“Business is always a rollercoaster; you try, you fail, you learn, and you try again and again, till it works. Do not be afraid to moderate and amend your initial idea.”
Elizabeth is an international graduate of the University of Stirling. She graduated with a BA in Economics and Finance from the University of Stirling in 2019. Read about her experience on the roller-coaster that is entrepreneurship from the perspective of a female immigrant with a brilliant idea:
Q. Please tell us about yourself and your entrepreneurial journey:
I launched Inteldis in 2019, with the aim of helping people access outstanding and modern education, personalised to suit all individuals, within a peaceful community and wider global network.
As a qualified English teacher, my career has seen me work for Education First, Kings College London, an Oxford international school, and privately as a tutor as well as an online teacher. I have also been a Student Ambassador of the Chartered Management Institute, Partnership Coordinator of Stirling TEDx, and Finance Coordinator of the Stirling University Symposium, following my studies (BA Hons) in Economics and Finance.
Learning approaches vary immensely across different cultures: something I experienced first-hand when studying in Russia and the UK. Becoming increasingly aware of the lack of quality education available to many in our world, as well as the power of education, the idea of starting my own online English language school was born.
I have specialist training in teaching English to people with neurodiversity. This enabled me to establish our course for people with learning neurodiversity at Inteldis, which is also inspired by my own experience – I was born with certain learning disorders including dyslexia and Asperger’s syndrome and have managed to develop efficient learning strategies to overcome these difficulties. My mission is to help other people to achieve the same success.
Q. Can you tell us more about your business?
Inteldis is an abbreviation of ‘intelligent disobedience’. It signifies confidently and respectfully standing your ground when seeing a better alternative to the status quo. It challenges the idea of teaching students in educational settings which limits them to thinking and behaving in stereotypical ways, and instead encourages learners to question ideas, express their views, and develop their own voices.
Here at Inteldis we believe all learners can be included and supported in their own journeys through our courses. That’s why we have tailored classes to suit all ages, backgrounds, professions, and learning styles.
Q. What motivated you to start your own business?
I always wanted to bring something new to society and create a project that will help people, educate and motivate them.
Q. What has been one of the biggest challenges you have overcome?
War [between Ukraine and Russia] has been the biggest challenge; it was mentally hard to continue maintenance of the business. We had to start again and launch in the Middle East, it was one of the most challenging times to continue without funds as our transactions were frozen.
Q. What has been the most rewarding aspect of your journey?
Clients’ satisfaction; it is very rewarding to receive positive reviews and feedback from people and workers. Also, receiving the grants that helped me to continue the development of the business.
Q. How has the Enterprise Programme helped you to get where you are now on your journey?
The Entrepreneurial Quest [the Enterprise Programme annual ideas competition] in 2017 helped me to start my journey. It was the first competition that showed me how to pitch my idea and motivated me to continue. The Enterprise Programme raised me as an entrepreneur. It is very important to have a community that supports, steers, and believes in you and your idea. The EP has been given me access to mentoring, workshops and masterclasses that were essential at the beginning as it is vital to understand aspects of business and learn from others.
Then, there’s The Hive [the university’s business incubator] that I could use not just as a co-working space but also as a space to meet other entrepreneurs. The entire team helped me to prepare for the Scottish Edge competition while Pitch and Progress [the Enterprise Programme’s start-up competition] helped me to raise a vital amount of funds during a very important and hard phase of the business.
Q. Do you have an advice for aspiring founders or an advice you have found useful?
Thomas Edison said: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Elizabeth understands this well: “Business is always hard but is not impossible. If you look at others and think they are successful or lucky and you are not, then you are wrong. Business is always a rollercoaster; you try, you fail, you learn, and you try again and again, till it works. Do not be afraid to moderate and amend your initial idea. Do not be afraid of what others will think if you fail; everyone does and tries again. The ability to not give up is the most impressive skill of a real entrepreneur.”