Denbigh's 'Dragon Den' success:

[ March 2008]

Dragon’s Den is all about taking an idea, getting some funding to develop that idea and then reaping the profits…hopefully. Well, the Dragon’s Den ideal works in real life too and it is happening now for one of our own. Maybe you already know about it? Maybe you are one of the 10, 000 people who hit their site, Bored MK ?, in February?

The idea as always seems to be the case, was a simple one: to provide a one-stop information resource for all manner of recreational activities in the Milton Keynes area: all the things that you might want to do if you were bored.

It started out as an A-Level coursework assignment for 2 Stantonbury students and has now become a going and growing business concern for them and Richard Anderson, a member of the Denbigh 6th Form. Richard currently devotes some 15-20 hours of his time to the site, looking after the Entertainment & Events calendars, and he intends working full-time when he returns from the World Challenge.

Using their own money and the Joomla content management and website creation application they created the Bored in MK website which went live in January 2008. A presentation to local businessmen earned them a fourth director, who pumped in more cash and gave them the use of office space within his own offices, and since then the concept and the ambition has grown exponentially.

Plans for the future are well in hand. The group have already established links with Cineworld & Theatre MK which they hope to develop further to include a ticket booking system, once they can show site traffic of some 50,000 hits per month. They have hired a young web designer to further develop the look of the site and are also planning to introduce an online take-away ordering system, a place for unsigned bands to promote themselves, a Facebook application to keep you informed of new content and a comprehensive database of all the clubs in Milton Keynes.

And it won’t be stopping there as they are already planning on launching similar Bored In… sites for over 70 other postcode areas across the UK.

Richard has been asked to speak to Business Studies students at Denbigh, to pass on some of the stories and tips behind the successes of Bored in MK.

Well done Richard and all the best for the future of Bored in MK… & don’t forget to go to Uni if you get the chance (or look into the opportunities at the OU).