Demo Day 2014

We had a fantastic Demo Day last night. Over 200 people came to see our latest cohort pitch and demolish fifteen metres of pizza.Here's a bit of my speech...

Three months ago, the nine teams you are about to see arrived at the BGV office with an idea. Few of them had companies, even less had bank accounts - but we had chosen them because we saw potential in their ideas and we believed these were the right people to make them happen. We are incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved and can’t wait to show them off to you.

But before I talk too much about them, I want to take you back to six months ago at our last Demo Day as I’m sure you’ll all be dying to know what happened to our brilliant summer cohort. Six of our ten teams went on to raise further funding and four have moved into an office together - fondly known as BGV 2. Another has successfully attracted UK digital champion Martha Lane Fox to join their board.

So back to 2014...

The past three months have been a hectic whirl of constantly pivoting business models, long nights with Margaret the 3D printer whirring quietly in the background, and lots of cake.

Tonight our 9 teams are ready to tell you about what they’ve done. And more importantly, they will be asking for your help.

This isn’t just about money, although many of them are raising investment. But you don’t need to have a large personal fortune to get involved. There are lots of ways you can help - some teams are looking for people to sign up to their service, others to spread the word about what they are doing, and some are seeking new contacts in industry or people to work with.

All of them will be asking for your generosity.

At BGV we are really grateful for the generosity of our community. Our mentors give up their time to come and talk through each new idea. Our alumni come back again and again to give hard learned advice. And finally the teams themselves support each other daily with everything from bug fixing to proof reading.

And so we hope that while you listen to these pitches you will be asking yourself: “How can I help turn these 3 month old startups into the massively impactful and successful companies that they could be?”

Then we had pitches from our fantastic winter cohort:Andiamo - Using 3D scanning and printing to drastically improve the orthotic services for childrenCauseHub - A platform to discuss and discover actions which lead to real changeeBarts - A digital currency, enabling people to buy and sell without moneyI Can Make - Fun, educational content for your 3D printer. Made from the iconic objects of history.Flooting - Points-powered swaps. Get stuff you need, get rid of stuff you don’t. For free.HearToday - Tech to help hearing impaired children get better access to educationSentimoto - Wearable sensors for healthy ageingvoXup - Have your say on local issues.Wall Display - The Digital Classroom Display that motivates students.Watch out for pitch videos COMING SOON!