Students awarded $10,000 in entrepreneurship challenge

Students awarded $10,000 at the Otago Audacious Students entrepreneurship challenge.

The winners of the Audacious top 40 awards were announced last night to an audience of over 200 people, including members of the Dunedin business, community and academic sectors at the historic Sargood Center at Logan Park.

A total of 137 entries were submitted by students from the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic, and judges had the difficult task of selecting 40 winning ideas (listed below) who each took home a share of the $10,000 prize pool.

CEO of Dunedin Incubator Upstart, Steve Silvey says, “True to the spirit of Audacious, the ideas last night were bold, imaginative and full of passion.”

Strong entries were seen across all categories, including technology, social enterprise and design excellence. 

The next stage of the competition will see students vying for a share of the $40,000 grand prize pool awarded in September. 

 “Between now and then we’ll see students entering an engine room of pitch school, mentoring, detailed planning culminating in a ‘Dragons Den’. By that stage, we normally see a number of businesses trading and ready for further investment. That’s what makes it really exciting” says Mr. Silvey.

For more information about Audacious, visit www.audacious.co.nz

Winning ideas

Fixing Faults  - Payal Ramritu & Calum Rickard. 
Turning trash and unused goods into everyday, useful objects
Pukeko  - Laura Wolf, Phillip Rooney, Hayden Smith, Dom D’auvergne & Damian Newel
Online charity donation platform 
Resource Locus - Angus Adams
Facebook for people to connect and share around local food
Dunedin Social Bikes - Nathalie Lacaze-Campbell
Creating on-street bike-fleets for the people of Dunedin
Texting For Seniors  -  Rajvir Singh & Loren Cooper
Teaching elderly how to use their cell-phones
Student Support  -  Hannah Carey, Karyn Costello & Stephen Sugrue
Mobile app that helps students plan their time & know where to get help when they need it. 
Local Knowledge  -  Adele Smith
Take local DIY knowledge and make it accessible to a larger audience using the internet 
Freenant  -  Abby Hyde
Online market place for students to swap and trade furniture 
Handiconnect  -  Van Nguyen
Connecting disabled Vietnamese craft makers and their goods with the world
Flowbot  -  Nick Barraclough, Samuel Thorpe, Yi Zhang & Charles Smart
A new, interactive kids drink bottle designed to reduce consumption of sugar-based drinks
Peppy  -  George Meale
Mobile App to make waking up in the morning really, really easy
Flat Manager  -  Cameron Johansen, Cameron Hegarty & Shaun Keegan
Simplifies managing money and bills in a flatting situation.
Ease  -  Ed Haslam
Shaking up the software tutorial world real-time standard for computer applications 
Leapit  -  Sammy Wong & Matt Seaton
Fully hand gestured DJ Mixer using leap motion technology
Tenantplus  -  Michael Jensen & Andy Foster
Beautifully simple tenant sign-up for landlords
Golf Point  -  Daniel Howe
Connecting clubs, players and golfing bodies through mobile technology 
3d Printing  -  Logan Mabbett, Jack Foster & Luke Tippet
Creating a marketplace for 3D printing 
Maori Role Playing Game  -  Wepiha Te Ata
Game-based digital app based on pre-colonial ‘Maori’ New Zealand
Taxi Swipe  -  Jen Leslie
Taxi swipe accumulates a percentage of your drinks purchases to provide your safe ride home. 
E-Book Product Placement  -  Ben Macdonnell
Monetizing the final frontier of advertising by automating product placement in literature. 
Hop Hub Aotearoa  -  Dean Griffiths
Mobile app that enables consumers to easily navigate the growing NZ craft beer industry
Gig Records  -  Michael Page
Portable recording service of local musicians during live performances 
The Creative Mess Desk  -  Eliza Jackson
Desk organiser for fashion designers and creatives
Ecoplug  -  Keir Russell & Josh Urieli
Turns off multiple power sockets with one switch
Sonic  -  Aaron Power
Diagnostic tool for tennis player’s to improve consistency and accuracy
Life Hack Leasing Co.  -  Ross Mcfaddenn
Bringing first-person HD camera technology to NZ’s ski slopes 
Humble Bee  -  Veronica Harwood Stevenson
Replicate natural waterproofing agents and apply to protective clothing industry
A Better Hay Wrap  -  Emily Ruygrok
Biodegradable hay wrap film that harbors beneficial nutrients for the soil and livestock 
Raeel Fleels  -  Adrianna Wilson
Women’s high-heel shoes that convert to stylish flat shoes
Agri Safe Ltd.  -  Ethan Forbes
Dedicated to improving safety of farm equipment
Heads Up  -  Melissa Hooper, Cheryl Hooper & Jade Streat
Youth workshop to empower teenagers to find their passion & develop strategies to impact the world 
Laundry Day  -  Alexandre Batista
Cheap pick-up and delivery laundry service
Little Big Savers  -  Tracey Bell
Financial literacy to allow young students the knowledge to save for the future. 
Nourish & Wrap-Kin  -  Kate Anderson
Nutritious nut based frozen treat providing an alternative to ice cream for health conscious consumers  
Fur Retrieval Dunedin  -  Sean Love & James O’callaghan
Ethical possum control using student labour
Bookavenue  -  Aaspreet Boparai & F. Hernandez
Search and book all event venues including restaurants, bars, and corporate events. 
Volume II  -  Sam Beattie
High quality clothing outlet
Cup Stain  -  Natalie Gage
New technology that shares  Indicates The Source Of Your Joy 
Faceplace  -  Tara Munro-Voice
Faceplace cards are customisable photographic themed cards #audacious40
K9 Screen  -  Ashley Hughes
Car-window fitting for dogs

Photo credit: Alex Lovell-Smith

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