The StartUp Finale last night was a fabulous celebration of entrepreneurship by all involved. Just as many ideas and products of participating teams were reimagined along this year’s StartUp journey, so too, the Finale organisers needed to pivot and adjust to accommodate the various COVID restrictions.
The resulting online Finale in front of a live viewing audience was a stunning success. The three finalist teams – Boxes of Sunshine, Kalm Kreations and DeFree – presented their pitches to our judges and answered a number of probing questions about their businesses. A number of semi-finalists also shared mini-pitches of their products which were entered into the Viewers’ Choice category, voted on during the evening by viewers.
The Entrepreneurs of the Year were the Year 8 team behind Boxes of Sunshine – Michaela, Eva and Sophia. Their creation was motivated by a desire to help families connect with one another and get off devices by doing an activity together. It is an activity-based subscription service which sees subscribers receive six boxes a year of themed screen-free activities. These winning students are invited to participate in BlastOff (our 12-month mentoring entrepreneurship program). They also receive $1000 to help develop their business further.
The other award winners, who were selected for their progress over the course of the program, were also announced last night:
Booster Awards (These students participate in BlastOff and each have access to $500 to help develop their business):
- DeFree – AJ, Jack and Ryan – a decentralised platform using Blockchain technology to connect freelance workers with jobs.
- Kalm Kreations – Leila, Andrea, Keet and Martha – dust-mite free soft toys for babies and children with Eczema.
- Peach Tree Board Games – Izzy, Aiden and Benjamin – a board game for children that promotes environmental issues.
- Safe Space – Maddie, Alexandra, Ylva and Eliza
BlastOff Awards (These students participate in our 12-month mentoring entrepreneurship program):
- Familime – Mitchell, Joshua and Mika
- Light Foot – Elyse, Ayla and Harper
Highly Commended:
- A-Tag – Alvaro and Alexander
- Find Me – Madison and Olivia
The People’s Choice award was open to five teams who presented micro-pitches via video. The voting closed during the event and went to: Peach Tree Board Games – Izzy, Aiden and Benjamin. Their board game teaches children about the environment and is environmentally friendly in design.
To view all the pitches and excitement of StartUp Finale 2021, click on the video below:
A big thank you goes to the Finale event organisers Pip Currey, Lyn Jarvis and Zac Simpson, judges Amanda Hogan, Amrit Perera and Cathy Phipps and our fabulous Old Andrean presenter and host Anthony Segaert. We also want to thank all of our mentors, who helped develop the entrepreneurial skills of our student teams, and the StartUp team who worked behind the scenes to bring this Finale to fruition.
