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Finalists announced at Pilot your Pitch event

The UK’s leading regional universities business planning competition, Blueprint, which celebrates its fifth birthday this year has announced the latest finalists in the Science and Technology and the Creativity and Design categories to battle it out for a share of £100,000 cash and in-kind support.

The latest entrants are in addition to those finalists who made it through to the main Business Awards category earlier in the year. The Grand Final on October 23 will see entrants from academic staff teams, graduates, undergraduates and alumni students make a final pitch and presentation.

In preparation for the big day entrants attended a ‘Pilot your Pitch’ event at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, to gain some last minute valuable advice from established business owners from the Entrepreneurs’ Forum and this year’s Grand Final sponsors.

Business concepts revealed in the latest set of finalists include a film production company that is making a film based on the life of a rock music promoter in the North East, new agents for a medical imaging technique that not only detects lumps and clots in people but can also help to diagnose multiple diseases and their various stages of progression. As well as a vertical axis wind turbine and a ‘sleep sling’ that helps parents rock their babies to sleep.

Carol Beverley, chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, was in the panel. She said: “At the Pilot your Pitch day finalists were given the opportunity to present their business idea to members of this year’s sponsors who gave constructive criticism and advice enabling them to fine tune their pitch before the grand final.

“The finalists are clearly passionate about their business ideas and it’s incredibly positive to see so much emerging talent from this region.

“The panel at the Pilot your Pitch event weren’t there to judge but to give advice, help and support. Our members are all eager to pass on wisdom, sharing personal experiences having ‘been there, done that’ when they set up their own businesses. Hopefully these enthusiastic young business minds can learn from others and succeed without making the same mistakes.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .