Spark business competitions

Do you have a business idea? Or have you already started a business and want to take it to the next level?

If you are a University of Leeds student, or you have graduated from the University of Leeds in the last seven years, then you could enter the University of Leeds Business Plan Competition 2025.

This annual competition awards prizes in two main categories: pre-trading and trading up to 24 months. The prizes in both categories are as follows:

• First prize: £2,000
• Second prize: £1,250
• Third prize: £750

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 11 February 2025.

For more information, contact Angela Archer:

• Email Angela: a.m.archer@leeds.ac.uk
• Phone Angela: +44(0)113 343 2551 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm)

Do you have what it takes to run a successful simulated business? You could win a share of £1,250 if your team beats the odds.

This competition is a collaboration between Spark and SimVenture for students studying at the University. The purpose of the event is to allow students to collaborate and work in teams and compete against each other using the business simulation ‘SimVenture Evolution’.

The two-stage competition has an online qualifying stage and then an in-person final event on Friday 22 November 2024.

Teams that perform best against the competition criteria in the online qualifying stage progress to the finals. Teams that reach the finals will be judged on their presentation and reflective skills as well as their ability to run a simulated business.

A prize fund of £1,250 will be shared with finalist winners.

The free-to-enter event is open to student teams from all seven faculties at the University of Leeds. Student teams must consist of a minimum of two and a maximum of four people. Student teams entering the competition can comprise of people from the same or different faculties although teams with a mix of students from different faculties have a greater chance of making it to the finals. To enter the competition, students within each team need to provide their name, email address, faculty of study and student number on the event registration page.

Find out more and register for the Business Simulation Competition.

First prize (£2,000)

• Zhenyu Li (Economics), AutoSqueak Ltd

Economics graduate Zhenyu Li won first prize for a business allied to his already successful company AutoSqueak, a leading supplier of car cleaning products, which turned over £800,000 in 2023. Zhenyu is taking on major players such as Eurocar Parts and Halfords by launching an e-commerce platform where individual motorists and automotive repair shops can directly source ‘automotive aftermarket’ products and parts. The platform will also use artificial intelligence to help users source exactly the right product, matched to the vehicle’s make and model.

2nd prize (£1,250)

• Trib Gosain (International Business and Marketing, 2020) and business partner, Reid Jacoby, Gilley

Gilley is an innovative new umbrella design. Read more about Gilley and how they also won the Sir Peter Thompson Award which has helped them grow their business.

Joint 3rd prize (£750 each)

• Jay Brown (Year 4, Business Management), JSB Sourcing Ltd

JBS Sourcing is a distributor of popular branded products that uses Amazon’s fulfilment services to streamline sales, returns and customer service.

• Sarah Jane Clayton (Year 3, Midwifery), Breathe and Birth

Breathe and Birth provides hypnobirthing and birth education classes.

Limehouse Special Recognition Award (£1,000)

• Jay Brown, JSB Sourcing Ltd

First prize (£2,000)

• Tom Milner (Electronics and Computer Engineering), Klip wall-mounted houseplant bracket

Tom already holds an Enterprise Scholarship for a separate digital music streaming venture, but his latest winning idea is an innovative 3D printed bracket to wall-mount houseplants without screws or permanent fixings. The Klip product solves the problem faced by students and others in the rental market who aren’t allowed to make alterations to their accommodation. It’s also a great solution for anyone who is not great at DIY. Tom plans to use his prize money to improve the design and experiment with colours and branding ahead of launching Klip.

2nd prize (£,1250)

• Iona Elborough-Whitehouse (MSc Management Consulting) and business partner Claire Sutton, Swimsets 

Swimsets are waterproof resources for swimmers and swim teachers to use at the poolside.

Joint 3rd prize (£750 each)

• Alex Neish (Year 3, Fine Art with History of Art), Chameleon Concealment

Alex’s outdoor clothing company, Chameleon Concealment, makes photo-realistic camouflage for players of airsoft, a paintball-style team game.

• Dr Joshua Nivern (BSC Medicine, 2016), ToothPik

ToothPik is a patient-facing dentalcare comparison website.

Limehouse Special Recognition Award (£1,000)

• Alex Neish, Chameleon Concealment