News & Blog

Read the latest business news, blogs and thought leadership articles from our members, as well as updates on the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce's work in the city.

News & Blog

Shortlist for Bright Red Sparks unveiled

Posted: 23rd May 2018

Winners will share £12,000 in prize money and £17,000 in legal support from Shepherd and Wedderburn

Edinburgh Napier University has unveiled the shortlist for its inaugural innovation and enterprise competition, Bright Red Sparks.

The winners of the annual awards, led by Bright Red Triangle, the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship practice, will share £12,000 in prize money and £17,000 worth of legal support from the law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn.

Finalists have now been chosen across five categories: Bright Ideas, Going for Growth, Staff Superhero, Business for Good, and Innovative Entrepreneur. The winner of an additional wildcard category will be announced at the awards ceremony.

Shepherd and Wedderburn is supporting the Bright Ideas, Business for Good, Staff Superhero and Going for Growth categories. John Morrison, an associate in the firm’s corporate finance team, joined the judging panel in the Going for Growth category.

John Morrison

The winners will be announced at the first Bright Red Sparks Awards dinner, which will be held at The Hub on the Royal Mile on Saturday 26 May. The keynote speaker at the awards will be Edinburgh Napier alumnus Kevin Dorren, former Chief Executive of one of Scotland’s first listed tech companies, Orbital Software, and one of the founders and entrepreneurs behind Move Fresh, an investment company for e-commerce, fast-moving consumer goods brands.

Nick Fannin, Head of Bright Red Triangle, said: “The Bright Red Sparks Awards are a celebration of the breadth of innovation and enterprising activity across Edinburgh Napier University.

“We have been so impressed by the creativity, drive and enthusiasm of all of the applicants to solve problems, to create opportunities and to drive new businesses.

“It’s great to be able to reward all this hard work and we couldn’t have done it without our generous supporters and sponsors: Shepherd & Wedderburn, Santander Universities and the Moffat Charitable Trust.

“The package of support Shepherd and Wedderburn have offered will allow our winners to really hit the ground running as they set up and grow their businesses.

“We expect great things from our winners so look out for them.”

John Morrison, of Shepherd and Wedderburn, said: “I was delighted to be asked by Bright Red Triangle to judge the Going for Growth award this year. The quality of the submissions is testament to the innovative ecosystem being created at Bright Red Triangle.

“The team here at Shepherd and Wedderburn is excited about the future of our partnership with Bright Red Triangle, which will see us provide in-kind legal advice to the award winners and ongoing support to the incubator.”

The shortlist by category is:

Bright Ideas

Madalina Dichiu: Campar – online booking tool for camper vans and camp sites (concept) Jasmine Nicholson: ClipClap – innovative hanging system for fashion retail (concept) Georgi Kapreev: Learning Wings – interactive teaching tool (concept stage) Eilidh Mitchell: Shot 67 – independent commercial film producer (trading)

Business for Good

Elise Smidt: CockBlock App – blocks unsolicited pictures (concept) Catriona Ferguson: Keep your Pants On – retail offering to raise awareness of cervical cancer screening (trading) Martina Zupan: Alterwaste – creating eco-friendly products from waste by-products (trading) Agustín Pardo Van Thienen: Wumbox – developer of ‘gamified’ learning platform (trading)

Going for Growth

Alex Porter-Smith: High Tide Media – video production company (trading) Brian Miller: uFraction8 – scalable and sustainable bioprocessing technology (trading) Richard McAdam: RS McAdam Technology – developer of eShock, an electricity-generating vehicle shock absorber (trading) Josh Carson: GearedApp – mobile app design and development (trading)

Staff Superhero

Mark Smith: Wonders of Whisky – bespoke whisky tasting services to corporate clients Maria Gauci – developer of commercial lab skills training programme for recent life science graduates

Innovative Entrepreneur

Olga Tyukova<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtvRWYUD90hAb-2-mdkDfVQ> – Senior Consultant, Bright Red Triangle Elise Celik – Junior Consultant, Bright Red Triangle Alex Porter-Smith – Senior Consultant, Bright Red Triangle Kasia Hetman – Senior Consultant, Bright Red Triangle

Business Comment

Business Comment is the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce’s bi-monthly magazine. It provides insight on Edinburgh’s vibrant business community, with features on the city’s key sectors, interviews with leading figures and news on new business developments in the capital.
Read more here