Business Entrepreneurship alumnus on launching his own six-figure agency

When asked what drew him to Falmouth to study BSc(Hons) Business Entrepreneurship & Innovation, alumnus Archie Miles shared how the university’s encouraging ethos for students to start real ventures, experiment and learn by doing in a setting that combines business education with a creative, modern environment, offered a unique experience that taught him how to collaborate, experiment and build connections in addition to gaining his degree. 

Now just three years later, Archie has taken the skills he gained from his time at Falmouth to help him launch his own business Shore Link, an agency which has now grown into a successful company with a six-figure turnover.  

We chatted with Archie to learn more about how Falmouth prepared him for the real world of business and the advice he would give to anyone looking to curate their own career. 

How did your time at Falmouth prepare you for the reality of establishing your own business?  

Falmouth gave me the freedom to experiment without the fear of failure. I must have tried to start nearly ten different businesses during my time there, and only the final one worked, but that process taught me more than any textbook could. The course encouraged constant iteration, learning from mistakes and pushing ideas further each time.  

It was also an environment where I built genuine lifelong connections. I met friends across creative, technical and entrepreneurial disciplines who continue to play an important role in my life and career. Those relationships, combined with the space to test real ventures, prepared me well for the realities of building and running a business.  

Did you find it useful studying in a creative environment? 

Being surrounded by filmmakers, designers, photographers and digital creatives taught me how to collaborate across disciplines, which are skills that I now use daily. I often worked with students from other courses on branding, content and marketing projects, which helped me understand the power of visual communication and creative problem-solving. 

The main video on my website was produced, shot and edited by the BA(Hons) Film students I worked with while at Falmouth. Two years later, it's still there. 

Can you tell us more about the course your career has taken since your time as a student? 

After graduating, my career took a global path. At the end of my second year, Falmouth funded a trip to Australia where I spent a year working for an outsourced recruitment agency called Level Up Outsourcing. That experience was transformative. I learned how international hiring works, how to build remote teams and how to deliver a high-quality service across time zones. Those foundations became the blueprint for my own business.  

When I returned to the UK, I launched Shore Link, and after some challenges in the early stages, the business grew into a six-figure agency. Some of my highlights have been helping companies save up to 70% on staffing costs while increasing productivity, sponsoring my first sports event in Australia and building a network of top Filipino specialists across multiple industries. 

Through all of it, the achievement I’m most proud of is proving to myself that I can build something sustainable from scratch and turn it into a vehicle for creating opportunities globally.  

Can you tell us more about your agency, Shore Link?  

Shore Link recruits highly skilled remote specialists from the Philippines and places them into UK companies. We focus on roles such as executive assistants, video editors, marketing specialists and AI-driven technical roles. A typical day for me can include reviewing job briefs from clients, interviewing and vetting candidates, coordinating with our internal Filipino team, working on sales and partnerships, creating content for LinkedIn to build the brand and supporting clients through onboarding and performance management. Every day has a mix of recruitment, strategy and content creation.  

Are you embracing any new technology to enhance your business?  

AI plays a major role across recruitment, editing and internal operations. We use AI tools to streamline candidate sourcing, process automation, video repurposing for social media and operational documentation. This keeps the business lean, efficient and competitive.  

What advice do you have for prospective students hoping to follow in your footsteps?  

Start building something while you’re at university, even if it’s small. Use the creative community around you; other students can become collaborators, clients or even your first team members. Take risks early, learn from failure and treat your time at Falmouth as a testing ground for your ideas. If you’re proactive and willing to experiment, you’ll leave with far more than a degree.  

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