Two entrepreneurs who studied Journalism at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) have been nominated at the same business awards.
They are part of a quartet of DMU graduates and current students who have won recognition at the 2025 East Midlands Real Entrepreneurs’ Awards.
The news comes as Universities UK – the organisation which lobbies on behalf of higher education – launches a new national campaign to show the impact universities have in helping support and motivate students to set up their own businesses.
Analysis by Universities UK (UUK) has suggested that by 2028, about 27,000 new start-ups – with a predicted turnover of about £10.8 billion – could be established at institutions across the UK with the right support.
Many of these will be supported at DMU, which, according to figures collated by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), helped students found 104 businesses in the 2022/23 academic year, the ninth highest total among UK universities and the highest in the Midlands.
The DMU finalists have been nominated in a range of categories in the competition, created by the East Midlands Real Entrepreneurs’ Club to celebrate enterprise in the region.
They are:
Simon Sansome
Journalism graduate Simon is a finalist in the Entrepreneur for Good category. During his time at DMU, Simon joined the university’s Crucible business incubation programme.
He is the creator of the mobile app called Snowball Community, described as ‘Trip Advisor for the disabled community’. Snowball allows users to see, and rate the accessibility of more than 100,000 business, venues and other locations across the UK. Since founding the app Simon has won a number of major awards, including the £25,000 Santander X award.
Rhys Everquill
Rhys is among the finalists in the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category. After graduating from DMU with a degree in Drama, Rhys took the MA in Investigative Journalism at DMU. He joined with fellow DMU graduates Emma Guy and Megan Lupton to launch independent public interest news site the Leicester Gazette.
Completing the line-up for DMU at the awards are Sallyanne Kirk, who studied Fashion Communication and Styling, and Jane Hearst, a PhD student at DMU’s School of Humanities and Performing Arts.
The inclusion of four entrepreneurs connected with DMU is a feather in the cap for the university’s award-winning Crucible business incubation programme, which has been running for 10 years and the DMU Made team, which sits within the university’s award-winning Careers Team. Both have helped hundreds of students and alumni bring their business ideas to life.
Percy Emmett, senior lecturer in Enterprise and director of the Crucible, said: “At DMU, we’re not just helping students launch businesses, we’re supporting them as people, developing their confidence, resilience, and leadership skills.
“Our incubation programme provides hands-on support, mentorship, and funding guidance to help students take their ideas forward.
“The fact that DMU is in the top 10 UK universities for start-ups the strength of our entrepreneurial community. But for us, it’s not just about numbers—it’s about empowering students to build sustainable businesses, create jobs, and make a lasting impact.”
Simon Baines, Student and Graduate Enterprise Project Manager, said: “DMU Made champions entrepreneurship through a whole variety of curricular and extra-curricular programmes, from our Creative Industries programme and annual Entrepreneurship Awards, to the Graduate Champions programme and flagship Enterprise Placement Year incubator.
“The DMU Made team can’t wait to celebrate our milestone of having supported 500 new start-ups in five years at our annual Awards event later this year!”.
The winners in each category of the of the East Midlands Real Entrepreneurs’ Awards 2025 will be announced at a ceremony on Thursday, April 10.
