With 14 days until our Varsity Pitch Competition we caught up with a number of alumni and found out what they’re up to!

One year on Nathan Boubil’s business has expanded to international heights. In fact his business has taken a full 360, moving from Stat.io which entered our £10k contest to the newly refined and developed company SmartGov.

The business has been able to secure a highly-important contract to deploy geographic data product (GeoStat) across Africa. The platform will go live by the end of 2014. Speaking about the contract Nathan says: “Winning the contract to deploy GeoStat across Africa is an important win for us. It coincided perfectly with our strategic vision and positions us well to win other client contracts.”

SmartGov also received financial backing from Cambridge University, and has also joined up with Microsoft Ventures London - after meeting its COO Diane at a NACUE event.

SmartGov has plans to expand and launch a second product called SG Budget which will be dedicated to presenting cities’ budget data. The web-based solution will allow cities to make their budget much more transparent and cost-effective in the long run.  

Nathan’s advice to those entering the competition this year is to be very clear about their strategy and dynamics. He continues: “These days anyone can launch a new Internet venture so proving that it’s relevant in the market is essential.”

Many young entrepreneurs feel there’s plenty of difficulties that arise when trying break into the wider business community. However Nathan feels that if anything the current “revolution” being led by young founders is helping to destroy the stigma. He says: “In Europe, large organisations (corporates and governments) are getting much more comfortable with the idea of doing business with small companies.”

“They realise the pros outweigh the cons: more cost-efficient solutions and higher levels of motivation relative to incumbents."

Looking towards the future Nathan believes SmartGov will develop a relationship with the private sector - especially real estate. The business has received some interest from the sector who need solutions to understand the geographies in which they operate.

Nathan is one of plenty Varsity Pitch alumni who found doors open up for them in the enterprise/business world.

To be in the chance to win £10,000 for your business and take a step further in your entrepreneurial journey apply for the Varsity Pitch Competition here.