Bence Szórádi, a former electrical engineering student of Széchenyi István University has had an unusual journey. At the age of 19, in parallel with his studies he launched his business and has not stopped since then. This successful businessman won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the age of only 24 and was soon on the cover of Forbes, just one month after defending his thesis. He told us about this unique career journey.
Bence Szórádi, from Győr, studied at Széchenyi István University since 2008, majoring in electrical engineering, but his life was not that of an ordinary student.
“I came to the university from Pattantyús-Ábrahám Géza Technical School of Győr, thus I started my studies with strong professional bases. Before my bachelor’s degree programme, I spent a year as an intern at Audi Hungaria, where my colleagues and I were one of the first generation of the company’s Talent Programme.
As an electrical engineering student, I joined the self-study group of the University’s Jedlik Ányos Specialised College dealing with telecommunications and automation and participated in the Scientific Students’ Associations Conference. My topic was an LED light source of my own design and manufacture with which I qualified for the National Scientific Students’ Associations Conference, where I came second. Besides, in March 2009, at the age of nineteen, I started a really exciting project: I launched my own business”, said Bence.
Bence Szórádi, a former student of Széchenyi István University is currently exploring new investment areas.
The idea for his company, now known as Bravolight Ltd, was born at an international conference.
„My father and I started talking about different light sources after an engineering conference. He saw the LED as the light of the future, but I quickly replied it was the light of the present. This is where the idea for the business came from: we started looking at online shops and found a company abroad that sold such light sources. Lucky for us, they were in Vienna that weekend at a trade expo, where we agreed that we would be very happy to introduce this product to the Hungarian market. We then set up a company and started working together. At first we ordered the light sources from Germany, later from China, and the company gradually took off: we started with a box, then a carton, and later reached several pallets”, he says.
In the meantime, the young entrepreneur successfully progressed with his studies at the university, where he was inspired by many of his teachers.
„I learned a lot from Dr. Otto Zsebők, as he had a business in addition to teaching, so it was easy to find common ground. Dr. Miklós Kuczmann also provided me with useful knowledge in business management: his firm teaching style and open expectations taught me to apply this direct communication later on as a manager. I had the opportunity to meet Attila Jáger outside the walls of the university as well: as a contractor we worked together in the light painting on the Night of Museums in Győr in 2012”, he emphasised. As a student, he was also involved in organising a university entrepreneurship club, which gave young people the opportunity to connect and share experiences.
After the early years of his business, the businessman has continued to increase the number of his projects and awards. In 2010, his company became Philips’ national dedicated LED partner. In 2013, he was awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year, then in 2014 he made Forbes’ first list of „30 Successful Hungarians Under 30” and the magazine’s cover. In the same year, he successfully defended his thesis on a topic closely related to his business and produced the product developed in his thesis.
His company became the largest Philips LED distributor in Hungary by 2016, then in 2017 it was acquired by Bravogroup Holding in an „acqui hire (talent acquisition)” scheme.
Nowadays, Bence Szórádi’s main tasks are to attract young managers to this renowned, almost 40-year-old group of companies and to explore new areas that have the potential to grow at a similar rate to the group’s other activities over the next 20 years and could be excellent investments.
“In my work I am currently focusing on energetics, as this is an area that is undergoing significant changes. I am attracted by new challenges. I have learnt from one of my mentors that only the talented and persistent are lucky in the long run”, he emphasized. The successful entrepreneur also invites applications from talented young people and university students for the Bravotalent programme, where they will also be helped to develop marketable business ideas.
