Make Your Mark Blog

The Ideas Igloo road show was created in order to search for hidden entrepreneurs in Colleges and Universities across the UK. 

Being a Product Design student in Manchester Metropolitan University, I had a couple of ideas to share when the road show came to Manchester. After being selected as one of the top ten contenders in Greater Manchester, I was given one minute to pitch my idea to the panel of Dragons. It was an interesting experience to watch each of the ten presentations since they were all so different. By the end of the afternoon I was selected as the winner in the Greater Manchester region. The prize was £150 to be used to further the idea in preparation of the National final, two weeks later. I spent the money on making a prototype of my concept and printing a large poster, business cards and leaflets. I spent my time creating a stand which effectively showcased my idea, and I created a simple, eye-catching PowerPoint presentation. The final was a great experience since it brought together like-minded, young Entrepreneurs from across the country. During the morning, a business meeting was organised for each finalist with the opportunity to discuss financial projections with an experienced entrepreneur. A sit- down, networking lunch was provided which gave the opportunity to speak with the other contenders. Each finalist was then given three minutes to pitch their idea with the opportunity to use presentation facilities. I was lucky enough to win the National Final and was awarded £2000 to further my idea and a variety of Microsoft software packages. Since winning the competition, I have made movements in developing my patent, producing more prototypes and refining the design ready for the marketplace. I have also carried out some market research in the Alps. I have been in contact with prospective investors but am currently playing my cards close to my chest.  

I would like to thank Microsoft and Make Your Mark for this opportunity to further my idea and am excited at what the future holds.  

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 9:52 am and is filed under Entrepreneurship, Guest bloggers, Innovation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.