The Investment Competition, which closed on January 31st, attracted a record number of entries, not only from Yorkshire-based companies, but across the country. The response has been fantastic and we’ve seen a number of really exciting start ups and more established businesses which show signs of high growth potential. The winner stands to win a prize pot of support services worth £49,000 from the following:
For details of the Innovation Showcase Participants, click here.
1. York Science Park: www.yorksciencepark.co.uk. 6 months of office space for up to 6 people
2. MFL Science and Technology Brokers: Commission free insurance services to the value of £1000
3. Atkinsons: Accountancy Services to the value of £4500
4. The Partners Group: Pathfinders workshop with an equivalent value of £1500
5. HR180: HR Support Service for 6 months valued at £3300
6. PD-m Design: 4 days of consultancy across a range of services
7. Garbutt & Elliott. 3 days, or 24 hours of financial management consultancy services
8. Finance Mix / Atkinsons. Business Development coaching to the value of £4500
9. Intuitive Business Intelligence. Level 5 user concurrent licence system
10. Financial Pulse. 5 day intensive workshop on producing a business plan, worth £2500
The finalists:
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Cumulus Energy Storage
Cumulus Energy Storage aims to be the grid-level energy storage battery manufacturer with the lowest cost battery technology, globally.
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Geco Industries
Geco Industries’ flagship product, which is manufactured in Sheffield, is a safe and environmentally friendly gel fuel used for cooking and heating in camping. Within two years of launching, founder Lewis Bowen had secured orders from major UK retailers, including Blacks, Millets and Go Outdoors, and recently won a £250,000-a-year, six-year deal with a European retailer.
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UGOT
ÜGOT is a rapidly expanding chain of Frozen Yoghurt, Juice & Health food bars which aim to change people’s perception on health food by enabling consumers to grab healthy food in a dynamic, relaxed atmosphere. All the food is made fresh daily, the juice is cold pressed to keep all its natural goodness and the yoghurt contains little-to-no fat. ÜGOT gives consumers the opportunity to live a healthy, on-the-go lifestyle without compromising on taste or fun.
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Co-Ignition (website coming soon)
A simple-to-use, global talent platform which gives employers & recruiters full control of the recruitment process and associated costs. With no boundaries to search, Co-ignition makes it easy to discover and place exceptional people, worldwide.
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mylearnadfriend
mylearnadfriend creates e-learning software for direct sale to businesses and organisations across all sectors. These e-learning solutions are interactive training systems; containing immersive content with an optional integrated advertising functionality.
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Think Eleven
Think Eleven Ltd are the developer and supplier of an online training, competency, compliance and performance management system - SkillStation™.
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Luminescent
A stolen car detection alert system. The unique visual car alarm displays the word “STOLEN” in bright, flashing lights on the number plates while tracking an illegally-moved vehicle.
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Tickx
TickX is a search engine and comparison app for event tickets, currently displaying an assortment of club nights, gigs, festivals, sports, lifestyle, theatre and comedy shows.
The Investment Competition
These eight finalists will now pitch their businesses to a judging panel, in front of a room full of potential investors, and the winner will receive a bonus prize package worth £50,000 (details of which will be revealed soon). To be in that room, you’ll need to register. Each of these businesses are seeking capital to grow, so the opportunities are open for investment from interested parties. And you could be part of it - GrowthFunders brings early stage investing to a much wider investor base. With investments from as little as £100, investing in this exciting asset class is now more affordable and accessible, which is fantastic if you’re not a “traditional” angel, you can still access some lucrative tax reliefs and support the next generation of innovative British Businesses.
The Investment Competition is organised by GrowthFunders and is kindly supported by GrowthAccelerator and The Shepherd Group.