#varsitypitch2018 In partnership with: info pack
300+ ENTrIES seven categories ONE WINNER june - november 2018
the timeline june 2018 online vote 2 Online People s Vote Monday 1 st October (Midday) until Friday 5 th October (Midday) The applicant with the highest number of votes will be fast tracked to this year s LIVE finals. 1 get ready COMPETITION LAUNCH Cohort 1: Wednesday 6 th June (Midday) Friday 27 th July (Midday) Cohort 2: Wednesday 29 th August (Midday) Friday 28 th September (Midday) Entrants apply at varsitypitchcompetition.com 60 second video pitch, 2 categories to enter semi finals bootcamp 4 Tuesday 16th October, Location: Central London 5 3 shortlist Shortlist and Online People s Vote winner announced Wednesday 10 th October Wednesday 31st October Location: Central London the final Monday 12th November Location: Central London
The Competition summary NACUE s Varsity Pitch Competition is a national early stage business pitching competition that celebrates the best businesses coming out of colleges and universities across the UK. It has become one of the UK s flagship enterprise events, celebrating and showcasing the entrepreneurial flair of young businesses for the past nine years. The three stage competition format will showcase the breadth and depth of business creativity coming out of UK universities and colleges. As a featured event in Global Entrepreneurship Week, we ll host the grand final, where student and graduate startups will compete for 10,000 to develop their business and the national title. where we VE BEEN featured
Meet some of the previous Varsity Pitch Competition Winners Motus Innovation @motusinnov Aeropowder @aeropowder Blaze @blazefeed Motus Innovations is empowering stroke survivors to recover their independence through innovative technologies to significantly impact patients quality of life. A robotic rehabilitation device actively assists the patient to complete more therapy in their own home at their own pace, supporting all key movements of the hand and arm, whilst adapting to specific needs as the patient recovers. Combined with their interactive software platform, the patient can play games and track their progress making therapy fun whilst gathering important data about post-stroke recovery. AEROPOWDER are exploring several avenues developing novel, high value applications utilising waste chicken feathers. Propositions include lightweight, biodegradable composites; sound-absorbing panels; sustainable insulation materials and even water repellent coatings. These solutions will allow the possibility to not only tackle the pressing waste issue facing the poultry industry but also introduce products into wider society that will minimise societies impact on the environment. Blaze s vision was to become world leaders in urban cycling technology. Their Laserlight was created to tackle the biggest problem for city cyclists: being caught in the blind spot and now ships to more than 65 countries worldwide, as well as being incorporated into all of London s Santander Cycle bike share scheme bicycles. The launch of the first rear light, the Burner, was one of the most successful bike light campaigns in the history of Kickstarter. Find out more at motusinnovations.co.uk Find out more at aeropowder.com Find out more at blaze.cc
previous Varsity Pitch Competition finalists
The Categories Applicants can enter two of the following categories: Tata Social Impact Tata Disruptive Business Ideas with Ideas Patch and its Collaborators Genuine Innovation with New Beacon Group Digital and Technical with NatWest Creative and Design with University of Westminster Enter TWO categories and double your chances of winning!
the pitch How to shoot good one-minute videos using a smart phone Plan a script Flip it to film it Get good light Stabalise your smartphone 60 second Varsity Pitch Learn more here: http://bit.ly/shoot1min
The Judging Criteria We realise that there is a lot to fit into a 60 second pitch. The joy of the Varsity Pitch Competition is being able to effectively communicate your business in a short amount of time - precisely 60 seconds. Use your time effectively and make sure you tell us the following: Concept What is it? Consumer Who is it for? Uniqueness Why are you unique and different?
your commitment If you successfully wow our external judges and go through to the next stage of the event, we need to ensure that you will be available for each part of the competition going forward. Attendance at events As an applicant of the Varsity Pitch Competition 2018, we expect either yourself or a co-founder for your business to be in attendance at all events of the competition. Any applicants which cannot have a team member present at the Semi-Finals, Bootcamp and Grand-Finals will not be eligible to continue in the competition and another applicant will be chosen. semi finals Tuesday 16th October 2018 Location: NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator London, Regents House, 42 Islington High Street, Londol, N1 8XI bootcamp Wednesday 31st October 2018 Location: NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator London, Regents House, 42 Islington High Street, London, N1 8XI grand final Monday 12th November 2018 Location: 58VE, 58 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0DS
Testimonials NACUE is an outstanding partner for Tata and Varsity Pitch is a great platform for supporting students and young graduates to realise their potential. From what I ve seen over the years, there s no doubt the potential is immense D R. DAV I D L A N D S M A N Tata Varsity Pitch is the only competition I have entered where feedback is provided throughout - even to finalist teams that are eliminated. This is excellent! It was so well organised - very impressive. The organisers responded promptly to emails and communicated very well with participants throughout the process ST E P H A N I E H O D G S O N Former Head of Product at Motus Innovation, Varsity Pitch Winner 2017
in partnership with SUPPORTING PARTNERS
