Samantha Hornsby – Co-founder, Eric Festival

ERIC was started in late 2016 as a passion project by Sam and long-time friend Mae. The idea stemmed from their own experiences of failing to break into the creative industries and the realisation that the barriers to the creative sector can be broken, but no one seemed to be tackling it in a way that young people feel engaged. So they created ERIC, which exists to break down the barriers to the creative industries. Sam skipped university to pursue a career in PR & Communications before moving into a digital-focused role at a tech startup, Decoded. She is obsessed with politics (particularly the issues in the UK education system) and thinks everyone should follow the four-day day work-week.