1999.
The year it all started…
The ERIC story starts in a school playground.
And it’s quite the story. You’re gonna want to scroll down.
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 (fast forward), they didn’t even come 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 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 career support & guidance young people have, especially in careers in the creative industries.
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 creative industries.
They were called ERIC Festivals - or ERIC FEST for short. The festivals attracted over 150,000+ young aspiring creatives and had creative greats like Munya Chawawa, Candice Carty-Williams & Yung Filly hosting and speaking. They were held at some pretty incredible venues too, including Somerset House, Pop Brixton & Barbican.
Pandemic hit…
And ERIC festivals had to shut down.
The events helped them realise the root issues and how fragmented the career guidance space is.
They 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 to solve the issue of discoverability.
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.