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The latest Crucible Masterclass saw Thomas McQuade head to the Innovation Centre to share his knowledge and expertise on finance.

Crucible is an incubation support programme, where ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Leicester (²ÝÁñÊÓƵ) graduates can get a steer on their business ideas, learning from established entrepreneurs in all areas of running a business.

Thomas has worked in finance for more than ten years, commenting that the part of his role that he enjoys most is mentoring and coaching in the world of finance and accounting: “Being part of something like this exposes the attendee to all aspects of business, and really sets them up for success.”

Thomas’ finance session for Crucible introduced attendees to all aspects of managing finances for their businesses. Covering areas including tax efficiency, VAT requirements and return on investment, the session also covered the creation of pitch decks and business plans.

Sharing a good and a bad example of pitches from hit BBC show Dragons Den, the group worked together to fill in some of the missing information of the bad example – introducing skills relevant to each individual’s business, and the ability to locate vital information required for individual pitches going forwards.

The group then worked on their individual financial forecast models, working through the first three years of trade and estimating where their businesses could be at this point.

Marie Moyles, who owns sculpturing business ID8 Illuminate, said: “I have found the session really good, with good content. Learning how to work out my ideal salary by working backwards, establishing how much I need to be earning each day to achieve this goal helped me to put my products and how I should be working into perspective, helping to avoid getting bogged down in the details.”

Thomas, who works in London and travelled to Leicester for the sessions, said: “I do find members of Crucible to be engaged, really getting involved with the sessions and asking lots of questions – which shows me they’re trying to compute what I’m saying to them, and applying it to their business. I find it really interesting to see how the people that attend the course progress – you never know, one might be the next Google!”

Masterclasses are open to the public, as well as Crucible members. The next session focuses on routes to make the most of your key skills, assets and opportunities to diversify, reach new audiences and generate new income streams. Find out more and book your place here.