An innovative building company bringing construction into the modern age, new products created from upcycled sports materials, and a board game teaching young people about online safety and the dangers of knife crime are among the business ventures pitched to an expert panel.
At a 'Pitch to the Experts' event, held at the Future Technology Centre on the University of Portsmouth campus on Wednesday 25 June, eight entrepreneurial students and graduates were given the opportunity to showcase their start-up businesses and ideas to a Panel comprising members of the University's Entrepreneur in Residence programme .
The event, led by the Student StartUp team in collaboration with the Business Engagement team, was designed to provide a supportive and safe environment for students and graduates to gain real life experience in securing attention, interest and feedback on their start-up ideas from business leaders, enabling the entrepreneurs to develop their confidence and ability to go on to secure investment.
Jaimes Harrington, Manager of the Entrepreneurs in Residence programme at the University of Portsmouth, said: "It was truly inspiring to watch our students present their innovative business ideas to a panel of accomplished entrepreneurs, many of whom are proud alumni of the University of Portsmouth. Their willingness to return and share their expertise, insights, and real-world experience added immense value to the event, providing our students with not only constructive feedback but also a powerful example of what they can achieve after graduation".
Each of the entrepreneurs pitching also had the chance to seek further advice from the individual panel members who between them have a vast array of experience and knowledge.
With four panel members being alumni, the event was their opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the University community by freely giving up their time to share their expertise with the up and coming entrepreneurs.
The Start-up Pitches
Among the ideas pitched were:
LocalLinked - a community platform bringing students, local businesses and charities together. We reward student users who support their local community with prizes, discounts and meal deals, all supplied by the very best local businesses in the city.
Shy Penguin Studios - a games development company currently developing the indie game 'A Recipe for Survival'. The game blends roguelike deck building with cozy cat-themed cooking.
My Streets - an innovative, educational board game designed to facilitate learning on crucial youth social issues, such as knife crime, online safety, drug abuse and areas of the PSHE curriculum.
Other companies included: Bear and Badger Ltd - an innovative construction company; Ascendit - a climbing clothing brand; and a company that takes waste products from sporting materials and upcycles them into new products.
The full day's programme included a round table discussion in which the startups had the opportunity to speak one on one with each of the EiR's and gain valuable advice and feedback whilst also having the chance to ask the important questions that would help them further develop their businesses
"What a fantastic day! There's been such an amazing array of pitches and business concepts by a range of really, really talented students and graduates. We've had everything from games to construction, through to up and coming fashion ideas. Really incredible, super exciting, super creative, really well thought through businesses and pitches. And I'm really excited to see where they go from here", said Tony Clark, Executive at Google and Entrepreneur in Residence.
Millie & Lily founders of student start-up 'Sporty Origins' said: "Thank you. Today was so inspiring, meeting so many experts in the industry and they've given us so much advice to start up our business. We look forward to taking this forward as part of the Self-Employed Placement year."
Student Start Up Support
The Student StartUp team is part of the Careers service at the University, providing students and recent graduates a wide range of support and opportunities to help them start or further develop their own start-up or freelance ideas.