About NACUE NACUE (National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs) is committed to advancing education and supporting bespoke solutions in developing greater engagement with students, to encourage the knowledge building of enterprise and entrepreneurship, working with students from diverse backgrounds, providing unique opportunities to support them in developing the skills they need to succeed. Launched in 2009, NACUE completed a national roll out focusing on the development and sustainability of over 200 enterprise societies driven by young people on a peer-to-peer basis, with the support from the UK Government and corporate backers. NACUE runs some of the largest student enterprise events in Europe, such as the Student Enterprise Conference and has seen over 20,000 people attend their events. Their community alone has generated over 1,600 businesses in innovative spaces, creating hundreds of jobs and supporting the investment our country needs. They have engaged over 180,000 students in enterprising and entrepreneurial activities and are recognised by UNCTAD as a global best practice in youth-led enterprise models. About Tata Group Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata group is a global enterprise, headquartered in India, comprising over 100 independent operating companies. The group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, with a mission To improve the quality of life of the communities we serve globally, through long-term stakeholder value creation based on Leadership with Trust. Tata Sons is the principal investment holding company and promoter of Tata companies. Sixty-six percent of the equity share capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts, which support education, health, livelihood generation and art and culture. In 2015-16, the revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $103.51 billion. These companies collectively employ over 660,000 people. Each Tata company or enterprise operates independently under the guidance and supervision of its own board of directors and shareholders. There are 29 publicly-listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of about $134 billion (as on 31st March 2015). Tata companies with significant scale include Tata Steel, Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Global Beverages (Tetley Tea), and Tata Communications. (www.tata.com)
Semi Finals Congratulations you ve made it as a Semi Finalist for this year s Varsity Pitch Competition. You ve impressed our judges with your initial application and 60 second video pitch and they would like to meet you in person and hear more about your impressive business. You are invited to pitch in person on Tuesday 16th October in central London, between 9am-5pm - you will be advised of your slot in central London. You ll have two minutes to impress our judges by showcasing your business concept further, diving deeper into your impressive concept. *Please note, that you will be pitching without slides at this stage of the competition, we will ensure that we display a one holding slide with your business logo during your pitch. At this stage our judges are interested in hearing more about the market for your company, how your business could grow and how your business generates revenue. We require the name, mobile contact number and email of each of those pitching, to be submitted by Wednesday 10th October 2018. Samples/prototypes in the competition Please note; you are allowed to use samples/ prototypes in your pitch, however if the judge s request to see them, they can view your prototypes/ props during their time for questions. They cannot be left with the judges for the deliberation period. Your pitch must still fall within the two minutes and we cannot guarantee the safety of any belongings left unattended at the semi-finals/grand-finals, so please keep tabs on your stuff and we will be unable to place the items on display for the judges, that would be solely your responsibility. We will announce finalists throughout the day. We ve expanded on these for you here: INNOVATION Show us how your business will innovate its field. Are you shaking up an existing process, service or product with a new angle or approach? Are you creating an entirely new concept? Tell us about your unique selling point, how it differs from competitors and why your business is innovative. MARKET OPPORTUNITY Show us the demand for your business and your market opportunities. We want to know that you understand your market inside out and know exactly how your business fits within it. Do you have several markets available for your business to thrive in? Do you have a niche market but a great opportunity? Are you accessing a new market with your idea? Tell us how your business connects with its market and the potential (or existing) successes within that. FINANCIAL VIABILITY Tell us about the financial viability and stability of your business. How sustainable is your business? How will you try to prevent financial vulnerability; do you have several routes for sales, opportunities for funding from investment or grants? What is the plan for gaining and maintaining income for the business? Tell us about how you will manage the costs of starting up or growing your business. REMEMBER! Include names, mobile contact numbers and emails of each of those pitching. These should be submitted by 10 th October 2018 at 5PM
bootcamp Congratulations you ve been chosen as a finalist to represent your selected category. You are one step closer to winning that 10,000 (equity free) startup funding. On Wednesday 31st October, the 6 finalists and Online People s vote winner will be invited to an exclusive Bootcamp, with a maximum of two people attending from each finalist company. The Bootcamp is mandatory as not only does it provide you with the opportunity to have 1-2-1 mentoring with a range of industry experts but we will also be taking official photos for the finals promotion and brochure as well as conducting video interviews, to provide you with even more exposure for your company. All finalists will be required to submit their business plan by midday on Wednesday 24th October to ensure our mentors have the time to review them prior to the Bootcamp, to then provide you with feedback and top tips on your business plan to use for the finals. REMEMBER! Submit the first draft of your Business plan by Wednesday 24 th October 2018 at Midday You ll then have 10 days to apply the knowledge acquired and amend your finalist slides for your presentation at the finals as well as your business plan. These MUST be received by Tuesday 6th November 2018. REMEMBER! Send final amended Business plan as well as your slides for your presentation by Tuesday 6 th November 2018 5PM
grand final The Grand Final will take place on Monday 12th November 2018 this will be your chance to showcase your business to an audience of VIPs including MPs, investors, mentors and to executives from our sponsors and partners. In addition to your two minute pitch on stage to an esteemed panel of judges, you will have an exhibition space to showcase your business to all of these potential clients or supporters during the breaks at the event. A pop up banner sized space will be allocated to you, from which you can exhibit a prototype or show, via your website, what your company does. (Power may be limited so bring a fully charged laptop). You will be able to bring two guests to the final and names with emails will need to be submitted by Monday 6th November. Security is tight at the venue so no substitutions can be made after this date. REMEMBER! You ll be able to bring two guests to the final and names with emails will need to be submitted by the 6 th November 2018 5PM
get in touch Questions? Contact the Events Team: events@nacue.com 03333601746 Connect with us nacue.com @nacue facebook