The StartUp Sussex judges were impressed by the elegance of Richard Ogotedon’s design for a bathroom product to reduce water wastage.

Eight entrepreneurial students and new graduates have won funding to help turn their business brainwaves into emerging enterprises.

Each of the winners of the StartUp Sussex competition will receive a cash injection as well as mentoring from experts in the Sussex Innovation Centre (SInC), the campus-based business incubator.

Thirty-one students entered the summer round of the twice-yearly competition and 12 shortlisted applicants pitched their ideas on Monday (22 July) to a panel of judges from the Careers and Employability Centre (CEC) and SInC, who jointly organise the competition.

Of the eight winners, two received enterprise awards of £2,000 and three picked up social enterprise awards of £5,000. Three more won a £500 development award for social enterprise.

Peter Lane, Innovation Support Manager at SInC, said: "We were extremely impressed with the high quality of entries in this year's Startup Sussex competition.

“The applicants we have selected to receive funding showed both dedication to their projects and insight in abundance, and we at the Centre are looking forward to working with them, as they continue to build on the initial steps they have taken towards successful entrepreneurial careers."

Enterprise winners

• The judges recognised that Brandon Perree (a second-year History and Politics student) and Danny Noam (a second-year Informatics undergraduate) had thoroughly researched the customer demand and market potential for their website, which helps fellow students to navigate the various club nights in Brighton, and they were impressed by Danny's presentation to the panel.
• The judging panel decided that Max Reynard's ergonomic and portable product to enhance travel comfort has great potential for a wide range of customers. Max, who graduated this year with a degree in Product Design, also had a very clear idea how the prize fund might be used to help develop his business.

Social enterprise winners

• The judges were impressed by the elegance of new graduate Richard Ogotedon’s design for a bathroom product to reduce water wastage and the solution it provides to a real environmental concern. Richard came up with the design for his final-year Product Design project.
• 2013 International Relations graduate Paul Clewett is setting up a programme to help disadvantaged young people and migrants find work and develop language skills. The judges saw that Paul's model could deliver its aims of providing jobs in the community and aiding the integration of migrants into society.
• Joshua Long and Jos Van Der Steen, who graduated this summer from the School of Business, Management and Economics, have identified a clear opportunity and strategy for building a business platform for current and former students to buy and sell pre-owned study materials.
• Maxmillan Martin, a research student reading for a PhD in Geography, is setting up a social enterprise to communicate insight from new academic climate research to at-risk communities worldwide. The judging panel were impressed by the wide-reaching social benefits of the enterprise, combined with Maxmillan's relationship with the academic climate research community.
• Jamal Maxey, a postgraduate on the MA in Environment, Development and Policy, is developing a monitoring app for mobile-phone and tablet users with elderly, infirm and vulnerable relatives. The judges felt that Jamal's RaiseCARE product addresses a growing demand for accountability in the social care system in an innovative way, and that the scheme could offer him support with further market research for his idea.
• The judging panel recognised Jez Parsons’ passion and enthusiasm for her training and consultancy company to encourage co-operative care in the community. They felt that Jez, a postgraduate student on the MA in Social Work, would benefit from the business model development opportunities that the scheme can offer her project.

The panel of judges included Linda Buckham, Director of the CEC; Kevin Elliot, Operations Director of web marketing agency White Hat Media; Arjo Ghosh, a non-executive director of Digital Strategy and an independent member of Council (the University’s governing body); David Lane, Director of app developer Bright AI; Peter Lane, Innovation Support Manager at SInC; Peter Ptashko from the UnLtd HE programme; and Sarah Windsor, Director of internet trainer INSET online.

The StartUp Sussex competition is the culmination of a rolling programme of StartUp Sussex events on campus. It is funded from the HEFCE Higher Education Innovation Fund and by UnLTD, a charity supporting social entrepreneurs in the UK.

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