A Brave New Story

Name: Lucian Tarnowski
Age: 24
Company: Brave New Enterprises

Position: Founder
Websites: http://www.bravenewenterprises.com/, http://www.bravenewu.com/, http://www.bravenewindia.com/, http://www.bravenewthinking.blogspot.com/, http://www.takeheartindia.org/
Location: London

Summarised profile:

Lucian is an award winning young entrepreneur and the face behind all things Brave New. He is optimistic about the role of business in creating positive social change. He has focused on the disconnect that exists between the next generation (Gen Y) and the corporate world.

Lucian’s entrepreneurial talents have been recognized from a young age. He was the first undergraduate entrepreneur in the UK to receive EU financial backing and Edinburgh University support. He graduated from Edinburgh University in 2007 with a strong academic record.

Lucian’s past achievements include growing the charity, Take Heart, into one of the UK’s only entirely student run charities. He is on the advisory board for Next Generation India with the UK India Business Council. Lucian is currently developing Brave New businesses in both the UK and India.

A Brave New story:

I started with my ideas just testing the waters of entrepreneurship. I have always had business ideas throughout my childhood, some I followed up, others I dropped. However, Brave New Enterprises was the big leap. I was in my penultimate year at Edinburgh University when I began looking at career opportunities. I was going to start work as a management consultant. However, I could not find the perfect company to work for. I decided to create it myself. I recognised that there were huge opportunities in the responsible business (CSR) market. I began Brave New Enterprises at university that year. We got off to a fantastic start; I became the only undergraduate student in the UK to receive EU financial support and Edinburgh University backing. I then was one of the national business plan finalists.

However, I was still doing many things wrong. My plans were far too ambitious and somewhat unachievable. It took me sometime to realise this. I re-focused the company primarily on the disconnection that exists between the next generation and the corporate world. This was an area I was both passionate about and had some experience. The disconnection between Gen Yer’s (born 1980-2000) and the corporate world is a problem that many have recognised but very little has been done about it. At Brave New Workplaces we work with clients to attract, retain and motivate the top talent possible.

However, the main focus of the Brave New business is a graduate recruitment social networking being launched in both UK and India. Monster jobs will meet Facebook through the Brave New brand. This is a hugely exciting project and is sure to revolutionise the way graduate recruiters engage with their potential employees. Students can stay up to date and informed about their potential employers and give themselves a better picture of who they would like to work for. On the flip side, companies will be able to delve into a larger pool of global talent with astonishing ease.

One might ask ‘Why India’? For me the answers lies predominately in my history to India. My Father is Baba Amte’s longest serving international supporter and stared the charity Take Heart. He has been to India every year for the last 45 years. This gave me the opportunity to visit India most years since I was nine years old. At nineteen I felt it was time to take a more proactive role in running the charity Take Heart. I took over the charity from my Father, rebranded it, created the website http://www.takeheartindia.org/ and turned the charity into one of the UK’s only entirely student run charities. We had 36 committee members at different universities across the UK. We have expanded on this now with a youth focus with our committee members being made up of the leaders of both today and tomorrow. Sam Branson, the son of Sir Richard Branson is just one of our 36 committee members. Take Heart is still rather unique in charity sector as we do not employ a single person meaning that 100% of our proceeds go straight out to India. We have built an entire English Language and IT school in rural India with the proceeds. The school is one of three in the whole of India that trains blind students in IT skills.

Since running Take Heart I was asked to join the advisory board for Next Generation India with the UK India Business Council. This role has given me the opportunity to see many of the challenges India is facing with its graduate recruitment. Furthermore, I have come to understand the extend of the graduate recruitment market need and size in India. It just simply dwarfs that of the UK as India has the world’s largest population of Gen Yer’s. With Brave New India we are certainly entering India at the right time. It appears to me that India is in need of two things: 1. Quantity of talent 2. Quality of talent. Brave New India is looking at ways to marry these two needs and involve the private sector in the practical education of graduates. We are also involved in a number of other businesses in India – we plan to run the UK’s first innovation trips or innovation holidays to India and we also run an outsourcing business from the UK to India. Watch this space...

Press quotes:

The Times - 06/12/07: "The workplace that graduates join could look very different if Lucian Tarnowski, 23, the founder of Brave New Enterprises, gets his way".

For full article see: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/career_and_jobs/graduate_management/article3004234.ece

Chief Executive of the UK India Business Council Sharon Bamford says: 'It is significant that an initiative such as Brave New India exists to raise awareness of the gap between young people, business and politics. The future of UK India trade and investment lies with the next generation of entrepreneurs and professionals and therefore UKIBC is delighted to support such an important enterprise’.

'BBC 2 ‘Dragon’, entrepreneur James Caan says, 'For almost twenty-five years I have supported people with passion in business and I can certainly see this passion behind the Brave New brand'

Sir Richard Branson says ‘Best of luck to Brave New Enterprises’.