Northumbria students enter the den

Newcastle Business School hosted a competition this month, based on the long running BBC series, Dragon’s Den.

Aspiring student entrepreneurs were invited to pitch their ideas to successful business leaders from the region in a bid to win marketing support and consultancy. The competition comprised of three rounds, with the final taking place on Wednesday 18 February. Shortlisted from 18 students, the final four were invited to present their idea to the experienced panel.

The prizes consisted of marketing support and materials to the value of £500 provided by national digital marketing agency MediaWorks, plus free specialist financial, legal or business consultancy.

Student finalists included Jack Christopher whose company ‘Eat, Read and Learn’ has developed specialist placemats which encourage learning during mealtimes; Roxanne King’s company ‘Heart of the Falklands’ crafts custom jewellery that features Falkland Island sand and Masters student Nguyen Ta’s company ‘Endless Consumption’ which specialises in the recycling of student items, such as kitchen utensils and stationary for reuse by incoming international students.

The winner was Maxwell Graziani a Business Management student in his final year, whose company ‘Memory Machine’ hires photo booths as a fun way to capture priceless memories at parties and special occasions.

Max said: “I would encourage everyone at Northumbria to have a go at the Dragon's Den competition. I learnt a great deal about writing a business plan, pitching and talking to very experienced business people about Memory Machine. It was great to receive some praise for work outside the curriculum. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I think starting businesses can be risky. The opportunity cost against working for a big company is high. However competitions like these can give you the confidence required to take the leap of faith to achieve your goals. At least it did for me.”

Northumbria has been named the top university in the UK for graduate start-ups, with the Dragon’s Den competition being just one of the initiatives to support students. Dr Chris Jeffs, Director of Undergraduate Programmes at Newcastle Business School and who organised the competition said: “It is clear to those at Northumbria that we have a vibrant and entrepreneurial student population. The Dragon’s Den competition has proven to be an excellent way for students to test out their ideas, receive constructive feedback and of course win prizes that will help to take them and their companies to the next level. The Dragons were particularly impressed by the entrepreneurial nature of the students and the viable business plans that were professionally pitched to them”.

The roles of the dragons were played by Dr Yvonne Gale, Operations Director at NEL Fund Managers; Ian White, Director of Abacus Wealth Management; Lauren Langton, consultant and financial service professional and Jonathan Gold Director of Rivers Capital Partners and Finance Tree. To find out more about studying business at Northumbria University visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/nbs

Image: (left to right) Dr Yvonne Gale, Ian White, Roxanne King , Dr Chris Jeffs, Max Graziani, Jonathan Gold, Nguyen Ta, Jack Christopher, Lauren Langton