University of Northampton graduate’s new business branded ‘construction industry’s very own LinkedIn’

A graduate, from the University of Northampton (UON), is building a solid business to help construction industry professionals.

‘Collabed’ is the brainchild of Alex Ramsden, who formed the company just a few months after graduating from UON with an architectural technology degree in 2020.

It has been branded the construction industry’s very own ‘Linkedin’, combining a jobs notification board and professional networking platform. It aims to help those in the sector find new opportunities and graduates to turn theory into practice by landing their first professional post.

Alex claims he could not have done it without the “instrumental” help he received from UON.

He said: “The university provided one-to-one business mentoring for my initial idea, helping me to build it from the foundations up. I also received two development grants totalling £7500.

“I’m now at a point with Collabed where I have gone out for crowdfunding investment to add ‘more floors’ and make it into a scalable business. In short, I couldn’t have gotten where I am without them.”

Alex received help through the university’s Changemaker Incubator, which is a framework that connects Northamptonshire organisations by the value to people and society generated by how they buy from their suppliers.

The incubator also provides expertise, resources and funding to voluntary, charity and social enterprise organisations so they have a direct link to working with university students.

UON’s social entrepreneur in residence Jay Baughan said: “Alex’s superb initiative is the very definition of what we hope to achieve with the Changemaker Incubator, the first-time one of our students has crowdfunded a start-up enterprise. This is how the business world moves in the here and now and Alex shows clear direction for others to follow.

“The Incubator actively builds on the existing Changemaker ethos that runs through University of Northampton – namely, supporting and developing projects from student, staff and members of our community that have demonstrable, positive impact on people, society, and the environment.”

Find out more about the university's changemaker incubator by visiting https://www.northampton.ac.uk/student-life/changemaker/changemaker-incubator/.

For more information about Collabed, visit https://collabed.co.uk/.