The winners of the Round 11 Wild Card EDGE competition have been informed of their success, however, the exact award amount will not be disclosed until the Scottish EDGE final, to be held on 14th December at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Gogarburn campus (get your free ticket here).
The winning business ideas, ranging from an insulin pen that allows users to self-manage their diabetes, to a miniature popcorn that is healthier for the body and environment, all impressed the expert judging panel with their clear business proposition.
Furthermore, Wild Card EDGE is a proven identifier of potential Scottish EDGE category winners of future rounds, with eight of the past Wild Card EDGE winners going on to win amounts up to £100,000 in subsequent rounds.
In addition to secured grant funding, the top three scoring businesses, Adelie Health, AS D-Zine and lil’POP, will now take part in the Wild Card EDGE public vote, the winner of which will be given the opportunity to pitch for up to £100,000 in grant and loan funding at the Scottish EDGE final (cast your vote here.)
Scottish EDGE CEO Evelyn McDonald said: “The standard of pitching at this round’s Wild Card EDGE final was exceptional for such early-stage businesses. The eleven winners selected by our panel of expert judges reflect the truly innovative concepts from which great Scottish businesses are born. We look forward to supporting these entrepreneurs in their journey and to providing mentorship as they develop their innovations in the years ahead.”
Scottish EDGE Round 11 Wild Card EDGE Winners:
Adelie Health (Public Vote) – Adelie Health Limited is a digital health startup which uses insights from behavioural economics to improve health outcomes for people living with chronic diseases with a focus on diabetes. The business’s flagship product is Insulin PenPal, a smart device which helps users self-manage their diabetes.
AS-DZine (Public Vote) – Go~Charge™ is a multi-award-winning, patent-pending hydration product, which can be attached to any hydration pack. It allows you to instantly switch between plain water and a scientifically formulated sports drink as often as you wish. The hydration pack requires no additional cleaning and the device itself is dishwasher safe.
lil’POP (Public Vote) – The Healthy Crop specialises in all things sorghum! Sorghum is a nutrient-rich, gluten-free, and drought resilient crop! We are introducing this wonderful ancient grain to the UK with our first product, lil’POP: popped sorghum. lil’POP looks like miniature popcorn, but is better for the environment and better for you.
Attis Fitness – Attis Fitness is developing an innovative smart wearable for runners. The product is a compression legging which has smart sensors embedded into the fabric. These sensors provide lab grade bio metric data to help people increase their performance and reduce injury rates in running.
Casta Spes Technologies – CST is currently developing the Heliwheel, a recreational product that comprises of a self-stabilising wheel and camera attachment. The HeliWheel will be able to traverse most uneven ground or snow whilst maintaining a stable camera view allowing it to compete indirectly with both drones and RC car markets.
Design Surge – A startup that is dedicated to the design and manufacture of cycling accessories that target the commuter market. The business will aim to provide a range of premium products that provide the consumer with a consistent user experience by having a system of interchangeable products.
Kingdom Scotland – Scotland’s First Luxury and Creative Fragrance House, working with a Scottish master perfumer to bottle the essence of Scotland in high-end perfumes. Handcrafted in Scotland, in limited releases and using only the finest quality ingredients.
Kinetic Utilities t/a Kinetic Water – A supplier of Water filtration products which aims to become a well-known lifestyle brand. The filter increases the quality of drinking water through a five stage filtering process that removes chlorine and heavy metals, adds electrolytes and improves pH level.
Liberise – A pre-trading company who aim to empower people who have a surgical stoma, requiring the wearing of a bag on their abdomen to collect waste. This will be done through providing life improving products which have been designed to tackle the main life limiting problems experienced.
Seltza Seltza – A a disruptive trendsetter that produces unsweetened soft drinks. Seltza also produces carbonated soft drinks that provide an alternative to traditional soft drinks and mixers. Seltza is also committed to the production of a children’s drink called Fruited that contains no sugar or artificial sweeteners and is 100% naturally flavoured.
Talbase – Talbase are launching a sophisticated online recruitment software service with avatar interviewing that will provide a suite of cloud facilities suitable for both temporary and permanent staffing solutions, allowing recruitment agencies of all sizes and large enterprises from anywhere in the world to significantly streamline major elements of their recruitment process.
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