The first StartUp Brixton brought hundreds of budding entrepreneurs and business owners together for a day of workshops, panel discussions, and one-to-one business surgeries, writes David Child.
Hatch Enterprise, hosted the event on 28 May at Pop Brixton. Over 158 individuals took part in 10 workshops designed as tasters for the Hatch Enterprise programmes.
Attendees competed to pitch their social business idea to a panel of judges for the chance to win a place on the next Hatch Incubator or Accelerator programme as well as office space, seed funding and tickets to this year’s Lee Fest.
Out of 140 entrants, 24 were selected to pitch. The best four made it through to a live pitch on stage, where the audience picked their winners. The winner was A Life Less Ordinary Wanted – The Positive Change Agency.
Founder Naomi Jane (pictured) said: “Winning the StartUp Brixton pitch means so much to me and the team! Now A Life Less Ordinary Wanted will be able to support even more people to make positive, lasting changes in their lives and organisations.
“The prize money is going towards the webinar tech costs for our first ever online personal leadership programme.” The start up will offer bursaries for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to benefit, as well increasing its branding and marketing support.
Second place went to Danna Walker from Built by Us that supports women into the construction industry. Angela Awuah’s youth mental health charity, Mental Health: The Arts, took third place, and in fourth place was RoadWorks Media, a youth media-training agency run by Julien Bernard-Grau and Quince Garcia. All the runners up won prizes and places on one of Hatch’s programmes worth £10,000.
Dirk Bischof, CEO of Hatch Enterprise said: “StartUp Brixton was an amazing day and it was fantastic to see so many aspiring entrepreneurs looking to take their dreams to the next level.
“It was the biggest startup event in South London and we are proud to have had so much support from local businesses in what was a Brixton-first.”
Hatch Enterprise have helped over 200 young entrepreneurs via their Incubator and Launchpad schemes aimed at helping to develop, grow and sustain young entrepreneurs ideas and ventures.
Find out more www.hatch-incubator.org
