pebbl, set up by Mechanical Engineering student Arik Shukhman and Holly Brown, who studied Childhood Studies, was one of 20 student and graduate start-ups that took part in the competition which is run by the Basecamp Enterprise Team in the University’s Career Service.
Participants take part in a programme of specialist start-up support training, which includes pitching their plans to a panel of business experts to be in with the change of winning funding for their idea as well as legal advice, SETsquared memberships and other opportunities from sponsors and supporters. The winners were announced last night at an event held at Bristol’s Engine Shed.
Arik and Holly, who will also receive £2,000 worth of pro bono legal support from law firm VWV LLP, said: “We created the world’s first automatic cable winder that stays on personal charging cables, and we just won the new enterprise growth award. I think that our one feeling is being overwhelmed with joy. This funding and support will provide us with the opportunity to expand right at a critical time in our development. We’re so grateful.”
The rest of the winners were:
Second prize - Cribster, a website which matches student flatmates’ compatibility using artificial intelligence which was set up by Economics and Politics student Daniel Virin who had the idea in 2022 after a challenging and stressful experience finding student digs in Bristol. Daniel and his brother Asher designed an algorithm to match like-minded users based on their budget, location preferences, values, hobbies and habits. Cribster won £5,000 of funding, along with £2,000 pro-bono legal support from VWV LLP.
Third prize – Exekias Games Ltd founded by recent Classics graduates Sam Rapier and Fin Stanbridge who transformed a class project into a board game designed to help educate about Ancient Rome. Escape from Pompeii offers players a dynamic and entertaining journey through one of history's most compelling environments engaging in trivia to move faster and escape the devastating volcanic eruption which occurred in 79 AD. Exekias Games Ltd won £3,000 worth of funding. They are also running a Kickstarter campaign for the game.
Engineers in Business Award – Artificially Ever After, a digital brand aiming to educate and demystify artificial intelligence through podcasts, social media, and live events founded by Riku Green [PhD Interactive Artificial Intelligence] and Kieren Sharma [PhD AI for Synthetic Biology] who received £3,000.
People’s Choice Award - Animalize.io, a veterinary practice management software that streamlines the care of pets. Founded by Ankit Karmakar who is studying a Masters in Finance and Investment, and Farjana Akter – this received more than 2,000 public votes and has £1,000 of funding.
In addition, SETsquared Bristol, a tech start-up incubator has offered two memberships to this year’s cohort. A 12-month membership was awarded to Abanoub Ghobrial [PhD Computer Science] for his deep tech company Fidelis AI, which is developing revolutionary technology for datasets gathering to be used in training and testing perception in autonomous vehicles and to Mukund Srinivasa Raghavan [Engineering Design with Study in Industry] for EarTide, a novel earwax removal device, that reduces costs and increases accessibility and efficiency.
Rob Taffinder, Assistant Director of the University of Bristol Careers Service, said: "This was another year of strong applications for the New Enterprise Competition, both in terms of quality and quantity. It was fantastic to see the winners announced at the awards event and celebrate with all those shortlisted. It was really impressive, and we look forward to seeing how they progress. Thank you to our generous sponsors and judging panel, and all of the staff in the University of Bristol Careers Service and Basecamp Enterprise Team who made this possible.”