Dual Accreditation provides “so much more value”, says Solent University student Alex

Alex Baughan may only be 21, but he’s already an old hand at business. As a child growing up in a family of entrepreneurs – his father runs a successful garage in Crawley, West Sussex – he would make websites and plan businesses for fun, just to see how they’d run in theory. 

He was soon doing it for real, selling watches and car parts, and he now runs a successful company remapping cars – tuning their performance by installing new software on their onboard computers.

“This is my first time really running a business properly,” says Alex, who runs his venture out of one of his dad’s units. “My dad and I practise cross-platform boosting. We leverage each other’s client base. I see running a business as a passion, not a chore. It's what I enjoy doing.”

• Learner story: “The process helped me pivot into a new career”

With all that practical business experience under the bonnet, Alex was all set to follow his father into the family business. But the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic forced a hairpin turn. Alex made a “last minute” decision to go to university – enrolling on the CMI dual-accredited Business Management degree at Solent University.