The 20 finalists of the Venture Further 2019 business start-up have been announced ahead of the awards ceremony on 8 May.
The annual competition run by the Masood Enterprise Centre at Alliance MBS is open to entries from all students and recent graduates from across The University of Manchester. Finalists are split across five categories – Business, Creative, Environmental, Social and Technology.
Business finalists
Checkmate Concevoir
Be it a concert, show, festival, gig or a club night, the Checkmate Vivus family aims to double event organisers earning through cross-promotion and provide apps to create and share experiences.
- Oluwaseun Oboite, MSc Business Analysis and Strategic Management
- Ash Limbu, Co-applicant
CuLipa
An electronic payments platform with a goal of powering African electronic commerce by offering instant, affordable, and borderless payments or transfers through a blockchain powered and unified platform.
- Paul Asiimwe, MSc Management and Information Systems: Change and Development
- Patience Ankunda, Co-applicant
Everest
A universal table service app, which enables pub goers to browse menus, place their order and pay the bill in any bar/pub or restaurant anywhere in the world.
- Daulet Bukanov, BAEcon Finance
- Mohamad-Salim Al-Heraki, BAEcon Accounting and Finance
- Alisher Iglymov and Yerulan Abayuly, Co-applicants
The Pentone Family
On a mission to bring the world’s most innovative alcoholic beverages to consumers all over the globe. Giving great taste with healthier ingredients, drinking responsibly and drinking smart.
- Philip Robinson, MEnt Master of Enterprise (Business)
Hear from all business finalists in this category >>
Creative finalists
Basera (U.K) Ltd
Aims to make exercising more comfortable and accessible to customers, by remodelling the production of quality sports bras, apparel and services, with new material technologies, authentic designs and meaningful innovation.
- Erin McDermott, Master of Enterprise (Textiles and Fashion)
Rats to Riches
A table-top strategy game that casts players as sewer-dwelling rats, scheming their way to become The Big Cheese! They invest in businesses, sabotage other rats and build their sewer empire!
- Eugene Lim, BSc Management
- Bucur Robert, BSc Management
- Amanda Lim and Chevy Thompson, Co-applicants
Visionary Interiors
A platform that provides an artistic experience for the user to create a unique and personal piece of work that can be presented in the form of any desired interior wall decor.
- Sabah Afzal, BA Middle Eastern Studies with Business and Management
Xshubz
Nurturing core human values and surrounding ecological foundations by exploring real estate through an artistic viewpoint.
- Shabbir Khan, MSc Real Estate Asset Management
Hear from all creative finalists in this category >>
Environmental finalists
Homely Energy
A smart thermostat company enabling electric heating technologies to make use of variable electricity tariffs.
- Karolis Petruskevicius, PhD in Power Networks
- Ignas Bolsakovas, BSc Computer Science and Mathematics with Industrial Experience
Mindful Store
A modern-day ‘phygital’ store that lets small and medium-sized sustainable brands get into retail and reach a wider audience.
- Vlad Mukhachev, BA Environmental Management
- Stefan Cherkasov, BA Environmental Management
- Timofey Cherkasov, BSc Mathematics with Financial Mathematics
PartyWearOnTap
Aims to revolutionise the way we consume the most frequently purchased and under-utilised clothing items, through a clothing-rental subscription service.
- Crystal Bromwell, MEnt Master of Enterprise (Business)
TOMOS instruments
Designs and manufactures advanced measurement instrumentation to control, optimise processes and reduce waste.
- Marco Antonio Rodriguez-Frias, PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Carla Lipari, Co-applicant
Hear from all environment finalists >>
Social finalists
Behappy
Improving couple relationships to save the family crisis in the world. With emotional AI, we improve couple relationships proactively and increase efficiency 90% with a mobile and wearable device.
- XiYing Yu, Global MBA Class of 2016
- Wei Du, Global MBA Class of 2016
- Pei Sze Ng, Global MBA Class of 2016
- Kuan Li, Alan Tan and Li Xu, Co-applicants
Invisible Manchester
A global social enterprise that trains people who have been affected by homelessness to become walking tour guides.
- Alice Sparks, BA Politics and Modern History
- Millie Maltby, BA Religions and Theology
- Danny Collins and Zakia Moulaoui, Co-applicants
Klenic
A web-based platform that allows clinics in Myanmar to digitise patient medical records and to enhance privacy and security of patient data.
- Haridharan S/O Jaganathan, BSc Management
- Kieran Yi Moon, Co-applicant
Peera Ltd
Helping social mission organisations deliver more social-impact by developing technological solutions with and for them using cutting-edge technology like blockchain and IoT.
- Lewis Laiden, MEnt Master of Enterprise (Business)
- Nathan Dane, Co-applicant
Hear from all social finalists >>
Technology finalists
AEH Innovative Hydrogel Ltd
Providing an innovative polymeric dressing to healthcare providers to detect and treat chronic wound infection at an early stage in an easy clinical setting.
- Beenish Siddique, PhD in Materials
- Dr Siti Rabizah Makhsin, PhD Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science
- Dr Jacek Wychowaniec, PhD Nanoscience
- Dr Firoj Ali and Dr Mohammad Saghir, Co-applicants
FLOCK
Provides a diagnostic tool that helps HR professionals to make more money for their organisations by creating more engaged cultures. FLOCK is for HR Professionals like Google Analytics is for digital marketeers.
- Michal Wisniewski, MEnt Master of Enterprise (Business)
- Dan Sodergen, Co-applicant
SidcoDX
Allowing construction companies to complete projects faster and reduce costs in the production stage through a patented methodology that uses infrared cameras on the job site, determining the project’s real-time progress and speeding up the formwork setup.
- Emiliano Pinto, MSc Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Systems Management
- Juan Fernández, Co-applicant
Stressless
Produces neuroscience powered virtual reality games which not only entertain, but provides therapeutic value for pain management and relaxation.
- Nikhil Jacob, PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
