The 2022 Guernsey Venture Challenge concluded with shortlisted businesses pitching to win £40,000 for their start-up and the winners have been announced.
The Digital Greenhouse’s Guernsey Venture Challenge saw 55 local businesses apply for the island’s first funded start-up accelerator competition in July. After an intensive 6-week accelerator programme where the seven shortlisted businesses worked with mentors from Blenheim Chalcot – they gathered for the Pitch Night Final on the 20th of October.
The shortlisted businesses EaseeDo, Evidence, ISO-PASS, NionNet Origin, Sentient Software, Sleep Better Live Better and Troupa each pitched for the first prize of £40,000 and after questions and consideration from the judges, NionNet Origin was announced as the winners of the Guernsey Venture Challenge 2022. NionNet Origin, a code generation engine liberating developers from the repetitive work required in the application development process.
In second place was EaseeDo who were awarded £20,000 for their venture and the Youngpreneur prize was awarded to ISO-PASS along with £5,000 prize money.
Nick Gregg, Head of Strategic Projects, Blenheim Chalcot commented, “We were delighted to see the high quality of all the GVC finalist pitches, which is a testament to the huge efforts they have put in over the past few months with Digital Greenhouse and their mentors. It was a very difficult decision for us as judges and we are excited to see how both the prize winners and all entrants progress in the coming months. We hope the GVC will help inspire a new wave of entrepreneurs on the island.”
GVC winner Dave Zak of NionNet Origin said: “It takes unwavering passion and relentless effort to get a business off the ground. We have worked hard to create a service that will make a difference for software development around the world. What we have created is for every developer who can’t get home in daylight and every development manager that can barely see through their backlog thicket.
“Fully engaging with the Guernsey Venture Challenge and accessing the generous mentoring support, made sure we knew where our business was heading, and that we were pitch ready despite the nerves. Digital Greenhouse and Blenheim Chalcot have given us a huge boost to our business. We know the power of our software and completely believe in the benefits of using it, but, oh my goodness, winning first prize showed us that all our efforts have been vindicated. You believe in us too.
“At the presentation night we stood alongside other passionate and talented entrepreneurs, so our win was even more humbling. We look forward to developing deeper relationships going forward.”
Lucy Kirby, Director of Digital Greenhouse commented: “Congratulations to the wining businesses of the first Guernsey Venture Challenge, and all those who applied, showcasing once again the innovation and entrepreneurial drive in the Island. We look forward to continuing to work with new and growing businesses in 2023 as we expand the programmes and services offered by the Digital Greenhouse.”
The main picture shows the judges and winners (holding gold envelopes) from the pitch night. Left to right, Youngpreneur winner Louis Pike from ISO-PASS, Dave Zak from NionNet Origin, and Trevor and Catherine Nicholls from EaseeDo.
