Aeropowder, founded by former Imperial College students Elena Dieckmann and Ryan Robinson, clinched the top award in the annual Varsity Pitch competition.
The competition, run by NACUE, (the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs), and sponsored by Tata, recognises the very best UK businesses launched by students and recent graduates from British colleges and universities.
The company says it impressed judges with its technological innovation, which transforms thousands of tonnes of waste feathers from the poultry industry into functional materials. The end products, which include thermal insulation blocks and a wide range of other materials, are sustainable and biodegradable.
The contest, which is now in its seventh year, aims to celebrate and recognise the very best businesses formed by students or recent graduates from colleges and universities across Britain. The former students, and their company Aeropowder, have won £10,000 to fund their business along with sessions with a world-class mentor.
Aeropowder co-founder Ryan Robinson said: “Winning the NACUE Varsity Pitch Competition is great because it shows that other people take our message about sustainability and reusing waste so seriously. There’s a lot of hard work left to do, but we are feeling proud to have achieved this win.
“We hope that our win shows a commitment to a future of business that is about more than just profit. We hope that competitions like this today will help with a trickle down effect, so that larger corporates are influenced by a more sustainable business model, and will influence wider society as a whole.
“We’re looking to spend the £10,000 on scaling up our business. There are some key bits of machinery that will enable us to build full sized pieces on a small scale volume-wise, which will allow us to approach the right customers and generate the right kind of interest.”
Over 300 students and recent post-graduates entered the Varsity Pitch competition. They were whittled down to a shortlist of 30 by external judges from Tata, Vidsy, Shell LiveWIRE, Seedrs, Toucan, Fish Climb Trees and Swisse Re. After hearing a two-minute pitch from each of the shortlisted 30, judges then decided on six finalists, and another entrant was selected after winning a public vote.
The seven finalists took part in a day-long business boot camp with input from mentors and other business professionals before competing in the grand final where they battled it out in front of 130 entrepreneurs, investors, public figures before the winner was announced.
