Liverpool university friends help over 100,000 young people after launching confidence workshops

Friends Calvin Eden and Oba Akinwale, who met in Liverpool whilst they were both at university, created Loud Speaker, a company that provides confidence boosting workshops to young people.

Giving young people the tools to speak up and speak their best, Loud Speaker champions young people to articulate themselves best in interviews, have confidence when on stage and ultimately, believing in themselves to proactively go for their goals.

Being available when young people need this support most, Loud Speaker delivers exceptional, motivational and relatable workshops, when young people are setting their aspirations and shaping their career paths.

To date, Loud Speaker has delivered confidence boosting workshops to over 100,000 young people from across the UK, with contracts in place at Hugh Baird College, Trafford College Group, Everton in the Community, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, Childwall Sports and Science Academy and the University of Central Lancashire, to name a few.

Founders Calvin, 27, and Oba, 30, are passionate about giving young people a level playing field when it comes to expressing themselves; they want everyone to have the tools and be equipped to take on life’s challenges and reach for opportunities along the way, without feeling unconfident in their abilities to speak, present or during interviews.

The duo, who were both working for the same organisation delivering youth programmes where they engaged young people on summer residentials before Oba was made redundant and the pair teamed up to launch bespoke workshops during summer 2019.

From there, Calvin and Oba received overwhelming feedback and Loud Speaker was created. 

Both Directors having very different skillsets which makes Loud Speaker the success it is; Calvin has the infectious personality who welcomes everyone and is a great people person. Oba then looks after all processes, operations and the organisation of the business.

Now Loud Speaker has four full-time staff members, one part time employee and 20 seasonal staff members who deliver the motivational and incredibly valuable, confidence boosting workshops up and down the UK.

Calvin explained: “For us, Loud Speaker delivers a compelling message to the young people of today. It’s about understanding the psychology of our behaviour and that of the young people we influence, leaving them with something memorable from our workshops. Loud Speaker is unique in its approach, getting on the same level as our young people, and having an understanding of where they’re at in their life and the huge decisions they’re about to make. We want to equip them with the necessary tools to take on life’s challenges, grab opportunities with both hands and ultimately, speak up for themselves.”

Oba added: “Working with over 100,000 young people has been a fantastic achievement to date, but we’re looking at ways of scaling Loud Speaker to reach as many young people as possible, giving them an opportunity to undertake our workshops and gain confidence from them. In the near future, we hope to embed the programme into the curriculum for schools, colleges and universities, reaching as many students as possible who will be imminently making major career and life decisions.

“We’re really grateful for all of the academies, schools, colleges, universities and organisations who appreciate the workshops that we deliver and our unique way of communicating with young people to help and support them at a time in life when they need it most. The results really do speak for themselves.”