E-Challenge 2007 Winners Proclaimed! Audio3 Takes Top Prize

Last updated 23 March 2007

The final of the London Entrepreneurs' Challenge 2007 was announced as part of the UCL Enterprise Showcase held on 13 March. The Enterprise Showcase highlighted entrepreneurial talent from UCL's past, present and future. Previous graduates, such as leading venture capitalist Patrick Sheehan represented the past, an exhibition of current research and spin-outs represented the present and the staff and students of the E-Challenge are the future!

The announcement of the winners of the competition market the climax of a six month programme of workshops and business plan writing. For the teams who had made it to the final day, there was much to do.

Every team that made the final had to submit a full, written business plan a few days before the final. Each of these was scored by at least two judges using a set of criteria that examined the plan's ability to communicate the idea and detail how the business could be made to work. On the day of the final each team presented to a panel of judges representing all aspects of new business formation including entrepreneurs, investors, lawyers and business advisors.

The scores from the written plans and the oral presentations were added together to find the winners of the competition, but before they were announced, a selection of the finalists made short elevator-pitch presentations to the audience of the Enterprise Showcase, who totalled some 130 people including the Provost of UCL and leading figures from the entrepreneurial community in London.

In the end, the winners were as follows:

• London Entrepreneurs' Challenge Champion 2007 - Audio 3 - £5,000
• The PG and Staff Category Winner - Bring it Back! - £3,000
• The UG Category Winner - Ace the OSCE - £3,000
• The Provost's Prize Winner - Audio 3 - £2,000
• Camden Innovation Bursary Winners - Eventful Evenings and Learning to Learn - £500 each in support from Centa

Timothy Barnes, E-Challenge Organiser, was pleased with the high quality achieved by the finalists,

"It may sound like a cliche to say that the standard gets better and better every year, but in this case it is true. The best of the written plans and presentations were worthy of companies looking to raise millions of pounds from venture capital investors - they could certainly achieve what they need to in the real world to get themselves up and running. The judges were very impressed."

	Audio3 is the E-Challenge Champion 2006/7. Audio3 have developed a business plan based on an idea developed by Brad Backus (UCL, The Ear Institute) and Steven Gilsdorf (LBS, MBA) for a series of portable audio speaker products. Brad and Steven (left), are shown here collecting their prize from the Provost of UCL, Sir Malcolm Grant. The team also won the Provost's prize, which aims to reward the team that shows the best combination of UCL and LBS team members.
	Bring it Back is this year's Postgraduate and Staff category winner. Bring it Back intends to offer a unique system that recycles brown water at the point it is required, making it suitable for reuse in applications such as washing machines and on board aircraft. Umair Rashid (right), team leader, is a graduate of UCL's Mechanical Engineering department and is currently completing an MSC in Entrepreneurship from UCL's Centre for Entrepreneurship. Umair had already demonstrated the potential for the technology by winning the first stage of the E-Challenge competition back in December 2006.
	The Undergraduate category was won by Vanita Gossain (UCL, Medicine) of Ace the OSCE. Vanita's idea was to launch a series of teaching and revision aids for medical students taking the OSCE practical exams. had The original idea for the business came from Vanita's (left) own experiences as a medical student, a personal insight that impressed the judges and enabled her to speak convincingly of the need for the products she described. It is Vanita's intention to launch the business over the summer, with financing from family and friends, and to have the first generation of products ready for the new student intake in the autumn.
	New for the 2007 competition were the Camden Innovation Bursaries. These consisted of two prizes, worth £500 each, of services at Centa, a local provider of virtual offices and other facilities for new businesses. The two prizes were collected by Learning to Learn (right, top) and Eventful Evenings (right, bottom). It is hoped that both businesses will now be developed beyond UCL in the real world. In the opinion of judges, both propositions represented viable business opportunities that could be grown and developed successfully within Camden. Learning to Learn is a service proposition that intends to help students of all ages learn crucial skills such as essay planning and speed reading. Eventful Evenings is an events management business with a social dimension. Ryszard Nowobilski (UCL, Archeology) intends to use charity buildings and facilities to business customers for events and special occasions. The Charities will then share a larger proportion of the income than they normally would. The teams are shown here receiving their prizes from Jacquie Mather, representing the sponsor, Camden Innovation.
	The final award of the evening went to MedicoSkills team led by Diana Marcus (UCL, Medicine) who collected their prize from E-Challenge organiser, Timothy Barnes, (left). The team were rewarded for the best elevator pitch during the Enterprise Showcase. The prize was awarded based on votes by members of the audience. The team's idea for making medical equipment available to students outside of teaching facilities so they can refine techniques at home was appreciated by every man in the audience who found their legs crossing at the team's graphic description of the need to practise!
All of the E-Challenge 2007 Winners - Well done to everyone!