The Great Graduate Giveaway (#USWGradGiveaway) kicked off in March, where graduates of 2019-2021 stood a chance to win prizes worth more than £150 by graduate entrepreneurs!

Monika Prusova, the owner of Freelicious bakery, led the #USWGradGiveaway with a £60 treat box consisting of chocolate Linzer cookies with apricot jam, Lebkuchen with plum jam, marzipan potatoes, caramel cakesicles, brownie doughnuts and more!

From being a 2016 graduate of MSc International Business and Enterprise in the University of South Wales, to a mum of two and the owner of Freelicious, here is her story!

Monika started Freelicious with a friend as her final university project. However, her main motivation and reason to start the bakery came from her battle with coeliac disease back in early 2012. 

"I was fighting health problems for quite some time and it was a very dark time of my life, the health issues were piling up and it felt like I am battling something I cannot win. It was rapidly affecting my daily life and it eventually led to coeliac disease diagnosis. It has turned my life upside down - for the better."

Taking the challenge on board, Monika started turning her family recipes into gluten-free alternatives. Now she focuses on helping people to satisfy their sweet tooth while being a gluten-free, vegan friendly, sugar-free and low carb bakery.

Monika pitched her idea at the Bright Ideas Den (BID), where she presented tasters to the judges and won funding for her business idea.

"Freelicious was born at USW, specifically in the library! Me and my friend came up with the name, wrote a business plan, and spent hours in a library perfecting our final project and pitch. When we came across BID, it seemed to be the perfect opportunity to show our idea to people who live in the business world and to test whether our idea can face the real world. The feedback we got was just amazing and the tips and help we got shaped what Freelicious is today."

"I still see BID as one of the best experiences and the guidance and the opportunities not only from BID but from the course as well led to a ready-to-go project at the end of the year."

Be sure to check out our website for more info on 1-to-1 sessions, more funding, resources and much more!

Cheers,
Team #StudentEnterprise 😎

As always, we will be here throughout the year to support you with advice and queries. 

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