The winners of the Summer Programme 2021 Santander Pitching Competition have been announced. Five successful student led start ups have been awarded £1,000 to further develop their businesses after pitching to three judges. 

With a wide variety of applicants for the prize fund from educational services to equestrian horse feed through to AI driven solutions and luxurious holiday resorts the three judges found it very difficult to decided just five winners this year. The three judges considered various elements during the five minute video pitches submitted virtually including financial health of the business, what the funding to be used for and how the start-up had benefitted from taking part in the Summer Programme. 

The five winning pitches (in no order) were: 

1. Finer Forage (Nia Cooke) - an equestrian feed organisation delivering bespoke species focused horse food to address dietary and metabolic issues in the horse community. 

2. Education Evolved (Matthew Leeper) - driven by a desire to make educational experiences accessible, Education Evolved delivers virtual study experiences opening up learning experiences to all.

3. My Academic Family (Carly McNamara) - motivated by being a first generation student, My Academic Family connects volunteer mentors with new students to help them navigate their experiences in the higher education system. 

4. Beyond Form Creative Writing (Tawnya Selene Renelle)  -  a creative writing hub offering courses, mentorship, publications, and events all dedicated to exploring experimental forms. 

5. mPulse-02 (Victor Ochoa-Gutierrez) - an inclusive bio-tech organisation that seeks to enable accurate measurement of blood oxygen level for everyone, an inclusive diagnosis of acute disease, for All

Rory Dick was also awarded £500 in addition to the other pitches to develop his business, Young Money, delivering financial education for 15-25 year olds. 

Marion Anderson, Student Enterprise Manager at the University of Glasgow said "this was one of the most highly competitive pitching competitions we have had. The standard of pitchs and range of business ideas was outstanding. Well done to all our participants for taking part, regardless of winning or not, this will have been great experience for you to further develop your business ideas for the future" 

 

 

First published: 22 September 2021

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