Two University of Worcester students have scooped a £5,000 cash investment in their business in a Dragon’s Den style event.
3rd year Business Management students Evan Greenlees and Kasra Salehi pitched their idea for the company, Little Guardians, at this year’s BOSS competition. They aim to help children learn to read while building early sustainability awareness through storytelling.
The annual BOSS competition at the University of Worcester was created and is facilitated by Milford Research & Consultancy Ltd in collaboration with the University and has become a highlight of the calendar for students at Worcester Business School.
The event sees teams of students pitch their business ideas to a panel of expert business leaders, who decide who will receive the cash funding. The experts also spend time giving feedback to all entrants.
The winner receives a £5,000 prize, while both runners up were awarded prizes of £2,000 and £3,000 respectively.
The event is made possible through a partnership that Milford Research & Consultancy has with the Institute of Leadership, which provides the prize funds. Milford Research enables the student finalist’s membership to the Institute, including its networks, resources and mentorship opportunities.
Libby McCann, from Milford Research, was key to organising the event. She said: “As a firm, we’re always striving to provide students with possibilities to learn, to grow and to build their own networks.”
“We want them to gain self-belief and to make them realise that their dreams are accessible,” she continued. “BOSS is one of our many programmes created to achieve this, and it’s always a pleasure to see highly experienced business people coming to the University to give their time and expertise to the student contestants.”
Libby added: “The initiative shows what can happen when ambition meets support. We’re proud at Milford to play a part in helping Worcester students take these early steps into the world of business.”
Evan and Kasra’s business seeks to produce a range of 15 books, aimed at children aged 2-6, sponsored by businesses and given free to schools.
“I feel amazing,” said Kasra. “We started with an idea to help people and make a change in the world, and it feels amazing that a lot of people feel the same about the issue and want to help us”
He added: “This means everything to us, it’s the start of our journey, and we’re going to grow from this every day to meet our goals.”
Also pitching her businesses was Business Psychology Student Diana Wing Lee, who won £2,000 when she pitched for investment in her business Foreignteer, a digital platform uniting travellers who wish to carry out ‘micro volunteering’ exercises with non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Meanwhile, Business Management student Fabienne Gengnagel was awarded a £3,000 investment in her business idea, The Druid’s Nest, a social enterprise and charity café with an integrated wellbeing space, designed as a calm and low-pressure environment especially for people who have neurodivergences.
Mark McCann, Regional Director at financial planning firm Attivo, was one of the judges. He said: “It’s a lot of money, and it means the world to these students, and it will be a really good head start for them as they begin their businesses.”
“It was really enjoyable,” he added. “I thought all three projects that were presented by the students were really well thought out. They all have a lot of confidence in what they’re doing, and anyone who wants to build a business must have that inbuilt belief.”
The event also welcomed students from the Institute of Leadership’s Confidence+ programme, who received their participation certificates on the night.
Confidence+ is a programme created by Milford Research and delivered in partnership with the Institute of Leadership, which also supports and funds elements of the initiative.
The programme helps students build confidence and develop the professional skills that complement initiatives like BOSS.
Elias Forsberg is in the first year of his Business and Finance degree at Worcester and is also the Chair and Founder of the University’s student Business Society. He said: “Taking part in Confidence Plus has genuinely had an impact on my leadership.”
“The programme strengthened my ability to communicate with clarity and authority; whether I was pitched to sponsors, speaking at events, or motivating my committee team and members,” he continued.
“Most importantly,” added Elias, “Confidence Plus gave me the assurance to step into bigger conversations with senior professionals and partners, and the programme improved my interview skills, CT writing and professional communication.”
As Chair of the University’s student Business Society, Elias has been able to help his members feel more confident by passing on these skills.
Visit the Milford Research & Consultancy LTD website.
Find out more about the University of Worcester’s BOSS programme.
Read more about the Confidence+ Programme.
For information on courses at University of Worcester visit www.worcester.ac.uk or for application enquiries telephone 01905 855111 or email [email protected]