Young entrepreneurs from Loughborough College will represent the UK in the European Young Enterprise finals for the second consecutive year after winning national championships.
The College entered two teams in the UK Young Enterprise National Championships 2021 – with Instru-Dental being crowned overall winner and Rising Souls finishing second out of 150 teams.
Instru-Dental – created by Jamie Horner, Hector Corey and Jack Heath – won thanks to their innovative demisting dental mirror product concept and business plan.
Rising Souls – created by Hayley Young, Annika Jones and Elise Swithenbank – came second with their solid business plan to create and sell interchangeable heels, a shoe which can switch from glamourous high heels to comfortable flats in seconds.
The Instru-Dental team is now working on its pitch for the JA Europe Enterprise Challenge, the three-day final starting on 29th June at which they must present a Start-Up Pitch Deck, a 30-second Video Commercial and, finally, an Investor’s Pitch & Jury Interview. The team must also host a virtual exhibition stand at the opening of the event.
Jamie Horner, 21, Instru-Dental’s Managing Director and inventor, said: “I am very excited and thrilled to have won the UK Young Enterprise National Championships 2021. It has been hectic with trying to get the product underway whilst working on dissertations and other assignments for my final year of Uni. Now we are looking forward to the Europeans!
“It has been an amazing experience leading up to the national championships and a real eye-opener into what it may be like to start up a company into today’s working environment. On the actual day of the final, nerves were high, but we were all very confident with our product and the rehearsals put us in good stead as we felt we covered all topics that could have potentially been asked on the day. However, right now it is all a bit of a blur and we are still chasing hard for the Europeans and of course my final degree. However, no doubt when it all settles down a bit, I can reflect back on it fondly.”
Jamie, who is studying a BSc in Sport Science, said support from College tutors has been essential is helping his team achieve their success so far. He added: “I would like to say a huge thank you to all those people at Loughborough that have helped guided us to get to where we are today, and that includes our mentor Eric Bradley and of course my family!”
Iqbal Ullah, who heads the Foundation Degree in Business Management at the College, said: “To have our teams finish as champions and runner up is nothing short of sensational and I couldn’t be prouder of our amazing students. Feedback from the judging panel was exceptional and it was clear that our teams had set standards which were very hard for others to match.
“Giving our students opportunities to compete like this is so important in terms of their future employability and aspirations and it fits in with the College’s own aspirations to launch an enterprise-style degree in future.”
The College also scooped four individual awards as part of the national competition which was held last week.
- Best Pitch Deck (business plan) – Instru-Dental from Loughborough College
- Best Presentation Pitch – Rising Souls from Loughborough College
- Marketing Excellence - Instru-Dental from Loughborough College
- Student Journey Award – Hayley Young of Rising Souls, Loughborough College
Chris Cockerton, Dean of HE at Loughborough College, said: “The Young Enterprise competition has been embedded into Loughborough College’s degree courses for several years and is central to our success in producing highly employable graduates. The experiences and life skills gained by all students who take part in the competition are invaluable and to have won the competition outright for the third time in five years really demonstrates the commitment shown by all students and the staff that support them. We look forward to representing the UK in the Europe-wide competition.”
Andrew Firr, the Young Enterprise Start-Up Manager, and organiser of the finals, said: “I think by far the best performance from Loughborough College at this event ever with the two teams, both really strong - but Instru-Dental were stand out winners. I think they should be very competitive at European level.”