Wyre triumphed over this year’s hefty competition in our 2014 Varsity Pitch Final! Ed Moyse and Harry Huang clinched the top prize of £10,000 for their app business.

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Giving his reaction to the news Ed Moyse said: “I actually thought one of the other guys would win it. I literally sat there thinking it could be anyone. DividABill was really interesting. I really liked M-24, that was also interesting.”

Ed’s business partner Harry Huang said: “I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet. There was so much tension leading up to the announcement, when it happened I was just like: ‘WOW!’.”

The event

Today’s Varsity Pitch Final brought together some of the UK’s most exciting and ambitious entrepreneurs. Hosted at Google Campus, after over 400 applications, we knew this year was going to be one of the toughest. There were so many great pitches at the semi-finals we knew the judges were going to have a big job.  

Johnny Luk, NACUE CEO started off the afternoon welcoming everyone to our fifth competition with a remark from the Business Secretary RT Vince Cable, who said: "It takes guts, talent and creativity to be a successful entrepreneur, and these attributes are clearly visible in each of the finalists."

The finalists were compared by Yogesh Chauhan, Director of Corporate Sustainability at TATA, Julien Callede, Made.com founder, Stephanie O’Reilly Womenswear PR Manager at ASOS and 2013 Varsity Pitch winner Phillip Ellis - co-founder of Blaze.

The pitches

Coflo were up first pitching their eco-friendly shower. Richard Ogodeton received praise from the judges for their product development. Julien Callede, MADE.com founder said: “I do think you have a great product, it is solving a problem and it makes sense.”

Wyre founders Ed Moyse and Harry Huang then took to the stage to showcase their app which has been designed to make it easier for individuals to make payments using bitcoin.

ASAP Watercrafts followed afterwards with Ross Kemp’s sustainable option to help lifeguards save more lives. He even led a mini-demonstration on stage using his product.

Next up was Bradley Poku-Amankwah’s Smart Fuel. Bradley presented why his social enterprise - that seeks to address some of Ghana’s developmental issues - should win. 

Fifth in line to pitch to the judges was Mat Dusting of M-24. Mat explained the story of how he recycles lorry curtains and turns them into designer bags.

DividABill followed with Jonathan Akass presenting his app that manages bills to make it easier for students. Jonathan explained how version two of his app was going to thrive with brokerage plans in the works. 

Last, but certainly not least Venteo pitched their app that makes it easier for people to relive the best moments of events from different attenders perspectives.

The decision

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After minutes of discussing and some difficult deliberation the judges were able to announce Wyre as the winner! Commenting on the quality of the competition Ed Moyse from Wyre said: “I thought ASAP Watercrafts was really interesting and also M-24.”

Harry Huang added: “DividABill were interesting especially with their phase two idea brokering energy companies.”

After announcing the winners Johnny Luk said: “I think it’s fair to say we saw some pretty amazing pitches. [These businesses are] literally saving lives. It’s so inspiring. Everyone should be really proud of themselves.” 

The people’s choice award was given to SmartFuel. Attendees took to Twitter to cast their votes in the break - as judges decided over the Varsity Pitch winner - and it was not soon before long that Wyre were announced as the people’s choice. 

It was a brilliant event and a testament to the finalists who have worked so hard to get here. 

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  1. Our Impact
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We've achieved a great deal in a short number of years, though there's much more too do in supporting our mission of 'Powering the Enterprise Generation'.

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Powering the Enterprising Generation

Our mission is to support the development of education and student engagement throughout college and universities by championing student enterprise societies and peer-to-peer learning. NACUE started from an extraordinary movement in student entrepreneurship, providing young individuals with a platform to be experimental, creative and inspiring in their approach to enterprise and entrepreneurship, encouraging a bottom-up approach to inspiring the next generation.


Today, we see over 200 enterprise societies, powered by peer-to-peer groups, who are championing the success of young people throughout their interactive programmes by forging collaborative relationships with their institutions to provide greater experience and development opportunities for their peers. Establishing regional links with locals SME’s who are keen to open their doors to emerging talented, proactive and enthusiastic graduates perpetuates this.


Our work is dedicated to supporting the development and encouragement of entrepreneurship amongst young individuals and forms the sole purpose of NACUE. To learn more about NACUE and the services we produce, click here.

As a not-for-profit, we raise charitable donations that allow us to widen the opportunities available to young people in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship, strengthening student engagement, the quality of education and connecting and representing student enterprise societies and student entrepreneurs worldwide.

NACUE is a charitable organisation that supports 32,000 students and young people every year. As funding becomes harder to obtain, we rely on the generous support of donors to ensure our programs can continue to change the lives and aspirations of the younger generation.


A donation of any size goes a long way to furthering our work and really is greatly appreciated. Every gift matters in aiding our mission of ‘Powering the Enterprising Generation' but we mainly rely upon the generosity of our members and alumni to do this. By making a single or regular donation you can make a big difference. To learn more about how you can donate, please follow the links below.



 

Large national network

NACUE are delighted to have supported a huge number of student-led societies over the years. You can see the number of established student-led societies on an interactive map below

 

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Who we work with

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are at the very core of NACUE, everything we do is to better the startup and self employment ecosystem. We believe that entrepreneurs will shape the future, and we bolster this through our events, our network and our advocacy.

Students

NACUE works with students in Colleges and Universities right across the UK, helping support them in their entrepreneurial goals and connect them with like minded peers.

Educators

NACUE works collaboratively with educators and academics in supporting the development of entrepreneurial mindsets in young people.

Our events

Our events offer the young people we work with the opportunity to connect with our wider network, the experts and seasoned entrepreneurs in our community and the chance to be inspired to take the leap of faith into entrepreneurship. These events are attended by students and graduates from universities and colleges up and down the UK, as well as students from across Europe. Student Societies take centre stage at our events, alongside innovators, game changers and trail blazers of the UK startup ecosystem.

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