Read Luke's story of starting up his own board game business
Luke Goodbody, an Industrial Design student who has just finished the Self Employed Placement Year (SEP), discusses his experience of the placement year and the support the Student StartUp team has given him throughout.
Luke is the founder of GoodbodyGames Ltd., and an avid fan of all things gaming. He used his SEP year to develop his first board game, which has involved refining and adapting his initial idea, developing design and artwork, meeting and networking with other creatives, and lots of play testing! He has big plans for his game in the near future, including creating miniatures and an app, and hopes to soon set up a Kickstarter campaign to be able to produce and distribute it.
It was a lecturer who first made Luke aware of the SEP year and how the Student StartUp team could support him. After gaining some excellent feedback from a university project that required him to design a game, Luke’s lecturer suggested that he sign up for the SEP year in order to work on his idea further. From there, the Student Startup team were able to guide Luke through the process and provide the resources and support to help him make his idea reality.
Reflecting on the impact the SEP year has had on him, as well as finding it extremely enjoyable, Luke also feels that it has been invaluable in terms of developing his confidence and skillset. He has noticed a self-described ‘massive improvement’ in his communication skills, and says that he finds presenting, pitching and networking a lot easier now, and has a lot more confidence in his abilities.
The biggest thing to come out of this year for me personally, would definitely having the amazing opportunity to work for the Entrepreneur In Residence, Rachel Lowe MBE, as a play tester, researcher and developer for a couple of her upcoming board game projects.
Luke has found the support from the Student Startup team very helpful, especially the range of events that they facilitate. This included an exciting opportunity to pitch to the Entrepreneurs in Residence, which for Luke had the fantastic result of being able to work with Rachel Lowe MBE, one of the EIRs and founder of the ‘Destination’ series of games.
Luke’s top tip for any students considering starting up their own business is to just go for it - dive into the deep end and get out of your comfort zone!
'The Student StartUp team were happy to give me advice on whatever I needed, from pitching tips to getting over a roadblock in my development.'
If you would like to find out more about how the Student StartUp team can support you with starting your own business, or for more information regarding the SEP year, then please visit their website here. You can also contact them via email at studentstartup@port.ac.uk