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East London student wins £10,000 to start-up business

Friday 27 March 2009

A University of East London (UEL) student, who has created an innovative web application to support patients on home therapy programmes, has won £10,000 to start up his own business. The online application named ‘Rehab Tracker’ was designed by Tim Hunter, aged 32, from Kent, who is studying a Research Degree in Physiotherapy at UEL.

Tim was one of 8 finalists chosen to present their enterprise ideas at the E-Factor Business Plan Competition, which took place on Wednesday 25th March at the Knowledge Dock Business Centre, the University of East London’s (UEL) enterprise development service.

E-Factor, an annual event, sponsored by Tate & Lyle and London City Airport , offers enterprising students from UEL the opportunity to win a £10,000 business start-up grant to transform their business concept into a fully operational company, and one year’s free mentoring from an industry professional, including a year’s tenancy at HotHatch, the Knowledge Dock Business Centre’s hotdesking facility.

This year’s event attracted over 100 people, including East-End entrepreneur and philanthropist Jack Petchey, who officially opened the Jack Petchey Centre for Entrepreneurship at Knowledge Dock, earlier in the day. Jack was very enthused by the E-Factor concept and felt the students did a fantastic job:-

“I think the whole idea of a business plan competition for UEL students is marvellous! The finalists had clearly spent time developing their business idea and preparing for the final presentation, which will hold them in good stead for the future. My message to young entrepreneurs is - if it’s in your heart, you can make it.”

The winner was chosen by a panel of judges and an audience of local businesses and established entrepreneurs. Tim was delighted by his achievement:-

“I am very excited and relieved to have won. I realised this evening, more than ever, how much I wanted this, because I feel passionate about my business idea and know it will provide a solution to the problem of keeping patients on their recovery programme. I am a practicing Physiotherapist, so I know this service will work and help other therapists in their day-to-day practice.”

Each of the finalists had 3 minutes to pitch their business idea to a panel of expert judges – Rob Moss (Director of Knowledge Dock), Alison White, (Thames Gateway Programme Director, East London Business Alliance), Jason Choy, (Managing Director, Welcome Gate Ltd), and James King, (Managing Director, Find Invest Grow).

After they presented their business plan to the audience, the judges questioned the students on the unique selling points of their business proposition and how they would implement their strategy. Director of Knowledge Dock, Rob Moss, was very impressed by the diverse range of business ideas presented:-

“The students here this evening show true entrepreneurial spirit and a hunger to succeed. Knowledge Dock, as the enterprise development service for the University of East London, is passionate about encouraging entrepreneurship amongst our students, to help improve their commercial understanding and equip them with the skills they need to succeed in this competitive and challenging business environment.”

The second prize winner went to James Haddon for his music academy concept ‘Band Wagon’, designed to provide tuition of popular band instruments, such as guitar, vocals and drums, to 4 – 19 year olds. In third place was Ink Tank, an innovative graphic design company, created by Clara Brekke Lyndsay Segall, and Ryan Okane, for civil society organisations, allowing them to access publicity templates, including posters, flyers and stock images. Godwill Bindeeba, received a ‘Commended’ award for his company Quick Lingo Ltd, a translation service for SMEs.

However, it was ‘Rehab Tracker’ which caught the imagination of the majority of the audience, and now Tim is set to embark on an awareness raising campaign for his online physio progress tracker:-

“I’m going to be heading to trade conferences, targeting trade magazines and seeking new partnerships to get the application widely recognised. E-Factor has been a fantastic journey, I’ve learnt how to develop a business idea, based on a problem, and I now have good fundamental knowledge of how to turn my idea into a commercially viable business.”

Two former UEL students, Graham Hoffman and Rachel Cosford, each won £10,000 in previous E-Factor competitions. Graham, who was E-Factor’s 2007 winner, now runs console gaming events across the country, and Rachel, who won E-Factor this year, is successfully developing her interactive, online fashion brand.

Ends.

Contact: UEL Press Office Hana Esselink 020 8223 6239/ 07595 056245

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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