Eco-friendly entrepreneur sows seeds of success at King’s

Simon Nicholls is an accomplished entrepreneur and a sustainability champion. A proud Devonian, Simon co-founded the Devon Environment Foundation (which funds conservation initiatives across the county).

Last February, Simon visited King’s Entrepreneurship Institute, where he met budding entrepreneurs from across the university. He tells us more about his journey, and how he combined entrepreneurship with environmental issues.

Growing new ideas at King’s

‘I chose King’s because I wanted to be in London. I was working at Cafe Boheme in Soho and loved the city, so it was the natural choice. King’s had a reputation for excellent teaching and I knew the Philosophy tutors were among the best in the country.

‘I wanted to do Philosophy for two reasons. Firstly, it makes you question everything. Secondly, I didn’t know the answers to so many things. I wanted Philosophy to help guide me, to help me to understand some fundamental constructs, and to help me try to make sense of things.

‘I have fond memories of going to the Lyceum Tavern after lectures and having endless discussions about what we’d just heard. It felt like we were properly being students, right in the middle of this great city, debating huge topics.

‘My tutor, John Milton, was amazing. He taught me a lot about how ideas are created, and how to test the validity and quality of a concept.’

Returning to my roots

‘Since graduating, I’ve moved back to Devon. My county’s environment has always been important to me. We have a beautiful, varied coastline, vast areas of open moorland, rolling hills and ancient forests. It’s all part of my heritage.

 ‘I went to a talk by the Cyclades Preservation Fund, which was all about protecting and improving the islands and their habitats. I thought, “we should do this in Devon”. I got in touch with Ben Goldsmith, who created the foundation’s Conservation Collective, and we set up the Devon Environment Foundation.

‘We fund local groups to restore nature across Devon and we give grants for just about anything that meets our criteria such as reintroducing ospreys after a 200-year absence, a school for regenerative agriculture and reducing pesticide use across the county. So far, we’ve raised over £1.5M and funded over 80 projects.’

Celebrating King’s entrepreneurs

‘Motivated by these experiences, I visited King’s to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Entrepreneurship Institute.

‘The event was fascinating. I especially enjoyed meeting Emily Clements, a PhD student who’s looking at the neuroscience of entrepreneurs. Emily is studying whether brains of entrepreneurs are different to other people’s brains and, if so, how that difference can be an advantage.

‘The Institute is an invaluable resource. I love the way it can take you from an idea to a business and beyond, and how it’s open to everyone and anyone.’

Getting the right people round the table

‘I chose this path because it enables me to do my own thing. However, an entrepreneur cannot exist as an island. Olympus Power, my renewable energy business, runs on the people I work with. The process of getting together and making decisions is what creates change.

‘I have a project building an electric speedboat. We’re converting a classic 1970s wooden lake boat with a big petrol engine into a quiet, clean river boat that runs on lithium-ion batteries. That’s a classic example of getting the right people round the table, working out how to do it and getting on with it.

‘I’d like to help budding entrepreneurs avoid making the mistakes I did. If you can short-circuit your way round the errors, you’ll save a lot of time and effort. I’m still learning, and I’ll still make mistakes. I’d love to help people learn from what I did, to make their journey easier.’

Have a business idea or an interest you’re keen to explore? Join Simon in shaping the next generation of entrepreneurs at King’s Entrepreneurship Institute.