The app, Novi, founded by Matt Stewart, Lucas Chow and Nadav Jacobs, secured £10,000 of funding alongside a SETsquared membership, for helping users manage access to distracting digital content while still allowing essential access for health and emergency needs.
Novi uses technology which sees students tap their phones against a physical fob, to block certain apps before studying. They must walk back to the fob to tap their phones out again to unblock them, encouraging them to think twice about using their devices.
Matt, an economics and innovation student who has spoken of his negative experiences with social media which led to him having panic attacks because of the content he was seeing, said: “It’s really exciting to have won in the New Enterprise Competition and it means a lot to us. It’s really good to get that recognition because you are moving through uncertainty as a start-up so to have people, including industry experts, support you and put that capital behind you is really exciting. It shows that we are doing something positive for society in trying to get kids and young people off their phones.”
The award was one of six announced at this year’s competition which has been recognising and rewarding University of Bristol student and graduate entrepreneurs for a quarter of a century. Since launching in 2001, the NEC has invested almost £1million into start-up ventures, helping to create more than 200 businesses.
The other winners recognised for their innovations at the awards ceremony at Goldney House were:
- Pleasantri, founded by Adisree Bansal, which aims to tackle period poverty in the UK and India, awarded £1,500.
- HerBalance Research, founded by Elena Venturelli, awarded £10,000 in total (£7,000 from the New Enterprise and £3,000 from the ESBF) for work supporting those with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).
- Vulkos, founded by Max Eland, Tom Atkins, Matt Groves, awarded £7,000 and SETsquared membership for addressing skills shortages in semiconductor design.
- Ohm Lab, founded by Mukund Srinivasa Raghavan and Hamish Morely, awarded pro bono IP and legal support from EIP and VWV to advance edge AI applications.
- Vision Assist, founded by Sudha Rani Maddala, awarded £1,000 after winning the People’s Choice for technology supporting visually impaired navigation in outdoor environments.
Sudha, a Data Science Master’s graduate, said: “It means a lot to win because I have spent a lot of time building and developing an app as I wanted to bridge the gap between the existing market and the needs of visually impaired individuals. The New Enterprise Competition gave me an opportunity to learn and develop what I was building and to win the People’s Choice award is extra special as it means I can say that people are really interested in this product.”
Now one of the UK’s longest-running university enterprise competitions, the NEC has become a cornerstone of Bristol’s thriving innovation ecosystem, helping the city become the UK’s 2nd best to start a business in, whilst earlier this month the University of Bristol was named the highest-ranked university outside the UK’s Golden Triangle for spinout value creation.
Delivered through Basecamp Enterprise within the University’s careers service, the NEC identifies, supports, and champions start-ups and spinouts across many sectors including sustainability, healthcare, deep tech, and the creative arts.
Among the recent student-led business ventures that have gone on to secure millions in investment and grant funding since receiving NEC support are; Exekias Games, SLANT Mobility; Remap Mental Fitness, Wonderspun (Storyhaven), Itaconix (formerly Revolymer), and Fidelis AI.
Over time, the NEC has evolved to focus not just on funding outcomes, but on the development of the founders themselves – helping students and graduates unlock their entrepreneurial potential, develop their resilience, skills and knowledge, and become future role models for the next generation of innovators and business leaders.
Stuart Johnson, Director of Careers and Skills at the University of Bristol, said: “Firstly, congratulations to all the winners who helped ensure this was another stellar year of finalists selected from a strong list of applicants. While we’re incredibly proud of the companies that have emerged from the programme over its 25 years, what matters just as much is the creativity, knowledge, and ambition it helps founders develop along their journeys. As we celebrate this important milestone, we’re excited to continue supporting the next generation of innovators and to continue to build the reputations of both the University of Bristol and the city of Bristol as leading UK centres for enterprise.”
The NEC’s anniversary comes at a momentous time for the University’s enterprise ambitions, with the forthcoming Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus set to further strengthen its ecosystem and partnerships between industry and the local community, alongside the development of its new Mumbai Enterprise Campus.