A multi-award-winning businesswoman has spoken about her time studying at the University of Worcester with fondness.
Laura Bounds was awarded an MBE in the 2021 Queen’s New Year’s Honours – the latest in a string of successes in her journey. And she cites the University of Worcester as a big part of that success, which has seen her become the owner of multiple Kent businesses, including Brands Kent Crisps, Kentish Oils and A Little Bit Food Co. She is also an Export Champion for the Department of International Trade and Kent Ambassador
Thirty-four-year-old Laura says she really began to believe in herself when her talents began to be nurtured at college and university.
“I didn’t have a great time at school,” she recalls. “With little support from many of the teachers as I was never going to be someone who got A*. Reading out loud made me feel very anxious and something I really struggled with. I was made to feel quite useless a lot of the time. But my parents always believed in me and supported me. They encouraged me to reach for the stars and told me that if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.”
At the age of 17 Laura left her school and pursued a HND in Public Services at Canterbury College.
“Mainstream school wasn’t working for me and so my mum encouraged me to try a different route to higher education,” she said. “That’s where I really started to find myself and become more focussed and disciplined. After I’d finished my HND my parents encouraged me to apply to university away from home to complete my degree.”
Laura continued: “In one weekend we looked at three universities, one of which was Worcester. I remember driving through the city and instantly feeling at home. The whole place just felt so welcoming. The University had such a friendly feel and I loved it straight away.”
Laura joined the University of Worcester in 2006 to study for a one-year Top Up degree in Public Service Management. But she says one year just wasn’t enough and decided to stay for a further two years and complete a Master’s degree in Sociology.
“University gave me so much more confidence,” she said. “It helped me to really find myself and my place in the world. It helped me to connect with different people, from different cultures, different parts of the UK and the world. The whole experience was positive.”
She added: “Although neither of my degrees were business related, I later realised that all the experiences I had at university were building up to give me a really good grounding. From working in a promotions role at the local nightclub, to giving presentations on my course, learning about time-keeping and budgeting – these were all really valuable skills that have served me well over the years.”
It was also while at university that Laura was diagnosed with dyslexia. “It made such a huge difference to me to finally get a diagnosis after struggling throughout school with little support. The extra support I received was extremely helpful throughout my Master’s and gave me the extra confidence I needed.”
After finishing her three years at Worcester, Laura moved back to Kent and began applying for graduate jobs.
“I had a fire in my belly,” she said. “I wanted to prove myself and I wanted to work for a company that would see my potential.” She added: “I remember catching the train home one weekend from university and picking up a copy of The Guardian and seeing some amazing jobs advertised. University gave me opportunity.”
After a number of unsuccessful applications, Laura finally scored herself an interview with a local food wholesaler as a Marketing Executive. “As part of the interview I had to put together a marketing plan – something I had never done before,” she remembers. “So I Googled it. I got the job and that was really the start of my journey in business.”
Laura later joined Kent Crisps initially within a sales development role having originally been a customer. She quickly progressed to Commercial Director having played a key part in the growth of the company in early years and had the opportunity to undergo a management buyout in 2017.
Since then, she has been the driving force behind growing the business, with a strong focus on export, and now supplies international airlines, trains & ferries and 10 markets across the globe which include Germany, America & Asia. Laura’s drive, passion and “stubbornness” has also seen her turn three more businesses into thriving success stories.
Laura has won a number of awards in recent years, including Business Woman of the Year at the Kent Women in Business Awards, with Kent Crisps also being multiple award winning, including Food Producer of the Year at the Taste of Kent Awards and the Kent Life Awards and National Micro Business of the Year at the Federation of Small Business (FSB) awards.
In the 2021 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List, she was awarded an MBE for services to international trade, in recognition of her work done through Kent Crisps to raise awareness of Kent and the UK on a world stage.
“Being awarded an MBE is obviously a hugely proud moment in my career,” she said. “I’m just really passionate about what I do.”
Laura said she is also passionate about nurturing new talent and giving opportunities to other young people.
“I’ve just taken on my first graduate,” she said. “I am a big believer in investing in people and giving them opportunities to grow.”
Laura is now a mentor for students at the University of Kent. “My biggest piece of advice to the students is to understand that university is so much more than the academic learning. It’s an opportunity to really find who you are. To get involved in lots of different things and have new experiences.
“My three years at University allowed me to find myself, to find my voice and to feel empowered to use it. You don’t have to be all-singing, all-dancing academically to be successful.”