Audacious 2021 Semester One Showcase
This year, our Audacious showcase might have just clinched the title for Best One Yet!
Last Wednesday, 2nd June, Startup Dunedin’s Audacious programme held the final showcase for semester one’s cohort of student entrepreneurs. This group of innovators had completed eight long weeks of workshops, market research, customer interviewing, and a lot of hard mahi, and it was time to proudly showcase this to Ōtepoti Dunedin.
True to form, this year’s cohort included a diverse range of students from all areas, stages in their study, vocations, backgrounds, and ages. From food waste solutions, to bubble tea, to gaming - students had no shortage of clever solutions to some of our community’s most challenging problems.
We really can’t overstate how absolutely brilliant our students are, and how much we loved seeing them pitch their amazing ideas. We’re so grateful to our sponsors for all their support - a huge thank you to Bex from Firebrand, Jamie and Donna from Polson Higgs, Phillipa from University bookshop, Sarah from United Machinists and Jason and Kate from Petri Dish.
Prize List
($2,000 cash + Bespoke Business Advisory Package) Polson Higgs Premiere Award:
Vigneshwar Muthukumar - Ruby & Pearl
($2,000 cash) Best Positive Impact Winner:
Taikawa Tamati-Elliffe - Ngati Gaming
($250 cash) Audacious Alumni Best Entrepreneur Winner:
Isabella Marinovich - O-Biz
($500 cash + Mentoring) United Machinists Best Physical Product Winner:
Vigneshwar Muthukumar - Ruby & Pearl
($500 cash) Best Pitch Winner:
Elizabeth Cunliffe, Molly Goodisson, Sydney Collin - Reshined Roots
($500 cash) Petridish Brass Tacks Award:
Ethan Bowmar - MaltedGold
($500 cash) Most Audacious Winner:
Cameron Brewitt - Squirm
Firebrand Digital Transformation Package Winner:
Katie Mangai - Luni
($100 cash) People's Choice Award:
Taikawa Tamati-Elliffe - Ngati Gaming
A little about the winners
Vigneshwar Muthukumar’s prizewinning idea, Ruby & Pearl is creating delicious plant-based bubble tea products in a variety of flavours, and aims to be the first bubble tea brand available in local supermarkets and stores. Taking out the Polson Higgs Premiere Award for his incredible attention to detail, market research, and robust business case, our judges were blown away by Vigneshwar’s hard work - and it doesn’t hurt that the product is absolutely delicious, too.
Best Positive Impact winner Taikawa Tamati-Elliffe’s venture, Ngāti Gaming, already had a dedicated following before he began his Audacious journey - and somehow still managed to consistently smash records every single week in terms of customer interviewing numbers. Ngāti gaming aims to protect the taonga that is te reo Māori by incorporating its use into popular video games like Among Us. Taikawa’s venture also took out Peoples’ Choice award - how good!
Maternity clothing rental service idea, Luni, was created by Katie Mangai and took out the Firebrand Digital Transformation Package prize. It can be a minefield for pregnant people to find high-quality maternity wear. Many who want to shop sustainably cannot always justify a high price tag for an investment piece when pregnancy doesn’t last forever. Enter Luni - rent the maternity wear, then return when you no longer need it.
Our Most Audacious prize went to Cameron Brewitt for Squirm, a solution to an ever-mounting food waste problem wherein everyday kiwis can set up and run a worm farm and properly compost their waste. Cameron is a real self-starter, too, having completed Audacious completely online using pre-recorded workshop content!
Petridish sponsored the Brass Tacks award this year, going to the startup that has it’s finer details ironed out and a high level of attention to detail. Ethan Bowmar’s locally-focused venture MaltedGold took out this prize, aiming to capture a share of the plant-based milk market with his more sustainable product.
The dynamic team behind Reshined Roots consists of Elizabeth Cunliffe, Molly Goodisson, and Sydney Collin. They’re also looking into ways to combat food waste, and from there the clever idea for a nutritious snack made from “reject” carrots (perfectly good, just a little homely looking) was born. Reshined Roots brought joy and enthusiasm to Audacious, and the judges awarded them Best Pitch.
Isabella Marinovich’s O-Biz earned her the title of Best Entrepreneur, sponsored by an anonymous Audacious alumni. O-biz was born after Isabella went viral on TikTok and realised she had a real knack for digital marketing. Her affordable course aims to educate students on how to hustle cash during their time at university using social media management, marketing, and more.