New Entrepreneur (NE)
Name & surname: Tiago Araújo
Country: Portugal
Age: 29
Sector of activity: Illustration, animation and fine arts
Have you already started your business? No.
Name of business/website: Tiago Araújo / www.tiago-araujo.com
Host Entrepreneur (HE)
Name & surname: Simon Becker
Country: Germany
Sector of activity: Graphic design
Experience in running a business: 14 years
Name of business/website: Studio B2302 / Simon Becker – www.b2302.de
What is your business? B2302 is an independent Berlin-based design studio founded by graphic artist Simon Becker. We create corporate identities, editorial design, illustrations, posters, typography and digital work. While working with national and international clients, our main focus stays on printed matter.
Period of Relationship: 18/11/2019 – 26/04/2020
Duration of Relationship: 5 months
How did Simon Becker and Tiago Araújo manage to establish a long-lasting business relationship despite the challenges caused by the Corona pandemic?
Simon Becker is the founder of Studio B2302, a Berlin-based design studio which creates communication designs for clients as well as for renowned advertising agencies and design offices. Simon found out about the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme through a recommendation by a former Host Entrepreneur and was immediately eager to participate. His main reason for taking part in the programme was to get fresh and creative input and feedback for his company from somebody with a different perspective, background and skillset. Simon was also enthusiastic to pass on his knowledge and experience of leading an internationally operating design studio to a dedicated young entrepreneur who wants to start his own business.
Thanks to the programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, Simon Becker started an international business relationship with New Entrepreneur Tiago Araújo.
During their 5-month collaboration, Simon gave Tiago insights into the workings of his company and its day-to-day business. This became certainly difficult with the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, which forced the two entrepreneurs to start collaborating remotely. For Tiago, the daily work tasks of Simon were not as easy to follow anymore and arrangements became more difficult to make, but they made the best out of the situation and decided to continue their business relationship despite of the new challenges.
The main focus during their collaboration was the research, draft, illustration and layout of an augmented reality enhanced kids’ book. Tiago, who has a quite different aesthetic perception and preference than Simon, experienced that designers are not only artists, but foremost service-providers who have to focus on the clients’ needs and desires in order to create a successful project. Even though Simon and Tiago’s collaboration through the EYE programme has already come to an end, they still continue to work together on the children’s book. They have even been invited to participate in the CONFIA conference 2020 in Portugal to present the concept of it, which further secures the continuation of their business relationship in the future.
All in all, both entrepreneurs have greatly benefitted from the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme. Simon Becker was not only able to meet the young and dedicated entrepreneur Tiago Araújo who had new ideas for his company, but also profited from the exchange of personal views and skillsets as well as the widening of work perspectives. To him and his team, the collaboration with an entrepreneur from a different specialization in their sector and from a different European country was very pleasant and valuable. Overall, they have managed to make this relationship successful in spite of the challenges they faced due to COVID-19.