Six months ago, Inga Titova had a mission and no map.
The 41-year-old aspiring entrepreneur from Lithuania wanted to build something specific: a business that gives old furniture, clothes, and household goods a second life instead of sending them to a landfill. Collection. Resale. Rental. Storage. Donation. The full cycle, under one enterprise she’d named KvadratasKvadratu.
The mission was clear. The path from mission to functioning business was not — which is exactly the gap the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) programme is built to close.
The Idea Was Solid. The Business Model Wasn’t.
Instead of a course or a conference, Inga applied for an EYE exchange and spent three months — 16 March to 15 June — embedded in the daily operations of a UK social enterprise led by host entrepreneur Valerian Spicer. Not observing from the sidelines: working inside live projects already running across the UK, including community and health-focused initiatives like the Bromley by Bow Cardiac Pilot Programme and the Communities Well Programme.
That distinction — a workshop versus an operating business — is the whole value of the exchange. Inga wasn’t learning theory about social enterprise. She was in the room while one was actually being run.
Real Work, Not a Simulation
Over the three months, Inga’s involvement covered ground most new entrepreneurs only read about:
- Funding strategy — sitting in on sessions about identifying and pursuing funding opportunities for a social enterprise, not just discussing it in the abstract.
- Marketing a real service to real customers — contributing to a live social media project focused on visibility and client engagement.
- Measuring impact properly — taking part in evaluation and monitoring work for a boxing programme for young girls, using the SWEMBS methodology to assess social outcomes rather than assuming impact happens on its own.
- Operational and project management practice — contributing to discussions on business planning, digital tools, and how to keep a social enterprise running efficiently.
Each month closed with a structured review of Inga’s own business plan, held against what she’d just learned — mentorship built into the calendar, not left to chance.
What She Brought Home
Inga didn’t come back from the UK with more inspiration. She came back with a business plan that had already been tested against someone else’s real mistakes and real wins — a funding approach she’d seen work, a marketing playbook she’d helped run, and a monitoring method she now knows how to apply to her own enterprise.
In her own words:
“The programme gave me the confidence, tools, and international perspective I needed to move from an idea to concrete action for my enterprise.”
That international perspective matters as much as any single skill. Comparing how a UK social enterprise operates against her own plans for Lithuania gave Inga a clearer sense of what to keep, what to change, and where KvadratasKvadratu can realistically grow beyond its home market.
The Takeaway for the Next Applicant
If your business idea is still stuck at “I know this could work” — this is what getting unstuck actually looks like: three months inside a real operation, mentorship built into the schedule, and a business plan you’ve pressure-tested before you’ve risked anything.
Interested in an EYE exchange like Inga’s? Get in touch to find out how to apply.