Success Snapshots: Explore our most recent outstanding entrepreneur businesses and network with them at this year's virtual awards event!
On Wednesday 18 November, we held our annual showcase event. We invited some of 明星八卦’s recent graduates and current students with outstanding innovations to virtually share their entrepreneurial journeys to date. Each unique and inspirational presentation provided invaluable first-hand insight into entrepreneurship and starting a business.
The event was opened by 明星八卦's Vice Chancellor Julia Buckingham and included video updates from our graduates who we featured in our 2019 明星八卦 Entrepreneurs showcase, click here to read all about this event - it was great to see how much their start-ups had grown throughout the year. Before we welcomed our first outstanding entrepreneur to share their journey, we passed over to Andrew Mossop, founder of Student Skill Store who provided 2-minute top tips for entrepreneurs throughout the live event.
Meet the speakers:
- Albert Marfa and Clara Hardy – OIMO, 2018 Industrial Design and Technology graduate & 2019 Business and Management (Marketing) graduate
Oimo is an eco-design and new materials start up. Their mission is to supply the industry with the tools it needs to be more sustainable, and together reduce 8 million tonnes of plastic which end up in the ocean every year. They are formulators and engineers specialised in the development, creation, testing and implementation of marine-degradable materials to replace plastic in packaging. They’ve developed a range of biomaterials that work with classic plastic machinery.
- Anil Puri – founder of Pet Instincts, 2019 Product Design graduate
Pet Instincts presents a well-being monitoring service that provides the means to monitor and care for a pet’s behaviour and welfare at all times, even when you’re not there. Pets are complex creatures that require a lot of care and understanding in order for them to stay happy. In the UK alone 2.1 million dogs are left home alone for 5 or more hours on a typical weekday. So much boredom, isolation and under stimulation can have a dramatic impact on a dog’s well-being with 8/10 dogs in the UK experiencing Separation Anxiety.
They believe that a pet’s mental health is just as important to care for as their physical health and are building technology-based solutions that improve the health & well-being of all pets.
- Joanna Power and Paramveer Bhachu – founders of Lava, Product Design Engineering students
Lava aims to promote water efficiency within the modern home, through the use of innovative environmentally friendly design solutions. They have designed a portable washing machine, for students and their accommodations, that filters used shower water and uses it to wash clothes. The device has a removable water tank, which can be placed on the shower floor like a mat, making collection easy, and reducing overall water usage. If their product was used by every student in London, they could save over 1.7 billion litres of water a year.
- Gracen Rubo – founder of IMPRINT, 2020 MSc Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, and Design graduate
IMPRINT is an online footwear business that creates bespoke shoes for women. They serve women with a range of foot conditions (arch deformities, hallux valgus, wide feet, etc.) who struggle to find comfortable yet stylish footwear to suit their condition. IMPRINT utilises 3D scanning and 3D printing technology to produce custom, sustainably-made shoes which reflect the unique foot shape and style of the wearer.
Want to watch the event?