Emerging entrepreneurs and spinout companies from the University of Strathclyde have secured £26,000 in funding and support after pitching their ventures to investors and business leaders at the University’s Inspire100 showcase.
The event, held on Wednesday 3 June, brought together 100 entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders to hear pitches from early-stage ventures spanning clean energy, artificial intelligence, education technology and digital manufacturing.
Strathclyde Inspire is a flagship initiative to help alumni, staff and students commercialise business ideas. Pitchers included ventures from the Inspire Accelerator programme, new spinouts supported by the University’s Industry Engagement and Commercialisation Team, and portfolio businesses already attracting investment interest.
Entrepreneurship awards
Entrepreneurs competed for a range of awards, including the Santander Universities Awards, the People’s Choice Award supported by the RACS Foundation, the Stephen Young Entrepreneurship Award, and the Stephen Young Entrepreneurship Award for Outstanding Business Idea Research Paper, supported by the Charles Huang Foundation.
The judging panel comprised Alex Lusty of Gabriel Investment Syndicate, Leah Pape of Scottish Enterprise and James Reston of DSW Ventures.
Winners of the Santander Universities awards of £5,000 included Wastesync, which is developing a digital tracking platform to tackle illegal waste activity, ALICS, which uses artificial intelligence-powered crack detection to support infrastructure monitoring and Netax Fightwear, which is redesigning protective combat sports equipment.
People's choice
ALICS and Wastesync also won Stephen Young Entrepreneurship Awards of £5,000, while the People’s Choice Award of £1,000 went to Netax Fightwear.
Double winner and Netax co-founder Gabriel Kelly, said: “Winning both a Santander Award and the People’s Choice Award is a real testament to the work we’ve put in. The funding will take us straight towards production and gives us real confidence as we move into the next stage of growth.”
ALICS founder Hamish Dow, winner of a Santander Universities Award and a Stephen Young Entrepreneurship Award, said:
Inspire100 has been a fantastic opportunity to engage with supporters, gain feedback, and build momentum around what we’re doing. Winning £10,000 will go a long way in helping us develop our software and take the business forward.
Also presented on the night were The Stephen Young Entrepreneurship Awards, totalling £150,000. The Outstanding Business Idea Research Paper of £75,000 went to Philip Salter of Ureaka, which is developing carbon-negative cement. PIERS-AI received £50,000 and £25,000 was awarded to financial communications company ReadBetween, run by Dr James Bowden and Professor Mark Cummins.
Critical point
Fiona Ireland, Head of Entrepreneurship Strategy at Strathclyde Inspire, said: “Inspire100 is a critical point in our venture pipeline – where early ideas are tested, refined and connected to the people, insight and early-stage funding that help them progress.
"It reflects Strathclyde’s commitment to translating talent and research into high-growth businesses with real economic and social impact.”
The event also featured contributions from Professor Stephen McArthur, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Strathclyde, and Neil Logan, Senior Enterprise Fellow and co-founder of digital technology company Incremental, which was later acquired by Telefónica.