Many of the region’s brightest entrepreneurs were recognised at Robert Gordon University’s latest Startup Accelerator Showcase.
The university’s flagship entrepreneurial programme culminated in a packed-out final event which included Dragons Den-style pitches before nine prizes were awarded to those who most impressed the judges and live audience.
The big winner on the night was That Conversations Movement, an inspiring start-up created by Chris Burnett that encourages intentional conversations between people. His entry has already attracted many friends, partners and families to events, and he ultimately won both the Community Impact Award and the Audience Award, taking home a total of £13,000.
On his triumph, Chris couldn’t hide his delight: “I’m absolutely buzzing to be fair. This has been a fantastic programme. I came into it having started a business but not really sure what to make of it in terms of the impact we were trying to achieve, but the Accelerator has really helped to get to grips with what we want to do as a business. Tonight is a combination of a lot of a lot of really good lessons and to walk away with two prizes is hard to believe really.
“The real next step is to establish ourselves in locations we're already in. We're running events and the hardest thing about events is to get the word out beyond the people we know. The money will go a long way towards helping with that marketing effort.”
InGlaze, already £50,000 winners in this year’s Scottish EDGE competition earlier in March, won an additional £5,000 here in the SRM Foundation Innovation Award. The local firm has created magnetic secondary glazing that are affordable and easily adjustable for windows of all types.
Luci Carey, co-founder, said they hoped to continue to receive mentorship and training at RGU while also tackling the task at hand. Asked on what’s next for the InGlaze, she added: “Basically, we start working next week!”
Elsewhere, IM Innovation won £5,000 through the Felix Chung Sustainability Award having invented a retrofitted device that uses AI visual recognition and machine learning to address and reduce food waste in commercial kitchens.
Cohort participants were judged by Donella Beaton, vice principal for economic development at RGU; Mohan Fernando, chief executive officer at the Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT), a transnational enterprise (TNE) partner of RGU’s, who travelled from Sri Lanka to attend; and Shehan Heguragamage, previous Accelerator participant and co-founder of Archilink.
Speaking on the night, Donella Beaton said: “Each year the participants of our Startup Accelerator programme continue to amaze us with their entrepreneurial mindset and inspiring commitment to the process and their business ideas.
“This year’s cohort embodies the university’s strategic mission to transform people and communities with their creative and forward-thinking innovations. Congratulations to each of them for successfully completing the near five-month programme and particularly to tonight’s award winners. I look forward to watching ideas become a reality here in Aberdeen as we strive to continue stimulating the economic prosperity of the North-east.”
Other winners at the Showcase included Juan McKenzie of Poseidon Rescue who took home both Best Pitch Award and the ‘Extra Mile’ Award. He has invented an autonomous life saving system with the aim of drastically reducing accidental water incidents.
The event began with a video address from Kirsty McNeill MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office), who highlighted Scotland’s proud and rich history of being at the forefront of entrepreneurialism while thanking RGU for the role it plays in contributing to the government’s number one mission of economic growth.
The Showcase marked a celebration of Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with a particular focus on space. A panel that included Anastatia Mayers, the youngest woman to have gone to space; Peter Anderson, Chief Commercial Officer at AAC Clyde Space; and Dr Hina Khan, Head of Commercial at Craft Prospect discussed the nation’s growing involvement in the sector.
This year was the University’s seventh successful Startup Accelerator. It included 12 different nationalities, 50% of whom are women. In all, over 130 start-up companies have been launched following participation in the programme, comprising of over 250 individuals - each significantly contributing to the city, region and wider nation’s economic, social and cultural development.
The year’s programme received a financial boost following successful funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) through Aberdeen City Council. Funding enabled substantial prize money for prospective applicants from across the North East, and wider, to apply. The only limitation for this year’s cohort was that their business ideas must be focused on starting up in Aberdeen, driving the local economy and putting faith in the region.
RGU, through its Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group (EIG) and other initiative interdisciplinary collaborations, has integrated entrepreneurialism across its education and embedded it within curriculum – ensuring all of its students and staff are given both the knowledge and freedom to express their creativity and put ideas into practice.