So much more than desk space: how York St John Enterprise Centre helps businesses

Leveraging everything from sound studios to allotments

Since its launch in 2022, the Enterprise Centre at York St John University has helped dozens of fledgling businesses. It has become a hub of innovation with a collaborative environment where companies can thrive. Key to this is a city centre office, with academic expertise and York St John’s student and graduate talent pool, plus unique business network connections via the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

One success story making the most of the University location in unexpected ways is the first business to move into the Centre two and a half years ago. Founded in York in 2020, AgriSound is a technology business dedicated to helping protect the world’s biodiversity through the use of sensors to automate pollinator monitoring.

As a new and growing company, they were keen to take advantage of the free facilities and expertise that the Enterprise Centre could offer. AgriSound were also attracted to York St John’s commitment to sustainability and biodiversity, plus its easy access to public transport would help their own low-carbon goals. Fast forward to 2024 and their business is flourishing with partnerships with major brands like Innocent and M&S.

Casey Woodward, AgriSound founder and CEO says the supportive environment has been a real boost: “We’ve been able to benefit from a great community of companies and entrepreneurs and the peer-to-peer learning that comes with having lots of passionate individuals all in one space.”

The innovative business has also demonstrated similar agility by making full use of the resources at York St John University. The team have now moved their product testing up to York, using bee hives and testing facilities at the University’s allotments on Haxby Road, with assistance from the York St John Grounds team. And they’ve even collaborated with the York St John Media Production team as they perfect their audio recording.

Casey explains: “We’ve been able to leverage the excellent facilities that the University has to offer, including soundproof recording studios (key for our algorithm development) and grounds for field testing new devices.

“We’ve been fortunate to have been able to offer several internships over the past few years. The energy that the students have brought has been great and they come with fresh ideas and perspective that we sometimes can miss.”

Robin Wilson, AgriSound’s Pollination Lead said: “Thanks to Simon and the Grounds team we’ve been able to move our field testing from Kent up to this excellent location in York. Drawing the business together like this has been really beneficial for refining our products. We’ve been able to mimic polytunnel conditions that our  customers have and even been able to use York St John’s bees!”

Emma Rollason-Taylor, York St John Enterprise Centre Manager said: “Being based at the University opens up the opportunity to access skills and equipment that may otherwise be out of reach for several years for a startup. Ensuring that you make these connections can help your business develop much more quickly.

“It also gives you the chance to utilise academic expertise as well as employ students and new talent on a flexible basis through student projects, interns and eventually full-time employment.”

With The Enterprise Centre currently home to 24 businesses, AgriSound is just one example of how a supportive and well-equipped environment can help businesses to reach new heights with its culture of learning, innovation, and meaningful impact.

If you’re interested in exploring opportunities with The Enterprise Centre at York St John University, speak to Emma Rollason-Taylor today.