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Shetland Mussel Farmer Impresses at MIT
May 1, 2010Michael Laurenson, whose company farms rope-grown mussels in voes (sea inlets) in the north of Shetland, has recently returned to the islands from one of the world's most renowned business schools. He excelled at an entrepreneurs' development programme at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.
The programme is made possible through the partnership developed with MIT by the regional development agency in the north of Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The partnership gives local businesses access to world class business and sales training and the latest in research in management and leadership techniques.
The business plan competition was won by a team which included Michael. His was one of seven businesses from the Highlands and Islands taking part in the week long programme. They were working with over 120 firms from 30 countries across the world.
Michael has returned full of praise for the MIT experience. "Our time at MIT was a fantastic learning experience with world-class lecturers who could hold an audience with every word. I took back a number of key fundamentals learned at MIT which I find myself applying subconsciously on a daily basis. It changes the way you think about things and helps you examine where you really want to go in your business. I have learned a lot of practical lessons from some very high calibre people which will undoubtedly help me to grow the business back home."
Michael's company, Blueshell Mussels, is a family business formed in 1997 and based in the village of Brae, Shetland. They use advanced cultivation techniques to supply high-quality mussels to leading restaurants and major supermarkets which are supplied through the sales and marketing co-operative Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group, of which Michael is chairman.
Visit the Blueshell Mussels website to find out more.
The programme is made possible through the partnership developed with MIT by the regional development agency in the north of Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The partnership gives local businesses access to world class business and sales training and the latest in research in management and leadership techniques.
The business plan competition was won by a team which included Michael. His was one of seven businesses from the Highlands and Islands taking part in the week long programme. They were working with over 120 firms from 30 countries across the world.
Michael has returned full of praise for the MIT experience. "Our time at MIT was a fantastic learning experience with world-class lecturers who could hold an audience with every word. I took back a number of key fundamentals learned at MIT which I find myself applying subconsciously on a daily basis. It changes the way you think about things and helps you examine where you really want to go in your business. I have learned a lot of practical lessons from some very high calibre people which will undoubtedly help me to grow the business back home."
Michael's company, Blueshell Mussels, is a family business formed in 1997 and based in the village of Brae, Shetland. They use advanced cultivation techniques to supply high-quality mussels to leading restaurants and major supermarkets which are supplied through the sales and marketing co-operative Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group, of which Michael is chairman.
Visit the Blueshell Mussels website to find out more.
