£100,000 start-up funding up for grabs at university pitching contest

Published by

Nicky Godding

DARO CfIE Showcase and Runway Awards

Founders will vie for a share of £100,000 in start-up funding at an event that showcases the work of dozens of young entrepreneurs.

The business community can watch University of Bristol students, staff and recent graduates compete at the Dragons’ Den-style event on May 7.

They can also visit an exhibition of creative business ideas from students who are about to graduate from the University’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Held in the University’s Richmond Building in Clifton, Bristol, the day involves: Runway pitching awards – start-ups with a connection to the University of Bristol pitching for a slice of £75,000 in funding from the University’s student incubator Runway

It also involves Quantum pitching awards where Quantum-related start-ups from the University will pitch for £25,000 in funding and a Student showcase: See the latest world-changing ideas from students. Ideas include AI music production, immersive learning experiences and new ways to teach financial literacy

The judging panel for the Runway pitching awards is made up of University alumni who have gone on to business success. The quantum awards panel is made up of investment professionals. Winners from both competitions will be announced on the day.

Investors, businesspeople and anyone with an interest in start-ups are welcome to come along.

Tom Ellson, Director of the University of Bristol Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said: “Business plans are being finalised and pitches are being polished for what is set to be our biggest funding contest yet.

“These competitions are always a highlight of the year and we’d love to see lots of Bristol locals there. It’s an opportunity to see some amazing ideas and meet a crop of talented young people who will soon be entering the job market.”

The £100,000 in funding was generously donated by University of Bristol alumni and the Jim and Peggy Wilkinson Innovation Fund, established by the late Mr and Mrs Wilkinson to help exciting ideas get off the ground.

Winners receive the funding as a grant and there is no obligation to pay it back. They are asked to sign up the Entrepreneurs’ Pledge, a non-binding agreement to help fund future University start-up competitions if they find business success.

Last year’s funding winners included:

SLANT: A tap-to-rent electric shopping trailer that attaches to a bicycle or e-scooter
Remap: Improving how people think, feel and perform through mental training routines
Ignaz: An innovative solution to reduce pressure sores in hospital beds
Impulsonics: Simplifying biotech lab automation by using sound waves to move cells
Mifu: AI automating micro-influencer marketing for better engagement with film audiences
Light Trace Photonics: A technical solution to rapidly set up experimental photonics rigs to simulate new products

Ben Wainwright, Chief Technology Officer at Remap, said: “At Remap, we’re making mental fitness as common as physical fitness by teaching people how to train their mind to improve wellbeing and performance.

“The Runway Awards was a fantastic experience for us to showcase and get feedback on our plans to grow the business. The competition led to an invitation to run a mental fitness workshop at an innovation conference, whist the prize money has helped us to launch our monthly events series and create content for our upcoming online community.”

The Showcase is part of Innovation Week 2024, which also includes an ‘Inspiring Innovation’ conference on the Thursday.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.