Student Venture Challenge
Student Venture Challenge 2012: Finalists, judges and organisers
The pitching day and judging for Student Venture Challenge 2012 has now taken place and the winners announced. We would like to congratulate the winners and thank all participants, members of the judging panel and our sponsors, Santander UK plc, Browne Jacobson LLC and MarkeTest.
The winning students are as follows:
First Place
Otto: Chris Pearson (MEng Hons Mechanical Engineering)
Student Venture Challenge 1st place award winner, Chris Pearson of Otto.
Otto uses a novel application of technology to help remind owners of house plants to water them when necessary. The idea has potential for domestic and commercial applications.
Second Place
CabGrab: Greg Burke (BEng Hons Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy Systems) & Marvin Plummeridge (BSc Hons Computer Science)
Student Venture Challenge 2nd place award winners, Marvin Plummeridge and Greg Burke of CabGrab
A taxi booking app for smartphones which locates the nearest taxi companies and enables users to place an order directly based on their preferences and others’ ratings.
Third Place
The Pocket Square Company: Alexander Hawken (BA Hons Management Studies)
Student Venture Challenge 3rd place and best pitch award winner, Alex Hawken of The Pocket Square Company
The Pocket Square Company designs, manufactures and sells luxury pocket squares handmade in the UK from the finest quality materials.
Entrepreneurial Grants
The competition was also used as a way of selecting recipients of a number of Entrepreneurial Grants made available to students working on business ideas by the Careers and Employability Service. The successful applicants were as follows:
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Escape-Pods - David Bailey
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VisitMe - Oliver Pople & Andrew Forbes
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Pappzd - Annabelle Obiri & Nadia Mbire
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CabGrab - Greg Burke & Marvin Plummeridge
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Otto - Chris Pearson
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KIKs Books - Ben Hallatt
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Alexander Hawken - The Pocket Square Company
Student Venture Challenge 2012 Supporters
We would like to extend our thanks to those organisations and individuals who helped make the Challenge a success this year.
Our sponsors:
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Santander UK plc
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Browne Jacobson LLC
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MarkeTest
Our Judging Panel:
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Linda Brentnall - Santander UK plc
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Stuart Ross - The High Growth Academy
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Graeme Dixon & Doug Garforth - Route to Funding
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Beccy Coleman - University of Nottingham Careers & Employability Service