The University of Wales, Newport has launched a new initiative which will see entrepreneurial students and recent graduates given the opportunity to pitch for money to develop their business skills and ideas and turn them into a reality.
The Bright Ideas Den (BID) uses the popularity of the ‘Dragons Den’ concept to move away from the traditional business plan competition, encouraging more students to come forward with their ideas to start up and support new businesses.
One such example of a successful ‘bid’ is Paper Giant Studios, whose submission impressed the Den panel. Set up by recent Computer Games Design graduates Codey Dyer and Jamie Evans, Paper Giant Studios was founded with a unique vision; to offer a compelling alternative to the challenge and goal-based game play that dominates the casual games market, by developing innovative, high quality games that emphasise creation, exploration and player choice.
“Paper Giant Studios presented a very convincing proposal for their new range of computer games which were targeting a specific market sector,” said David Willis of the University’s Research and Enterprise Department, who is one of the Den’s judges. “Their research suggested that middle aged women in the US represent the largest paying casual games consumer. They claimed that the only real obstacle to achieving early stage sales was a web based presence.
“The funding awarded is intended to part-fund the development of a web presence to enable them to access the market,” added David.
Enterprise and Entrepreneurship plays an important and integral part of the culture at the University of Wales, Newport and it has already assisted hundreds of aspiring student entrepreneurs to develop their ideas into graduate businesses through various activities, challenges and funding programmes.
The success of ideas such as the Bright Ideas Den has attracted the backing of entrepreneurs such as Dr Alf Gooding, who has pledged support for the Den to the sum of £10,000.
Dr Peter Noyes, Vice Chancellor of the University of Wales, Newport said, “this innovative initiative is attracting attention from business people who have been there and done that, which proves that the Bright Ideas Den stands out in the spirit of entrepreneurship. Having Dr Gooding’s backing will enable us to offer even more support to our students and graduates, which in turn will aid the local economy. We’re delighted that he values this initiative enough to support it.”
The Bright Ideas Den (BID) is run by the Research and Enterprise Department and supported by Technium Springboard, Finance Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government.
Support is available via pitching workshops and one-to-one business mentoring in preparation for entering the Den. As well as sitting on the Bright Ideas Den panel, Technium Springboard offers suitable applicants an incubation pod free for six months.
