Grammar software speaks the winning language
It was so good they didn’t even want any money. Gamma won the Cambridge University Entrepreneurs’ (CUE) £5k challenge for a grammar and proofreading software tool aimed at English learners that’s already raised £100,000.
Asked how much they were looking to raise from investors, Gamma’s Yichi Zhang replied "none," going on to scoop first and category prizes at CUE’s flagship business creation event nonetheless.
Gamma will, however, receive £5k for winning the competition and would hope to at least emulate the success of previous CUE winners such as Owlstone Nanotech, Light Blue Optics and Enecsys.
Finalists only had a minute in which to pitch, followed by a couple more to answer questions, not much, but time enough for some piercing questions from the panel of judges, including Abcam founder and CEO, Jonathan Milner.
Milner in particular queried the wisdom of the two drug discovery entries – Enzima Pharmaceuticals and People vs. Malaria – in being so advanced in their plans for development and distribution without actually having a core product.
This view was echoed in more general terms by award presenter, Neil Davidson of Red Gate Software, who urged entrants for next year’s CUE competition to be true to the name of the competition, Business Creation, not planning.
“Don’t write a plan, do something remarkable, break the rules,“ said Davidson adding that the entrepreneurs sat in the judging panel were themselves rule breakers. “You have seven months, time to build a prototype, a software program, do something more than words.”
The 10 CUE £5k finalists were announced in March under three categories, Technology and CleanTech, Software and Web, and Social Enterprise. Though the awards under these categories were judged before the CUE finale, Gamma still took the Software prize.
Naiad, a water filtration system for poverty stricken communities won Social Enterprise, while the two technology prizes went to Vortix Medical – diagnostics – and CamGaN – LED lighting.
blog comments powered by DisqusMilner in particular queried the wisdom of the two drug discovery entries – Enzima Pharmaceuticals and People vs. Malaria – in being so advanced in their plans for development and distribution without actually having a core product.
This view was echoed in more general terms by award presenter, Neil Davidson of Red Gate Software, who urged entrants for next year’s CUE competition to be true to the name of the competition, Business Creation, not planning.
“Don’t write a plan, do something remarkable, break the rules,“ said Davidson adding that the entrepreneurs sat in the judging panel were themselves rule breakers. “You have seven months, time to build a prototype, a software program, do something more than words.”
The 10 CUE £5k finalists were announced in March under three categories, Technology and CleanTech, Software and Web, and Social Enterprise. Though the awards under these categories were judged before the CUE finale, Gamma still took the Software prize.
Naiad, a water filtration system for poverty stricken communities won Social Enterprise, while the two technology prizes went to Vortix Medical – diagnostics – and CamGaN – LED lighting.
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