Michael Laurenson (right) of Blueshell Mussels  in Brae, Shetland distinguished himself at an entrepreneurs development programme at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston.

The programme, made possible through the partnership Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has developed with MIT. 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, representing one of seven businesses from the Highlands and Islands taking part in the week long programme. They worked with over 120 businesses from 30 countries across the world.

Michael is 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."

Blueshell Mussels is a family business formed in 1997 based in Brae, Shetland. It has developed world-leading cultivation techniques to supply quality mussels to leading restaurants and major supermarkets.

Bruno Berardelli, (left)  of Highland Wood Energy (HWE)  in Fort William and Michael Laurenson, of Blueshell Mussels in Shetland both excelled at the entrepreneurs development programme at the intensive week's training in Boston.

Last week Michael also attended a two day seminar hosted by HIE and held in Inverness and taught by MIT lecturers throughout the country which he found to be an excellent experience.

Blueshell Mussels is one of 350 growing businesses and social enterprises from across the region which HIE has been building an on-going client relationship with over the past two years. The aim to create development plans with positive outcomes for businesses and their communities. The closer working relationship and shared goals mean that HIE support can flow from the needs of the business.

The five other businesses that won sponsored places to MIT were:
Angus Grains - North Fish (Shetland) Ltd, Shetland.
Campbell Grant (right)  Sitekit, as used by H&IE,  Isle of Skye.
Bronwen Robinson - Zolk,Inverness.
James Ross - Global Energy Group (GEG) Inverness.
Kathleen Lohse - Vertex Data Science, Dingwall