the year draws to a close I am writing down the highlights of the year gone by so that I can see how things have developed when I do this next year.
- The Institute of Public Policy and Research include me in the publication for the ‘North-west top 50 boldest and brightest’
- YHP names me as ‘one to watch’ for 2011
- Passed PhD Viva examination afte r 5 hours defending my thesis on ‘The Numerical Solutions of Weather Derivatives and Other Incomplete Market Problems’
- Moved back to London after sp ending a total of 8 years in Manchester (I certainly did a lot of growing up in that great city).
- In Feb 2011, decided to follow my dreams by working on developing and expanding GiveMeTap rathe r than seeking employment – life has never been the same since I made this decision J
- March 6th 2011, woke up on to find that GiveMeTap has made the front page of The Observer insert The New Review – this led to us selling out of GiveMeTap bottles within 2 days.
- I went back to Manchester o n March 9th to sit on a panel to provide insights into starting an enterprise.
- Partnered with amazing crea tive design agency called Squint Opera – who agreed to support GiveMeTap with all the graphical and design work! These guys are amazing!!!!!
- Invited to Google HQ to represent Future Leaders and speak with young computer scientist.
- Invited to The StartUp Britain event
- Turned 26th on April 10th!!
- Hogan Lovells agrees to support GiveMeTap with pro-bono legal support
- May arrives and the GiveMeTap bottles sell out again.
- GiveMeTap now operates in 4 cities: London, Manchester, Bury and Salford.
- Awarded the ‘Most Outstanding Student Entrepreneur’ by UnLtd.
- A keynote speaker at the Powerlist Foundation’s Leadership Summer School, sponsored by Deloitte
- Launched the new stainless steel GiveMeTap bottle and Limited Edition T-Shirt
- Rewarded myself with a two week vacation as a reward for passing my PhD viva.
- August first intern, Yetty, joins GiveMeTap after learning about what we do at the Summer School.
- On return from vacation I finished The Three Peaks Challenge climbing the three tallest mountains in England (Scaffell Pike), Wales (Snowdon) and Scotland (Ben Nevis)
- Invited to the House of Lords on September 8th to receive the ‘Rare Rising Star’ award
- Within a month of joining, Yetty takes GiveMeTap fans to over 1,000 – woo hoo!
- Attended the Future Leaders awards in September and met with amazingly talented black students (and Boris Johnson).
- GiveMeTap stall set up at the London Thames Festival - met so many amazing people who really understood what w e are doing at GiveMeTap!
- On September 31st resubmitted my PhD thesis with corrections. Relearned the meaning of hard work - working 19-20 hour days. Glad this is done now – Phew….
- Spent some time reflecting on my pers onal direction in life and making sure that I was on my own track. My spirit was truly tested. Juggling studies, work, personal life, health, family life, finances, etc was very tricky, so this time I had by myself was crucial for reminding me why I do what I do, and how best to go about doing those things.
- First time on TV in almost 15 years where I was invited to sit in the audience on the BBC3 Up For Hire show.
- Had to cancel my 10-day meditation trip due to lack of cover at GiveMeTap, but this was a blessing because it motivated me to hire people to join GiveMeTap.
- 16th November, won The Virgin Media Innovation Challenge with a team of great guys – see the picture :)
- Completed a speaking tour at Kings College, Southampton Solent University, University of Manchester, Nacue Conference, Deloitte New Entrepreneurs Foundation.
- After speaking at several events I was approached by several people interested in joining GiveMeTap as interns - now there are 5 interns working at GiveMeTap :)
- Invited to meet Sir Richard Branson at his book launch in November – and also met with Sir John Bird (The Big Issue).
- Started reading The Alchemist for the 2nd time – so many new insights found during the second read.
- Spent Christmas with my wonderful family
- Today I am Alive!
Stay blessed and Love Life!
Edwin
