Kickstarter Case Study

The Challenge

In early 2021, Carole Fossey and Garry Kousoulou were discussing the challenges with the government Kickstarter scheme. The challenges mostly being operational and inspirational. The operational were the ‘clunkiness’ of the gateway system and inadequate DWP systems. The inspirational challenges were how to capture the imagination and interest of (particularly) small and micro businesses, that were in the middle of dealing with pandemic fallout.

Businesses had been hard hit and were in most cases working harder than ever with potentially less staff and less profits. And although the Kickstarter scheme was funded (i.e., all direct employment costs were covered plus money given for training), as a small business the challenge was to train someone with no skills or experience who were currently claiming Universal Credit and devote enough time to them to make it a worthwhile exercise.

Our Kickstarter group on a guest speaker call

The Solution

Carole and Garry decided to solve this problem for them in the specific area of Social Media and Digital Marketing. Both Carole and Garry run their own social media business and so, with no start-up capital and just a passionate desire to help both small businesses and most importantly – young people – they set up Social Media Kickstarter Training Limited in April 2021.

By June 2021, they had their first young people on the program and working for 2 of their clients on the Kickstarter scheme. And by March 31st, 2022, they had put 186 young people onto the Kickstarter scheme and out of unemployment.

(Compare this to Enfield Council, Garry’s local council, who with an entire department, and working with the Federation of Small Business, only managed around 80).

The Future

The future is bright for our graduates many of whom we saw at our online graduation awards ceremony on October 6th 2022. Many have gone on to permanent roles with their Kickstarter employer. Others have gone on to permanent roles with other employers or opened their own businesses full-time or a part-time job. Some have decided to go into further education through university courses.

From Our Kickstarters:

“Thank you Carole & Garry for all the help, knowledge and support you gave me during the 6 months as a kickstarter. I was able to learn alot about social media and also gain some very useful life lessons”

– Kafeil Meade

“I want to thank Carole and Garry for introducing me to social media management and the great people at SMKT! The people I’ve met through SMKT have all been kind, helpful and cool. Because of Carole and Garry, I’ve started a digital marketing course through the company I now work for and I’m well on my way to earning fat stacks. Thank you for all your hard work guys!”

– Saul Hourigan St Clare

“Dear Carole and Garry,

Thank you so much for everything that you do and all the time you’ve put into believing that we are worth more than other people can see. You’ve given us a chance at a whole new life with endless opportunities. You are inspirational and so incredibly compassionate. Thank you for giving us the chance to support our daughter the way that we want to.”

– Omi Fishlock-Wood & James Pazinas

“Thank you so much Garry and Carole for everything. I knew nothing about social media when I started but with your help, I have now found something I am really passionate about and love doing. You gave me so much confidence and I can’t thankyou enough.”

– Hollie Hadley

“Thank you so much for all of your guidance and support over the last 6 months! It has helped me in setting up my own business and I wouldn’t have got the clients I do without your helpful tips! My kickstarter boss is also one of those clients so without you I wouldn’t even have one of my clients at all!! I hope we can stay in touch 😁💗”

– Grace Kane

“Big thank you to you both, Carole and Garry, for your training course. I have learnt so much from this experience and I will be grateful forever.”

– Joe Phillips

“Thank you so much for this opportunity you gave me, if it wasn’t for you two I’d probably still be kicking around the job centre. that may or may not be a joke, but in all seriousness thank you for everything you’ve taught me, I’m glad to still be able to call you my bosses/teachers. 😊“

– Hannah Waits

“Carole and Garry… Where do I start. You two have been an absolute godsend for me and my career. I was floundering after university with very little direction to utilise my expertise and knowledge of an industry I absolutely adore but with your tutelage I not only got an opportunity to show my skills but also secure a position within that company for the foreseeable future, something I didn’t think possible at the turn of the year. The level of detail you both go into in your training has added further layers to my skillset and the quality of guest speakers have also been wonderful. Thank you for putting up with my constant questions and allowing me the space to add comments I felt other kickstarters would benefit from. I am gutted I couldn’t be there for the awards evening but I look forward to meeting up with you both soon for a drink and a catch up about how I’m doing. Once again big thanks and love to you both, the work you have done for a huge group of young people could not be more special xx”

Kieran Woolley

“Thank you so much Carole and Garry for all the training and support you’ve provided me over the last 6 months. I’ve learnt so many new skills that are not only marketing related but interchangeable skills that I can apply to so many different job roles. The weekly calls have really boosted my confidence and have motivated me to be my best self so I thank you!!!”

– Oliver Bowen

“Thank you so much Carole and Garry! The 6 months of being a kickstarter really changed everything for me and I know it’s the same for lots of other kickstarters too. I have learnt so much and not just about social media but businesses, personal development and my purpose. Thank you for this opportunity!!!”

