Building MADE BRISK - a student startup story

We’re Isobel and Lizzie, the founders of MADE BRISK, and we’re so excited to share our story and the journey behind the business we’ve built together.

We met on our very first day at university while studying Digital Marketing and quickly became close friends through shared interests in marketing, creative media, and (most importantly!) coffee and matcha.  Fast-forward two years, and Lizzie was completing her year-in-industry placement in Manchester. Visiting her became the perfect excuse to spend our weekends café hopping around some of the city’s best independent coffee spots. Somewhere between trying new matchas and talking about branding, the idea for MADE BRISK started to take shape.

We realised there was space for something different in Portsmouth - a coffee brand that felt more modern, flexible, and experience-led. Instead of opening a traditional café, we wanted to create something mobile that could exist in the places people already spend time in: markets, university events, run clubs, and community spaces.  Once the idea became serious, everything moved pretty quickly. What started as “imagine if we actually did that” conversations over summer, soon turned into supplier research, business planning, branding sessions, and eventually building the cart itself.

A huge part of MADE BRISK has also come together thanks to the people around us. Friends helped brainstorm names, refine the logo, and even physically build the cart. It’s genuinely been a collective effort from day one, and we are so grateful for all of the help and support we’ve received.  

Since launching, we’ve started building a customer base through local markets, events, and collaborations across Portsmouth. We’ve also had the opportunity to pitch the business through university enterprise initiatives, including winning the Open Mic Pitch at Enterprise Fest.

MADE BRISK is still early on, but that’s part of what makes it exciting. It’s been built through a lot of planning, long evenings, problem-solving, and learning as we go - and we’re really excited to keep growing it from here.