A grand total of £3,450 was awarded to 8 shortlisted USW student and graduates in the latest Bright Ideas Den (BID) in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week 2021. 

With a wide range of participants from both the Faculty of Creative Industries and the Faculty of Life Sciences and Education such as MA Games Enterprise, BSc Psychology, BA Film and BSc Medical Sciences pitching their ideas to a live panel, a maximum of £1,000 funding each was awarded to talented freelancers and start-ups for their marketing, equipment and kit.

Here are what some of the winners have to say!:-

"Arguably it is the business/ financial guidance that the guys from BID offer that is what makes this opportunity so important. It was certainly a driving factor in why we wanted to pitch for BID."

Dan McCadden, Liam O'Brien and Tom Burke are the minds behind 66 Days, providing industry-standard promotional video content and short-form documentaries with their business. Being awarded £500 for their business, they plan to spend the bulk of the money on a drone, with the remaining amounts going towards business costs and marketing.

"The marketing will put us on the map, helping to provide a consistent source of clients. The drone will give us a better filmmaking range. This has multiple benefits such as, pleasing our clients by going above and beyond expectations. Secondly, it will help give us the edge on potential competitors."

"This funding will help me to set up my first regular workshop bringing together spoken word performances and creative writing/visual art activities, bridging the gap between showcasing and creating art. I hope to create a safe space for self expression, building community, improving wellbeing and providing inspiration!"

Being awarded £250 from BID, Beth Smith is keen to cover the cost of art materials to run her art and wellbeing workshops through the HeART of Being. Beth often explores what it is to be human through her arts, and her facilitation comes from a place of hope and optimism for the future.

"Ask yourself, what does the world need and want right now? How can you provide it? Believe in yourself and your ideas and go for it!"

"I would like to say a huge thank you to Richie from Startup Stiwdio, Jonny from Student Enterprise for their amazing feedback and support with my application, and to the judges for awarding the Bright Ideas Den Fund and Amanda Bordessa from Big Ideas Wales for such great advice and feedback about business insight!"

Paolo Ricci started PaoloRicciVox, a videography and photography production specialising in creating content on an ongoing or project-to-project basis. He aims to deliver music videos, product videos, video ads, testimonial videos and many more. With the £500 worth of funding, he plans to improve the quality of his work and push creativity to the next level.

"BID helped me to be more motivated to find more customers and grow my business faster than ever before. You have got all the support from the University of South Wales, Student Enterprise, and Startup Stiwdio. Don´t be scared and give it a try. The only thing that can happen is that you will try it next time but with more knowledge and experience.

"I found the whole BID and pitching experience very rewarding. It was worth doing even if I had not been successful. By the end of my pitch I had more clarity around my business model and proposition, and how it could make a difference. I now feel much more confident about describing my business and a lot clearer about the next steps I need to take. The pitch itself was nowhere near as daunting as you think it is - everyone is supportive and encouraging."

Delivering wellbeing coaching and services to the music industry via her business Rock-Up Ready, April Donnelly has been awarded £700 via BID. She is keen to develop brand awareness and start actively networking to generate sales leads, launching her website with the funds and pitch to her target customers.

"For anyone starting a business on their own, one of the challenges is maintaining your self-belief without the kind of structured support you would find in a larger business. It is easy for self-doubt and imposter syndrome to creep in but having somewhere to share your issues and find encouragement, helps you to keep believing in yourself."

The next Bright Ideas Den will open for applications in mid-February.

Funding up to £1,000 is available to current University of South Wales students and graduates of up to 3 years. Register your interest below to be kept informed of the latest dates.

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Be sure to check out our website for more info on 1-to-1 sessions, more funding, resources and much more!

Cheers,
Team #StudentEnterprise 😎

As always, we will be here throughout the winter to support you with advice and queries. 

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