1999.
The year it all started…
The ERIC story starts in a school playground.
And it’s quite the story. Keep reading to find out how two best friends ended up creating a creative careers app…
Mae & Sam met when they were 8 years old.
Both creative kids, they bonded immediately. They spent most of their free time drawing, making and creating after school.
As they got older and career conversations became more serious, they decided they wanted to do something creative.
But despite their dreams, they didn’t even get close to their creative ambitions.
Mae was told that creative careers weren’t serious 😔
Mae ended up becoming an accountant.
Sam was rejected from studying art at university 😢
Sam ended up working in the tech startup world.
It’s 2015.
Mae & Sam are unhappy in their jobs…
They kept thinking about what happened to their creative ambitions. They noticed the lack of information about careers in the creative industries.
How were young people like them meant to believe they could get a foot in the door when they had no idea where the door was and what it looked like?
They decided to do something about it.
2015-2020
ERIC Festival
Mae & Sam ran a series of events called ERIC Festivals, designed to connect young people with the information, opportunities and people in the creative industries.
The festivals attracted over 150,000+ young aspiring creatives and had cutting-edge cultural names like Munya Chawawa, Candice Carty-Williams & Jamie Windust hosting and speaking. They were held at some pretty incredible venues too, including Somerset House, Pop Brixton & Barbican.
But the pandemic hit…
And ERIC Festivals had to shut down.
But it wasn’t all bad… the success of the events had been a clear signal that young people loved ERIC and the cause they were championing. The only problem was… they wanted more, more often and more specific to their creative interests and situations.
Mae & Sam realised that if they wanted to reach every young person in the UK (even the world) to help them access the creative industries, they needed a way to connect young people whenever they wanted - they needed to create something that acted as a 24/7 ERIC Festival.
2020-Today
The ERIC app was born
Launched in 2022, the ERIC app aggregates everything into one place and helps tens of thousands of young people across the UK.
The app seamlessly and effortlessly connects young people with the creative industries at the touch of a button.