Award-winning Scottish farmer and BBC reality star, Steve Mitchell, will deliver the closing keynote session at Scotland’s leading entrepreneurial festival, BeBrave! powered by Elevator and Business Gateway.
The inaugural festival, launching across the North East next month, aims to inspire and motivate Scotland’s entrepreneurial community or those curious about enterprise.
With a long-term ambition to produce Scotland’s first ever buffalo mozzarella – traditionally made from the milk of Italian buffalos, Steve will close out the festival presenting the final keynote session ‘Take the bull by the horn: A Scottish first with Steve Mitchell’ at Pittodrie Stadium on Thursday 3 October.
The sixth generation of his family farm in Fife, Steve has reared his water buffalo herd - the only one in mainland Scotland - since 2005, while running three butcher shops, an event catering business and a bistro.
In June 2018, he announced plans to build a manufacturing facility, milking parlour and home for his new herd of Dairy Buffalo on the outskirts of Kirkcaldy. Since, Steve has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support his goals in producing Scotland’s first buffalo mozzarella, offering investors a 10% return on their investment.
His session will focus on the highs and lows of his entrepreneurial journey and his crowdfunding experience, to date. Steve will also share his inspirations and the fundamental characteristics, he believes, are needed to BeBrave! in business.
Steve said: “One of my key business mantras is to say ‘yes’ wherever possible. It is a bold mantra, but I believe this has added to my ambitions to put Scottish mozzarella on the menu and I am ready to be sharing my story at Scotland’s first BeBrave! festival.
“Full of like-minded individuals, I hope I can inspire and support our country’s next generation of entrepreneurs and business owners, just as so many have supported me in the past.”
Gary McEwan, Elevator CEO, said: “Elevator is at the heart of Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and we have outlined clear ambitions to cultivate an entrepreneurial culture across the country.
“BeBrave! is a step closer in bringing this ambition to fruition. It underpins our strategies in providing a cohesive support system which enables entrepreneurs to join the dots and access the help they need to take their business to the next stage, no matter its size.
“Steve’s bold business ambitions, coupled with the inspirational success stories from our line-up of guest speakers, is set to instil a sense of fearlessness in Scotland’s business community. We are ready to bolster Scotland’s entrepreneurial spirit and enrich our country’s legacy further.”
The festival’s agenda also includes an inspirational breakfast session from Scottish mountaineer, Jamie Andrew and lunchtime leadership panel hosting Michael Boniface Head of ONE Codebase, Caroline McKenna, Founder of Social Good HQ, Andy Campbell, Elevator’s Head of Accelerators and former Aberdeen and Northern Marts Group chief executive and chairman, Pat Machray. Each session will be facilitated by author and motivational speaker, Gavin Oattes.
For more information about BeBrave!, or to book your free ticket, head to www.bebravefestival.co.uk.
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