A group of Strathclyde Business School students attending the Values and Ventures competition held at Neeley School of Business, TCU, in the USA, took first place in the Elevator Pitch Competition.
Competing against 26 other teams, SBS student Emil Merrild represented the SBS team and presented the pitch, winning $1000 for Cyclops, a smartphone app that improves the safety of cyclists. As well as Emil, the team of second year undergraduates comprised Callum Gwynne, Rachel Currie, Ainsley Johnstone and Vanessa Goldstone.
It's the second year running that a team of students from the BA Business Enterprise programme at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship has been selected to take part in the Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Business Plan Competition - and come back with an award. Last year, Team Revive won the Founders Award for their business idea involving recycling coffee grounds.
The team came up with the business idea - Cyclops – as part of their course, which was developed over two semesters for Creativity and Opportunity Recognition and New Venture Creation.
Accompanying lecturer Dominic Chalmers said, "Emil did the pitch and did an absolutely fantastic job. The team has come up with a great business idea and I'm sure we'll hear more about it in the near future."
Emil added, "This has been a fantastic opportunity. We are very grateful to last year's team, Revive, for their help and advice prior to our attending the competition."
Most teams are from US based universities, but other countries represented included the Netherlands, Croatia, Mexico, Canada and Scotland. For further information on the competition, including other winners, visit the website.