Eight student-led ventures pitched for a share of more than $50,000 in prizes at the Entre Enterprise Challenge finale in Christchurch, with ANZ again backing the competition as Platinum Sponsor.
More than 300 people filled Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre for the event, the first time the finale has been held there. Entre’s student organisers described it as their most ambitious event to date.
Lensare, developed by Mark Campbell, took out the top prize, receiving a $32,000 prize package. Lensare is developing adaptive smart glasses for people with light-sensitive conditions. Real-time sensors detect dangerous light patterns, such as flashing that can trigger a seizure, and darken the lenses within milliseconds before clearing again once the danger passes.
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The venture is initially targeting photosensitive epilepsy and is on its third hardware prototype, with a roughly 100-person waitlist, two neurologists as clinical advisors, a partnership with Epilepsy New Zealand and an upcoming clinical trial.
ARRO took second place, worth $10,000, as well as the $500 People’s Choice Award. The venture, developed by Stella Henry, Archer Simpson, Axel McKenna, Emily O’Connor and Noah Mellish-Temple, is building software designed to identify issues in building plans before they reach council, helping builders and developers avoid preventable consent delays.
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Third place, worth $7,000, went to Global Cargo Space, developed by Lewis Turner and Eva Humphreys. The online marketplace allows businesses to post sea freight shipments and receive competing quotes from verified providers, making it easier to compare freight options in one place.
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Entre is a student-run club at the University of Canterbury that helps students turn ideas into businesses. Now in its 22nd year, the club has had its biggest year yet.
Membership has grown to more than 500 with a presence at Lincoln University and Ara Institute, and its student executive ran close to 60 events this year, with more than 300 students submitting business ideas.
This is ANZ’s 12th year supporting Entre. Chris Broughton, a Director in ANZ’s Corporate team in Christchurch, said the bank’s involvement goes well beyond a logo on a banner.
“We are involved with the advisory board, mentoring teams through the competition, and judging events. We hosted the club at ANZ Centre last week to select the final eight, and the top 16 ideas were some of the best I’ve seen,” he said.
“When a team is ready to start trading, we help them open accounts and get set up. Through our “Start Up” package and local business managers we can offer practical support to these new businesses in Canterbury.”
ANZ is also banker to the University of Canterbury, and Chris said Entre has become an important part of that relationship.
“It’s one of the best ways we have to connect with students - every year the competition builds a new community of executive and club members, and we get to work with this group of highly-motivated students."
Some of those students end up at ANZ. Over the years the bank has employed several former members of Entre’s executive, including Morgan Pepper, who now works in ANZ’s Institutional team and helps lead the bank’s involvement with the club.
Plenty of Entre alumni have gone on to build their own businesses. Ethique founder Brianne West and entrepreneur Guy Horrocks both came through the competition.
The Enterprise Challenge runs over several months. Teams go through workshops and mentoring before pitching to judges, and this year’s programme also included a 48-hour Startup Weekend, where about 100 students worked on their ideas with speed mentoring before pitching for a place in the competition.
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Chris said the club’s success comes down to the students who run it.
“Entre has an executive of more than a dozen students, all volunteers, and they run it like a business. The university rates it highly, and so do we. We’re proud to be part of it and we’re looking forward to seeing where this year’s finalists take their ideas.”
Find out more about Entre at entre.co.nz.