Tuesday 29th September is the date of the Converge Challenge Award Ceremony as we celebrate the work of some of the brightest new entrepreneurs coming out of Scottish Universities. The evening marks the culmination of months of hard work by Converge Challenge, KickStart and Social Enterprise participants and all those who have supported them including other support organisations that make up the fantastic Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Scotland.
So now is the perfect time to take a quick look down memory lane at Converge Challenge 2015!
Phase 1: We launched at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on February 26th. Entries were open to staff, students and academics of Scottish Universities and Research Institutes*. All applications went into a supportive development programme and competitive process which saw them in June reduced to 30 after the submission of ideas deadline in early May 2015.
Phase 2: The highlight each June of the Converge Challenge Entrepreneurial training is a three day residential training course where each Converge finalist was trained in pitching, as well as in other vital aspects of starting and running a small business – marketing, finance and intellectual property to name but a few. At the same time the KickStart and Social Enterprise finalists took part in a two day residential training containing key elements of business training. In the middle of this training was the Converge Elevator Pitch competition, an exciting event where all 30 Converge final participants gave a 60 second pitch of their idea to a panel of judges and invited audience, where the winner (Daniel Good of Palpation Diagnostics (then E-Finger a joint project between Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh) walked away on the night with a brand new Ipad Air, a sense of pride and great relief that the experience was over. Guest speakers included Chris van der Kuyl and Kerry Sharp. This event also included a project exhibition which showcased the designs of each of the top 30.
Phase 3: The class of 2015 used their knowledge and training to write their Business plan which was submitted in early August. An experienced judging panel chose the top 10 to progress on in the competition in the Converge Challenge, KickStart and Social Enterprise categories.
Phase 4: The ten shortlisted Converge Challenge business plans were re-evaluated by an External Judging Panel and six finalists moved on to phase 4. The six Converge Challenge finalists will now deliver an investor pitch to these same judges on Tuesday 29th September 2015 after which the winners will be selected. For the KickStart and Social Enterprise category finalists there is nothing more they can do as their entries have now been judged by their panel of judges. All winners will be announced at a Gala Awards dinner at the magnificent Barony Hall, Strathclyde hosted by Principal and Vice Chancellor Sir Jim McDonald with guest speaker Deputy First Minister, John Swinney MSP.
Converge Challenge will award over £100,000 made up of cash and in kind business and mentoring support to help start their businesses at the 2015 Awards evening.
In order to participate in Converge Challenge our participants not only had "to rise to the challenge" but also devote a lot of their time to turning their ideas into reality. This shows clear determination deserving for future entrepreneurial stars. Converge Challenge is excited to be part of their journey and we look forward to sharing in their future successes and continuing to support our alumni. We'd like to take this opportunity to wish the 'Class of 2015' good luck!
* Full eligibility can be found in our T&Cs.
