After a jam-packed 3-days of extensive entrepreneurial training at RBS, Gogarburn, it was time for our top 30 participants to face the countdown clock and take centre stage for the annual Ready, Steady, Pitch event. This formed part of a full day “Educational Journey of an Entrepreneur”collaborative event on June 2nd between Converge Challenge, Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE) and Young Enterprise Scotland, building on the Scotland Can Do agenda.
Earlier in the week,our ‘Class of 2016’ were given the opportunity to rehearse in the impressive RBS auditorium where they were taught how to best structure and deliver a60-second elevator pitch – minus the 250+ strong audience! A daunting task for even the most seasoned public speaker, however we were safe in the knowledge that our pitch perfect trainer, Maryanne Johnson from Neuehansa Ltd, would be putting them through their paces.
Back to Ready, Steady, Pitch! Ahead of the main event,Young Enterprise Scotland showcased the start of an entrepreneurial journey with the Inventor Challenge, designed to bring Scottish inventors into the lives of learners in P5-P7. Twenty P6 children from Flora Stevenson Primary were asked to design a new futuristic invention to present on stage, which included a cookie phone and “Smiley TV”that comes with sweets! The children’s creativity, confidence and positivity was a refreshing start to the afternoon and the audience very much enjoyed seeing the next generation of entrepreneur stake to the stage.
To kickstart the elevator pitch proceedings, Olga Kozlova, Director of Converge Challenge Director, spoke about the year-on-year growth of the programme as well as the diverse range of innovative and exciting ideas emerging from Scotland’s higher education sector, which has paved the way for a new Design& Creativity prize in 2016 to celebrate the Year of Innovation,Architecture and Design!
After an understandably anxious wait, it was time for our top 30 take to the stage and convince the judging panel in just 60-seconds that their cutting-edge idea was the real deal! Our expert judging panel*had the (second) most difficult task of the afternoon – choosing a pitch winner! Each pitch was assessed on the basis of clarity, market opportunity, competition advantage and mainly, if they would like to hear more!
Shreesh Agarwal from Glasgow School of Art was first to race the giant 60-second countdown clock,with propositions ranging from toys to diagnostic kits and from prosthetic limbs to sports equipment. Once all 30 had pitched – phew! - the judges made their way out to the sunny RBS terrace to deliberate whilst the audience were treated to two powerhouse speakers: Dr Chris Leburn, Managing Director of Chromacity and Converge Challenge alumni, and Susan Fouquier, Regional Managing Director of Business Banking, Royal Bank of Scotland.
After much discussion, the judges crowned Anna Renouf the pitch perfect champion! A student from University of Highlands & Islands, she has devised a pioneering new saddle that will offer superior fit and improvements for horse welfare. Second place was awarded to Corien Staelsfrom University of Glasgow who pitched Wheelair - a cooling wheelchair pad to prevent overheating for people with a Spinal Cord injury. And in third place, Susanne Mitschke, also from University of Glasgow who pitched MindMate, an assistance platform for people with dementia, their caregivers& family members.
For the first time in Converge history, all three of our pitch winners were female! Anne, Corien and Susanne wowed our judges by delivering strong, confident, informative, and, most importantly, unforgettable pitches that stood out from the crowd.
A HUGE well done to all 30 Converge Challengers who took part in the elevator pitch and three big cheers for our well-deserved winners! We’re incredibly lucky to be able to both support such an inspiring group of people and help them, along with many others, turn their ideas into a reality!
Next up, our entrepreneurs are invited to attend a 1-2-1 business surgery on the 5th (Edinburgh) or 6th (Glasgow) July where they will have an opportunity to speak face-to-face with our expert partners and the Converge team before the submission of their business plan which will determine who progresses to the Final 10 in August. Good luck to you all!
Read the first part of this BLOG here.
