A De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) student has won £1,000 to help develop her business after being crowned the winner of the winter round of Pitch2Win.
Third year Journalism and Media student Emma Guy was given the award for her online news platform Evade.
The competition challenges entrepreneurial students and graduates to come up with a business idea which they pitch in a video in just two minutes. Shortlisted applicants are then invited to attend a one day boot camp before pitching their idea in five minutes to a panel of external judges on the final pitching day.
But for winner Emma, the competition was almost something she overlooked entirely.
She said: “I almost didn't enter. I have no business background. I'm a journalist not a businesswoman, but I knew that it would work.
“Now that we have money to fund our ad campaigns, I have higher hopes that this will continue on its international path and will become my full time project after graduation.”
Pitch2Win is just one of the activities organised by DMU’s Enterprise Team which support students and graduates across the university who want to start their own business or be self-employed.
The competition is sponsored and judged by local charity Sir Thomas White Loans, legal firm Smith Partnership and the banking firm NatWest. Emma’s idea was judged the best out of 11 pitches at the final which was held at the Innovation Centre on DMU’s campus.
With a wide range of exceptional pitches, competition for the cash prize was fierce but Emma’s passion and clear vision for taking the idea forward shone through, winning her £1000 and a business support package.
Launched in July 2017, Evade Magazine is an independent online international news platform providing in-depth world coverage to its readership across 16 countries. Evade looks beyond face value news and current affairs, getting to the heart of the issue.
Emma said: “Evade was created to advocate the voice of the people. I initially created it as a means of supporting causes and charities that I felt passionately about and from there the publication was born.”
Emma wants to invest the money into Evade’s advertising campaigns which would be strategically planned through their social media platforms to attract new readers.
Amy Maher, manager of DMU’s Enterprise Team, said: “This year we had a real variety of business ideas and the standard of the finalists’ pitches was very high. The panel had an extremely tough time choosing a winner, but Emma’s pitch took the edge. The Pitch2Win final provided a perfect platform for the finalists to showcase and promote what they are looking to do.”
Applications for the next round of Pitch2Win are now open. DMU students and recent graduates with business ideas are invited to film their two minute video pitch and apply online. Applications for the next round close on Monday 19 February 2018.
Posted on Monday 4 December 2017