Positive focus as Venturefest celebrates enterprise

YORKSHIRE’S entrepreneurial spirit and culture of innovation was showcased at Venturefest, which culminated in some of the region’s brightest ventures being rewarded for their efforts.

Thoughts of the downturn were banished as 2,000 people converged on York Racecourse to network and create business opportunities.

Delegates at the event, which showcased Yorkshire’s most inspiring science, technology and knowledge entrepreneurs, ranged from school pupils to experienced investors.

Were you at Venturefest Yorkshire? Please share your highlights of the day below.

Sheffield-based MusiCode was named the Venturefest Yorkshire 2009 investment competition winner at a dinner following the event at York Racecourse.

The firm won a prize package of £26,500 which it will use to further develop its technology.

MusiCode allows people to “impulsively connect” to any online content or website, any time and anywhere using the camera on a mobile phone.

Roo Pigott, the entrepreneur behind MusiCode, has dubbed the innovative system “a one-click solution that connects the physical world to the online world”.

Receiving the prize, Mr Pigott revealed that MusiCode was in talks with music channel MTV over exclusive rights to instantly download music videos.

Mr Pigott said: “MusiCode opens the door to a new way to impulsively connect, purchase or download at any time from any location.

“You shoot the MusiCode with the camera on your phone loaded with the MusiCode application and their server directs you to the destination URL, which could be a web page, ticket office, artwork, music or movie download…the list goes on.”

The prize package includes £3,000 cash from The Shepherd Group; business development advice and coaching from Finance Mix; web consultancy from Reach Further; website design from Dot Com Imaging; PR support from The Partners Group; legal advice from Dennison Till; insurance services from MFL Science and Technology brokers; marketing advice and consultancy from Brackenhill; intellectual property advice from Harrison Goddard Foote; corporate fundraising advice from Garbutt & Elliott; accountancy services from Finance Mix/Atkinsons; and training services from Ripley Training.

In its six-year history, the competition has awarded prizes totalling almost £150,000 and has seen previous winners go on to secure significant investment.

Leeds-based Tissue Regenix, which is developing the world’s first series of regenerative implants, won a £12,500 prize in the Innovation Showcase category.

Tissue Regenix, established in 2006 on the back of years of research by professors John Fisher and Eileen Ingham, both leading experts in biocompatibility, immunocompatibility and functional tissue re-engineering. 

The implants function from implantation and are regenerated by the patient’s own body. 

Tissue Regenix secured almost £4.5m of private and public sector funding, enabling it to fund its first product through to approval. 

Business start-up Unibookclub.com, jointly owned by former Leeds Metropolitan University graduate Paul Rossington, won £10,000 at the Regional Enterprise Awards held at Venturefest.

Mr Rossington, along with business partners Chris Wilkinson and Simone Tanda, had to submit a written business plan and then pitch their idea to a panel of judges.

They faced stiff competition from start up businesses representing each of the 10 universities in the region.

Unibookclub.com aims to be a new online style shop specialising in student-to-student used book sales, a facility that will enable students to sell on their used course books whilst also providing new students with the means to source cheaper second hand course books from their peers.

Online discussion forums, accessible reading lists and peer review will be introduced to a social networking element to the site which will be launched in May.

The prize of £5000 cash and £5000 in-kind PR and marketing support from competition sponsors Green Communications was awarded.

Mr Rossington said: “Winning the cash is an amazing achievement for us; we can also take encouragement from this success as it shows that we have got a good idea that is worth pursuing. We can’t wait to start planning the launch of our business in May.”

The company’s prize package includes accountancy services, corporate fund raising advice, PR services, legal advice, £1,000 cash, intellectual property advice and annual membership of the Institute of Directors. 

Exhibitors ranged from inventors to early start ventures, law and accountancy firms and sponsors included Business Link, Connect Yorkshire, Yorkshire Forward, Garbutt & Elliott.

Delegates heard ‘historian of the future’ James Bellini give his outlook on the future of economy and society and how the growth of the digital world will impact on the way we live and work.

Mr Bellini predicted that by 2025 many companies will function without headquarters, chief executives and their own IT systems as the work place becomes more virtual.

He also believes the growth of blogging and instant messaging – what he termed “the networked information economy” – is replacing the “industrial information economy”.

He said that opportunities and new technologies would also come out of the downturn.

A series of seminars ran throughout the day giving business advice and a number of networking events were held.

Were you at Venturefest Yorkshire? Please share your highlights of the day below.