How Urban Foundry helped my start-up
By Evie Scott
Case Study
I’ve just graduated from Swansea University with a first class honours degree in Business Management and I’m building ETO, my sustainability-focused clothing brand.
What ETO is all about
ETO means ‘yet’ or ‘again’ in Welsh. The idea behind the brand is about having a growth mindset – keeping going and always trying to do things better.
Our caps are made from ramie, which is a type of nettle (the non-stinging kind!), and cotton. They’re natural fibres that need fewer resources to grow and produce.
ETO also represents the charities supported by our different coloured caps. Red supports endangered animals through Fauna & Flora, green supports trees through Just One Tree and blue supports oceans through The Big Blue Ocean Cleanup. We give 10% of the profits from each cap to the relevant charity.
At the moment we’re mainly selling caps. We’ve also sold bracelets made from hemp string and recycled skateboard beads, but the longer-term goal is to grow ETO into a clothing brand with a wider range of products.
Meeting Urban Foundry
I first met Ben from Urban Foundry after taking part in The Big Pitch with Swansea University’s Enterprise Team. He offered me support straight away, gave me his contact details and offered me a free stall at Mumbles Market.
I then bumped into him again at a networking event at Urban Foundry, where he told me to just throw myself into it and not wait for everything to be perfect.
I actually found that really useful advice. It gave me a bit of a push to stop overthinking things and get moving.
Trying out Mumbles Market
I probably would have been reluctant to book a market stall straight away because I didn’t have loads of cash to play with. Having that first stall for free took the pressure away and gave me the chance to try it.
I loved it.
Chatting to people about my business was really cool, especially selling to people I didn’t know who bought into the product and the brand. The atmosphere at Mumbles Market was really friendly and buzzy too.
We ended up making a profit, which was a great confidence boost and made me realise that booking more markets was something I could actually do.
What’s next for ETO
I’m currently getting a sample beanie made from hemp and organic cotton, which I’m really excited to see. Hopefully they’ll be ready to sell around October.
My next move is to finish the internship I’m doing at the moment, get a part-time job and spend the other days of the week working on ETO.
There’s still loads I want to do, but I think Ben’s advice has stuck with me: don’t wait for everything to be perfect. Sometimes you just have to get moving.
Supporting the next generation of Swansea businesses
Urban Foundry Director Ben Reynolds is also a Swansea University graduate and supporting new entrepreneurs in the city is something he’s passionate about.
“It’s really nice to see graduates choosing to start something here and become part of the local business community.
At Urban Foundry we’ve always been committed to supporting small and independent businesses. Sometimes people need formal business support, but sometimes what makes the difference is an introduction, a bit of encouragement or an opportunity to test an idea without taking a big financial risk.
There’s a bigger reason we care about this too. If we want thriving towns, cities, markets and high streets, we need people willing to start things. Independent businesses bring ideas, character and activity into places, and giving someone like Evie an opportunity to test their business in a real market is a small but important part of that.
Evie has done the hard work. We just gave her a little nudge and somewhere to try it. I’m looking forward to seeing where she takes ETO next.”