From Job Centre to Entrepreneur of the Year: How Alex Built Send Media with Sound Futures
How do you go from being an unemployed 18-year-old to winning an Entrepreneur of the Year award and filming major campaigns in just a matter of months? For Alex, the founder of Send Media, the answer lay in the Sound Futures project.
By the Creative Careers Collective
In summer 2024, Alex was 18 and had just completed a TV and Film course at South Devon College. Passionate about turning his newly launched business Send Media into a creative success, he had a strong vision and portfolio but not yet the confidence or practical experience to translate it into a viable business.
Unemployed and unsure what to do next, he visited the Job Centre, where he met Callum Elliot, Sound Communities Employability Lead, and was introduced to the Sound Futures project.
At the time, Alex said that he ‘had very little knowledge of business or finance or much real professional work experience’ so the course became a vital stepping stone”. On it, he learnt entrepreneurial skills, was supported to understand business models, pricing, and the world of freelance work through 1:1 mentoring. Alex also got to chat with local industry professionals such as Big Wave Marketing who visited the group, supporting him to develop a stronger sense of belonging within a creative community.
Throughout the course, Alex continued to improve his videography skills, explored graphic design, and developed the confidence to speak with clients professionally. After seeing his creative work in action, Sound Futures asked him to create their 2024 Impact Film, which he proudly presented to a large crowd, including Torbay’s MP Steve Darling, while co-hosting with Callum, advocating for marginalised young people at the Sound Communities 2024 Impact Event. On the back of this, Torbay Council commissioned him to produce their UKSPF impact video for their entire programme — a huge honour.
Soon afterwards, Alex’s next paid commission was directing a music video for an Oceanside Records artist - another huge success. Alex’s achievements quickly grew as he co-hosted his first photo exhibition In Motion, successfully selling prints and showcasing his photography. His efforts were recognised publicly when he won Entrepreneur of the Year at the Children and Young People Awards and was invited as a guest on Torbay Council’s Bizcast Podcast. His work with The Laughter Lab led to opportunities alongside well-known comedians such as Jen Brister and Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas.
Alex continues to build his creative enterprise through Send Media, with a focus on producing music videos. Alex explains, “The name Send Media stems from the extreme sports phrase ‘send it’ meaning ‘just go for it.’ I wanted the name to reflect my eagerness to encourage people/ businesses to just 'send it' and strive for their goals”.
Alex remains an active part of Sound Communities’ support network, reflecting the value he felt from being part of a strengths-based community of interest. As Callum shared “Alex is a testament to what happens when young people are empowered to lead, create, and make a difference. We’re thrilled to see our young people thrive as creators, storytellers, and changemakers, as well as getting work ready”.
Alex’s journey illustrates the powerful impact of Sound Futures: transforming aspirations into real-world outcomes, supporting progression into employment, and nurturing a positive identity rooted in creativity and self-belief.
About Sound Communities
We are proud to support some of the most marginalised young people in South Devon to re-engage with sustained education, employment, or training. By focusing on creativity, intrinsic motivation, and trusted relationships, our work helps young people reimagine what’s possible and positively change their lives.
Young people are at the heart of everything we do. Our trauma-informed approach meets them through their interests, builds trust, and enables us to respond holistically to their educational, mental health, and wider needs. From trust, everything becomes possible.
This impact is seen in increased participation in education, reduced NEET levels, greater confidence in next steps, and more positive contributions to their communities.
Research backs our approach: creativity heals trauma, trust and consistency build self-esteem, and inspiration builds belief. It is our responsibility as parents, partners, commissioners, and leaders to trust that young people can achieve better life opportunities.
Our work is delivered through a unique model combining alternative provision, production arms, and employment pathways, a strengths-based ecosystem. Production arms act as incubators, letting young people take ownership, find their voice, and experience belonging.
We aim to keep participants engaged for as long as they need, to ensure lasting change and support them to move on when ready. Through this pioneering model, we are transforming lives but also widening Torbay’s cultural and educational offer, making it a better place to live for everyone.
Our vision
We work to create communities of empowered, confident and resilient young people with the aspirations and skills to build a better and fairer future.
Our mission
To engage and mobilise marginalised young people. We will help them to lead production opportunities together, to improve their wellbeing and facilitate expression, creativity and agency.
To find out more about Sound Communities and the work that they do visit:
- Website: soundcommunities.co.uk
- Contact: info@soundcommunities.co.uk
- X: @SoundCommunitie
- LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/sound-communities-community-interest-company
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sound_communities_cic/
- Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/SoundCommunitiesCIC
To find out more about Send Media and the work that they do visit:
- Contact: send_media@outlook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/send_media_
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