Showcase of alumni entrepreneurial achievements

To mark the launch of the 2015 Wolfson Innovate Pitch Event, a drinks reception and exposition of the 2014 Finalists was held in the Haldane Room on Tuesday 20 January. Returning Wolfsonians encouraged current students to apply for the competition, citing the exciting business and investment opportunities they had experienced as a result of participating.

Professor Pat Nuttall and Dr Marc Ventresca, founders of the Wolfson Innovate Network (WIN), welcomed attendees and in a brief video, Marc described entrepreneurship as a ‘team sport' which he urged audience members to try. Prof Nuttall went on to explain that WIN is about supporting ideas with social impact and turning them into opportunities.

Professor Nuttall explained the Pitch process, the £5000 prize available and how to apply. The 2015 Pitch Event, featuring those ideas shortlisted to be presented to the panel of distinguished judges, will be held on Tuesday 28 April at Wolfson College. 

The variety, sophistication and subsequent success of the showcased pitches from last years' event was extremely impressive. Alumnus Lisa Stroux shared the journey of Sentimoto, winner of the 2015 Pitch Event. She and three fellow Biomedical Engineering DPhil students conceived and built the company to develop wearable sensors for healthy ageing, modelled on a similar concept to the popular ‘Fitbit' device. 

Lisa described the company's experiences over the last year, including a trial with a provider of fitness classes in care homes. Sentimoto has also managed to secure funding from a further three partners, which she attributed in part to the boost in credibility and support received as a result of participating in the WIN Pitch Event.

Jessica White, another Wolfson alumnus, demonstrated the VibeWrite Learning Pen, which vibrates when the user has spelt a word incorrectly. The concept has taken off in the UK and Germany, with several beta tests in schools around Europe and a growing portfolio of fun learning apps. Jessica explained that being part of the WIN Pitch Event helped them to think about ways to collaborate with universities on the development of the pen's technology and on research into how handwriting triggers activity in the brain.

Describing his return to Wolfson as ‘like coming home', Sam Salisbury shared the work of IGNITE, an impact investment fund with ‘the energy to change society'. Backed by Centrica, IGNITE are investing £10 million and specialist skills in social initiatives, a job Sam finds extremely rewarding. Through an award winning video about the work IGNITE has been doing with ‘Midlands Together', Sam demonstrated the power of social enterprise to change lives. 

Professor Nuttall also provided updates on the progress of ‘Medyc', ‘Harvest Wild' and ‘Woxford Environmental Engineering & Technical Services', three finalists who were unable to attend on the night.  To prove WIN is not just about healthcare ideas, Harvest Wild's strapline is “A laundry detergent that grows on trees!”  This is all about exploiting soapnuts, reducing environmental impact, and helping the economy in local communities in tropical countries.  Meanwhile, Woxford is turning wastewater into biogas, and has signed its first contract. 

Tasked with the role of summing up the evening's showcase, Josh Kahn, Chair of the General Meeting, suggested that the strength of Wolfson Innovate lay in the diversity of people and fields of expertise at Wolfson College. The range of medical, social, educational and other innovations was in part due to this diversity, he argued, and this sets the Pitch Event aside from other more business orientated opportunities. 

Describing entrepreneurship as “the unexplored territory beyond”, a viable and worthwhile alternative to traditional career paths, Josh wrapped up the evening by encouraging Wolfson students to consider pursuing their innovative ideas after matriculating