– Bethany Harrison

“Big thanks to Carole and Garry and the whole Kickstarter team for not only the opportunity, but the knowledge and wisdom you have worked so hard to provide. It’s been a great learning experience and I wish everyone involved all the best for the future!”

– Joe Mousdell

“Thank you both so much for your support, knowledge and encouragement these past 6 months. I feel really lucky to have been able to get this opportunity to work in the marketing industry and I plan to continue in it thanks to the kickstart program!”

– Maia Blair

“Thank you Garry for being such a cool and interesting dude!

Carole, thank you for all your patience and knowledge 😊“

– Adam Mallam

“As a kickstarter I really appreciate the support and guidance you both have provided, I’ve learned so much and gained so much knowledge from you both which has been invaluable and I’ll forever be grateful! I’m wishing you all the best success in your futures!”

– Stephanie Nalumansi

“To Garry and Carole, I just want to say a massive thank you to you both for everything. Before the Kickstarter scheme I didn’t really know what I was going to do, I was a bit lost really. I was struggling to know which path to take and then I met Carole at the library in Stockport at a jobs fair. I got the call the same day off Garry offering me to work with GBN whilst receiving training.

I’m so happy I said yes, so happy I stuck with it as well as I was a bit lost at the start. It’s been a year nearly and I’m still working with GBN. I love every second and I wouldn’t have known anything I know now without the training provided. Just 12 months ago, GMB, SEO, analytics etc we’re just foreign to me but now I know their purpose and why they’re so handy.

Every step of the way you have both been so supportive and opened so many doors for so many of us. I just hope you know how grateful I am for everything! You’re both absolute angels, quite literally changing peoples lives and making such a difference to young people. Thank you again for everything!!!!”

– Leah Prescott

“To Carole and Garry I would like to say thank you for the training for my social media jobs in the future. I now have a lot of experience thanks to you guys! All the best x”

– Kelsey Silverwood

“Thank you so much Garry & Carole for all your time, dedication, and support in helping not just myself, but hundreds of young people get experience in Social Media & Marketing!

I have gained knowledge in stuff I never thought I would and it’s all thanks to the both of you!

SMKT is an experience that I’ll always treasure. ❤️

Keep being amazing!”

– Emily Hague

“To Carole and Garry

Thank you for such a great kickstart experience I have loved learning about social media and I really think this is something I want to pursue a career in! I wish you all the best, from Lydia”

– Lydia Bardsley

“Thank you Garry and Carole for these past 6 months. I have enjoyed learning new things and getting different perspectives of life from all of our guest speakers. I will never forget the lessons I have learned so for that I say thank you! 👏”

– Craig Hedges

“To Carole and Garry.

Thank you for an amazing opportunity that you have given all of us throughout the Kickstarter. I have loved learning new and different skills throughout those 6 month I have been there. I appreciate all that you have done for me and will miss you guys dearly.”

– Lewis Williams

“Hi Garry & Carole

This is Antonica, I just wanted to give you guys a big thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done for me, the opportunity you gave me to be a kick-starter was an absolute amazing journey for me.

I learned so much from both of you for the six months I spent with everyone, I am so glad I had the chance to put my skills to the test and in return I learned so much and gained so many different skills, skills I never thought I would have or would be good at, so for that I say thank you very much! ❤️”

– Antonica Mbungo

“To Carole & Garry,

Thank you both for your guidance, encouragement and lessons you have taught us all along the way! This experience has certainly helped me develop as a person and i’ll forever be grateful for this experience!

Wishing you all the best x”

– Kawsar Abdi

“Thanks Garry and Carole, you’ve been a great help in my social media career, showing me the ins and outs of marketing and business, and gave me some valuable insights.”

– Femi Banjo

“To Carole and Garry,

Thank you so much for all that you’ve done for me! I have learnt some unforgettable things while on my course from social media to life lessons. Thank you for giving me access to some great knowledge and also having the opportunity to meet some amazing people especially yourselves! I wish you both all the success and happiness in the near future!”

– Alivia Wornes

“Thank you so much Carole & Gary for teaching us everything you could about social media marketing its been a pleasure 🤍”

– Jade Peatman

“Hi Carole and Garry,

Thank you for giving me and many others the confidence we needed to go forward in a job we love,

I appreciate the time and efforts given to me during this time, thank you!”

– Kiana Camms

“I would like to say a big thank you to Carole and Garry. It can be scary getting started with your career but they both created a great working environment to welcome people into. It was always insightful to listen to what both Carole and Garry had to say, I am very thankful that I had both of them training me during my kickstart.”

– Gizem Tumburi

“A huge thanks to you both, Carole and Gary – I am very grateful for all the help that you have provided me over the past 7 months. Very helpful guidance, which has helped me develop certain skills that I never knew I had ❤️”

– Dan Harrison