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Two UoB students through to the final of NatWest Business pitching competition
In celebration of Global Entrepreneur Week last November, NatWest Business launched a new competition #GEW10K where they showed new businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs how to write a 60-second pitch, with the chance to take home £10,000!
NatWest ran hundreds of free virtual pitching workshops around the country throughout Global Entrepreneurship Week, where they helped participants structure, write and deliver a killer 60-second pitch, helping them stand out from the crowd by sharing themselves or their business idea in a concise, compelling and creative way. There were 7562 attendees across all workshops, 768 pitch submissions and 128 entries were shortlisted resulting in 25 finalists.
NatWest ran a fantastic virtual workshop especially for members of the University of Bath Student Enterprise Entrepreneurship Programme and encouraged as many entrepreneurial students as possible to submit their 60-second pitch to the competition that was open to any budding entrepreneur not just students. We’re extremely pleased to announce that not one but two University of Bath students have made it through to the Grand Live Final in February! Congratulations to both James Russ and Will Hughes who are now in with a chance of winning £10,000 and six months business support. To have two finalists from Bath out of 768 pitch submissions is a huge achievement!
James Russ, with his startup idea, Testmyteeth, on making it through to the final said:
“20% of adults lose teeth to dental disease by the age of 40. Testmyteeth aims to remove the barriers to treatment by offering smart diagnosis and efficient patient triaging online. I am extremely excited to have been shortlisted for the NatWest Business Pitch Final, which will provide an amazing opportunity to present my idea to leading experts!”
Good luck James!
Will Hughes with his startup idea, Staxy - a student specific platform which enables University students to carpool with one another resulting in both financial and environmental benefits, said:
“I am delighted to have been shortlisted for the live final and can’t wait to pitch my business idea to the judges on February 11th.”
Good luck Will!
University of Bath Graduate Enterprise Manager, Siobain Hone told us,
“I am thrilled - although not at all surprised - that two of the students on our University of Bath Entrepreneurship Programme - Will and James - have made it through to the NatWest Pitching Competition Final! They both delivered excellent pitches and deserve to be in the final few - I don't envy the judges having to pick a winner from such stiff competition.”
Gordon Merrylees, head of entrepreneurship, NatWest said:
A compelling pitch is one of the most important tools for any entrepreneur. Whether it’s to secure new business, attract investment or simply just to get noticed, pitching is a crucial stepping stone to success. We know that the current circumstances have led to thousands of people going it alone and starting their own business, and as the UK’s leading bank for start-ups we want to help every step of the way – and that’s why we’re delighted to be launching this year’s challenge, because success often starts with a great pitch. We wish everyone taking part the best of luck.
NatWest’s Entrepreneur Accelerator programme was recently recognised as the top accelerator in the UK for size and growth by independent business consultancy Beauhurst. The bank has supported in excess of 30,000 entrepreneurs through its Business Builder and Entrepreneur Accelerator programmes, where it offers coaching, tools and support free of charge to entrepreneurs across the UK. We advise anyone who is starting a business to take a look at the help NatWest Business provides.
Good luck to James and Will for the final round of the competition! Want to find out what happened next? Click here for an update.
If you have a business idea and would like to be kept informed about exciting opportunities such as this then please email enterprise@bath.ac.uk or check out the programme here. Please note this programme is available to students only.
