Unlocking Potential: James Tweed's Digital Key to Prison Education Empowering inmates through innovative digital learning
By Entrepreneur UK Staff Edited by Patricia Cullen
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James Tweed is the founder and CEO of Cambridge-based digital learning company Coracle, which provides inmates at 90 prisons in England and Wales with access to education in their cells through laptops. In April 2023, Coracle won a King's Award for promoting opportunity. Its founder's mission is to end digital exclusion.
Coracle's tech platform means prisoners can safely access content from organisations such as The Open University and Prisoners' Education Trust, without using the internet. It is one of the few companies permitted by the Ministry of Justice and HM Prisons and Probation Service to provide prisoners with laptops for education.
-What inspired you to start your business?
I've always been drawn to creating something and I also do love a challenge. Starting and running a business is an incredibly rewarding experience if you're the sort of person who loves learning new things, and I love learning.
- What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
Aside from completely unexpected shocks, like Covid-19, the obvious challenges around operations and finance are generally quite easy to resolve.
The biggest challenges are often around people. People don't come to work to make a founder's life easier or to make shareholders richer, so working with people on their own challenges can be both the most rewarding aspect but can also present the biggest challenges.
- How did you secure your initial funding?
The company started on a bootstrapped basis. I'm a big fan of businesses actually generating sales, rather than raising money and then figuring out a business model. We did do a round of angel investment once I understood there was a model that could work for us.
Funding is important to accelerate growth - it's preferable to be looking for funding when the money isn't needed for survival!
Related: Key Entrepreneurial Lessons for Innovating in Legacy Industries
How do you handle failure or setbacks?
I always think there are two things you need as a founder. Good shoes, as you'll do a lot of walking, and bags of resilience. Failures and setbacks are part of the journey. Understanding how likely something is to happen means constantly risk assessing your business.
What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?
Be conscious of your self-talk.. Be positive and confident in the way you talk about what will happen, rather than what might happen. Be open to learning - there is loads of help available out there from people who are keen to support you.
How do you stay motivated during tough times?
My business has a strong social element. I fundamentally believe that what we're doing is important and valuable to the people we work with.
When times are tough, I like to remember a simple truth: "We make a difference when our users improve their lives, and that's how we succeed as a company."
Share your tips for achieving success
You can only achieve success if you decide what success really means to you first. My top tip is to really consider what success means to you and then to work towards that goal.
Related: Transforming Education and Empowering Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs
