Denait Petros (Politics and International Relations, 2021)
The Entrepreneurship team at Sussex are here for everyone: students from all degree backgrounds can access our support and opportunities. We support students and recent graduates with developing their business ideas, freelancing, developing social enterprises, and entrepreneurial skills for the workplace.
Recently, we sat down with Denait Petros to learn about her business. A Politics and International Relations graduate, Denait took part in various Entrepreneurship opportunities during her time at Sussex, and established Founder Floww in 2024.
Hi Denait, introduce yourself!
Hi, I’m Denait: Sussex alumni and Founder of Founder Floww and the Visionaries in Progress Podcast. I’m passionate about all things entrepreneurship, so I set up a consultancy for solo founders to help grow their business.
Can you tell us about your business and how you came up with the idea?
My business is Founder Floww, a consultancy for solo founders supporting their business growth through 1:1 sessions. I’m on a mission to give solo founders the confidence and tools to grow their business.
I came up with the idea after giving pro bono PR 1:1 support to founders alongside my full-time job, I quickly realised that unless someone had direct experience in this field, it was an area they really struggled with. As someone who used to work in PR, this is a skill I wanted to share.
One thing that stuck out to me the most is that solo founders were wearing many hats in business, and compared to co-founded businesses I supported - time, resource and particular skills were often an issue for solo founders.
For example, in the co-founded businesses there were often really great tech founders and their co-founders were well versed in sales. The founders were able to use their skills to work together and where one lacked, the other had. With solo founders, they were expected to be well versed across all areas. This is when Founder Floww was born!
What challenges did you face when starting your business and how did you overcome them?
My two main challenges when I started was self-doubt and finances. Despite having worked with founders for over two years and knowledge of business plans and where to start, I was held back by the thought of ‘what if this doesn’t work’ or ‘no solo founder wants to work with me.’
To overcome this, I set out and did a business plan and market research on solo founder pain points by creating a form on services needed by solo founders and sent it to as many as founders as possible. I then picked 3 clients to work with pro bono to test out services, receive feedback and use them as initial case studies.
Through doing this I gained more confidence and was able to confidently outreach to potential clients and sign new paid clients.
In terms of finance, I create a cash flow forecast of how much I’d like to earn and what my service package fee should be. I spoke with financial advisors and any service-based business owners to gain insight and advice. However, despite making money, this was being reinvested into the business - so finances is one I’m still working on!
What support did you receive from the Entrepreneurship Team at Sussex?
The Entrepreneurship team took the time to understand my business needs to get to the next level. They shared the many resources available at Sussex, such as grants as well as one-to-one appointments via Career Hub. During my studies I also took part in the Startup Sussex competition.
Were there any particular programmes you took part in at Sussex that helped you with your business the most and why?
Startup Sussex was a competition I took part in. Though this was years before I started my business, it definitely helped in planting a seed and knowledge, and understanding of the Lean Business Canvas Model. It was also my first time ever pitching, so it’s given me the confidence to go out and do this again.
What skills have you developed? How do you think your experiences will help you going forward?
As a Politics and International Relations alum, the main skills I’ve developed is my ability to do in depth research, assess sources and critically analyse pieces. This has helped me with setting up my business, but also client work where research and condensing information is needed.
What advice would you give to a current student wanting to start their own business?
If you’re super passionate about something, make a plan and then execute. It’s better to perfect as you go along, than to wait until you have all the answers to start. Speak to the Entrepreneurship team to get free advice and use other platforms like Digital Boost to get free mentors. There’s a lot of support out there, find it! And finally, do not give up once you start the journey. A lot of times the success doesn’t come straight away and it requires grit and patience to see the fruits of your labour. If you’re a solo founder reach out to me on IG @founderfloww!
About Entrepreneurship at Sussex
Got a big idea for a better world? Or curious about learning new skills and exploring venture creation? We can help you get started with one-to-one support, startup workshops, and funding opportunities.
We can support you from the early stages of developing an idea for a business or social enterprise, all the way through to launching and scaling your venture.
We also provide workshops and services for those who simply want to gain skills that employers look for, like problem-solving, team-work, creative thinking and pitching ideas.
You can book a one-to-one appointment with a member of the Entrepreneurship team to meet online or face-to-face.
Learn more about Denait’s ventures
Founder Floww: www.founderfloww.com
Visionaries in Progress podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@visionariesinprogresspod/videos