We were delighted to be joined by Simon Thorpe of Delta2020 and three work experience students during the Pitchfest Showcase Day at St John’s Innovation Centre.
Pitchfest Showcase is a culmination of a highly focused training and showcase programme delivered by Enterprise Europe Network in partnership with the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and designed to help ambitious business founders develop the necessary skills to become pitch ready.
Charlotte, Emily and Olivia shared with us their experience of the day and pitches they heard from innovative and ambitious founders who were selected from over 50 companies from across the UK to present at the Showcase Day.
Charlotte Brown, Work Experience Student, Delta2020
I am a year 12 student, from The Bishop’s Stortford High School, currently on a week’s work experience placement at Delta 2020. The opportunity arose to attend the St John’s Innovation Centre’s Pitchfest 2018 on the 28th of June, in which the experience allowed me to observe a number of varied pitches, ranging from Virtual Reality to pH sensor systems. I was particularly interested in the pitch for ‘Briteyellow’, as I found was more relevant to me, and enjoyed and understood the concept.
During the event, I was incredibly impressed by all the entrepreneurs, and inspired due to the confident and enthusiastic way they delivered their pitches. This allowed me to gain some skills on presenting that I will be able to use in the future. It was refreshing to see a healthy ratio of female to male entrepreneurs, especially during the current crisis where statistics are drastically low concerning women in STEM professions. I left the event feeling motivated and inspired after a very rewarding day.
Emily Hollins, Work Experience Student, Delta2020
I am currently a year 10 student at the Hertfordshire and Essex High School. On my work experience week at Delta2020 I had the opportunity to attend a Pitchfest event. After leaving the St John’s Innovation Centre (SJIC), my immediate feeling was one of inspiration from the incredibly hard-working and aspirational entrepreneurs. It was especially motivating to see so many female entrepreneurs as well. Furthermore, we listened to a wide variety of pitches from virtual reality (VR) to fruit tea. However, what fascinated me the most were the ones providing an eco-friendly solution to problems, for example Bio-Bean that recycles waste coffee grounds by reprocessing them into Coffee Logs to be burnt on fires. The overall atmosphere was extremely friendly and welcoming which all contributed to a great day.
Olivia Singh, Work Experience Student, Delta2020
I visited the Pitchfest on the 28th of June as a Herts and Essex Year 10 student whilst on work experience with Delta2020. My initial thoughts of the St John’s Innovation Centre (SIJC) were that I’d be in a very strict, formal environment. However, after going there, I found that the people in the event were very warm and welcoming. They asked me questions about the current work I’m doing at Delta2020 – and afterwards asked if I was listening or pitching. I liked that they asked questions, because I could talk to them more and exchange more information about the tech world.
Within the innovation centre, I was inspired by a range of diligent people. I obtained a unique and worthwhile experience from being amongst these individuals who displayed great determination whilst presenting. I received the chance to listen to a diverse range of entrepreneurs, and there were many females as well. I found this pleasing considering the fact that girls aren’t often seen enough pitching business ideas in the realm of technology. I was particularly interested in eco-friendly solutions by businesses, for example Bio-Bean. I feel that because of the growing waste being produced at an alarming rate, innovations involving the recycling of old coffee will help protect our planet and the environment.
Truthfully speaking, all of the entrepreneurs left a professional, sophisticated impression on me. The atmosphere was lively, and it gave me an insight as to how broad the range of business ideas can be. My overall judgment is that Pitchfest hosts a variety of intelligent people, and that in the future I’d be delighted to go again to listen to more fascinating pitches about business ideas.
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