11 December 2008
SWAIN (South West Angel and Investor Network) has recently agreed to sponsor The Royal Agricultural College, Grand Idea main price, which encourages young entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into reality. SWAIN were delighted that the RAC won both the categories; “Best Alumni Business Plan” and “Best Student Business Plan”, at the Knowledge West Enterprise Awards in Bristol on Thursday. The awards recognise and reward the best business ideas and new enterprise proposed by students and alumni from the six universities in the West of England.
Phillip Tellwright, Managing Director of SWAIN said, “SWAIN are always eager to encourage young talent and will certainly help the students by offering some one to one assistance with their business plans and concepts. I look forward to judging the students and awarding the best business with the SWAIN Grand Idea prize.”
RAC graduate, Gillian Higgins, from Horses Inside Out won ‘Best Alumni Business Plan’ and received a cheque for £7,500 to invest in her business. Fellow graduate, Emma Pudney, from her proposed business idea - Speckled Hen Day Nursery won the ‘Best Student Business Plan’ category and also received a cheque for £7,500 to invest in her business idea. Emma was the winner of the Royal Agricultural College’s business ideas competition, the Grand Idea; earlier in the year.
Gillian established Horses Inside Out immediately after she graduated. The business benefits from her eclectic set of skills, namely dedication, anatomical knowledge, artistic ability and a sense of humour. Horses Inside Out is rapidly becoming recognised nationally, giving lecture demonstrations relating to how, through understanding the anatomy and biomechanics of the horse, it is possible to recognise potential, improve performance and reduce the risk of injury – a particularly important consideration in equestrian sport today.
To achieve this, Gillian paints the muscular skeletal and other anatomical systems onto the side of the horse. The judges were impressed by the extent of Gillian’s knowledge, her commitment, energy, enthusiasm and her presentation skills. Gillian commented “It has been a fantastic experience. It made me realise all the support I have received from the College. I am looking forward to developing Horses Inside Out further with the help of mentoring and marketing assessment. The additional cash will make a huge difference!”
Recent RAC graduate, Emma Pudney, won the Best Student Business Plan with her idea for Speckled Hen Day Nursery, a modern, fully registered, Day Nursery for children aged from three months to five years. It will be based on a farm in Essex with carefully restored Victorian farm buildings and with fully trained nursery staff with the most up to date facilities. Set in a beautiful rural setting in a completely enclosed unit, it will provide both a loving and caring environment for the children and provide peace of mind for the parents. It will enable the farm to have a steady and secure source of long-term income whilst providing the next generation with a way of restoring the past and building a future.
Emma found the Knowledge West Enterprise Awards to be a really good follow-on from the Grand Idea Competition (supported by Knowledge West through HEFCE funding) at the RAC. The competition provided her with an opportunity to update her business plan and be spurred on by the judges’ positive feedback.