University of East London Homepage

University announces Business Plan Competition Finalists

Wednesday 22 December 2010

Venture Catalyst

The new Venture Catalyst competition today announced the top ten local finalists from the University of East London, who will be going through to the local final stage of the competition to compete for one of three places to represent UEL at the regional final stage of the competition.

Over 100 students and graduates entered into the competition where they received advice and support, including workshops and online webinars to develop their business idea. The entrants were then required to submit a 500 word summary of their business idea and a panel of judges selected the top ten ideas to battle for the right to represent UEL at the regional finals, where they will compete with finalists from fifteen other universities across London.

The competition offers overall investment of £30,000 to the successful entrants at the local final stage of the competition and there will be an opportunity to gain further financial investment in the final stage of the competition from investors who are looking to invest in business ideas with great potential, as well as an overall prize fund for the winners of the competition which will be announced in the New Year.

Amongst the top ten finalists to make it through to the local final stage of the competition is MA Architecture: Sustainability & Design student Paula Denby with her business idea Pop Up Design Ltd, an innovative retail concept that gives new designers the opportunity to retail their exclusive bespoke products in London’s thriving cultural, arts and design hot spots.

Paula said: “I was delighted to make it through to the top ten stage of the competition where I hope to further develop my business model. I’m really excited about the prospect of developing my business through the competition. I hope my idea is robust enough to represent UEL at the regional final stage so that I can access the support provided by professional services firms and get the opportunity to pitch my idea to real investors.”

Thorsten Klein, Student Enterprise Manager at UEL, said: “The competition departs significantly from the traditional business plan competitions as students who get far enough in the competition will have the chance to win investment from real investors and get feedback on the attractiveness of their business ideas. Unlike traditional competitions there is a strong possibility that all the good ideas might attract funding instead of the winner only receiving financial support to start up their business”.

James King, Managing Director, of leading graduate investment company, Find Invest Grow Ltd, said “The 16 Universities participating in the Venture Catalyst program have led by example. Their entrepreneurial approach, to establish a new program that delivers a platform for students to build businesses, engages professional advisors as well as external investors and most importantly, encourages university students to work together. Venture Catalyst will provide tried and tested tools from the alternative investment market to students for free. When starting a business it is important the students analyse their ideas thoroughly and get feedback from people who have experience and they know they can trust”.

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.

Information for screenreader users:

For a general description of these pages and an explanation of how they should work with screenreading equipment please follow this link: Link to general description

For further information on this web site’s accessibility features please follow this link: Link to accessibility information