STUDENTS STARTING UP


You will get an understanding of the realities of starting your own business, meet other students interested in starting up, network with fellow entrepreneurs and business people, attend workshops, get advice, and hear about other support and opportunities for budding entrepreneurs in Dunedin, New Zealand and internationally.

You will develop fantastic new skills, meet new people, it looks great on your CV and you’ll be in to win money and prizes to get your business off the ground. Last year, competitors shared in a jackpot of $40,000 in cash, services and other prizes to help them start-up – what have you got to lose?

How does it work?
Those entering the Audacious competition are required to submit a business idea, a detailed business plan and pitch their idea to the Dragon’s Den. Check out the Programme page for further details. Throughout the competition, students attend a range of start-up workshops and have access to a Business Coach for one-on-one advice.

Who is it for?
Audacious is for students of all disciplines at the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic – not just business students.

No matter what you study, if you are creative, energetic and keen to expand your horizons – Audacious could be perfect for you. If you are worried you lack business skills, or any other skills, we will do our very best to help you find team-mates with the skills you need.

Individual entrants must be current University of Otago or Otago Polytechnic students. If you are entering as a team, at least one member of your team must be a current student and that person must be your nominated main contact when submitting your ideas.

But you don’t even have to enter the competition, if you are thinking of starting up, you’re welcome to join the community – attend Audacious events, hang out in the Audacious space, speak to our Business Coach or simply ask for help!

Categories
To organise the wide range of ideas submitted every year, and to compare apples with apples, Audacious is split into five categories. In your Round One submission you will be required to nominate the category in which you think your idea fits, but they become more important in Round Two. As you can see, any idea can be a winner!

THINKING BIG

Don’t play safe, think long term. Bold ideas that are relatively untested and may have a long development phase, but could find worldwide success.

ACTING NOW

Get out there and make it happen. Ideas that are relatively straight forward, low risk and easy to bring to market.

DOING GOOD

Look after people and planet. Ideas that benefit society – for social entrepreneurs, not-for-profits, sustainable ventures and the like.

GETTING CREATIVE

Think outside the box. Ideas that are innovative in the design or marketing that is leading edge and provides a competitive advantage.

MAORI BUSINESS

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi; engari, he toa takitini; our achievements are a collective endeavour, not a solitary effort. For Maori students and those with a Maori-focused business idea.

RULES
Read the Audacious Challenge rules 2014. Competitors must agree to these rules in the submission process. Entries can be submitted via the Challenge section of this website. Any questions regarding these rules should be directed to [email protected].

Blog archive

Audacious > Blog

1. $3 DINNER SCHEME Francisco Hernandez

2. A PUBLICTRANSPORT NETWORK – QUEENSTOWN Evan Bloomfield

3. ARE YOU LINKED IN? Laura Judge

4. ATTICUS Kendall Flutey & Jenny Yun

5. BLACK CAT EARLY LEARNING Fabienne Le Comte, Rachel Kaspers & Libby Neale

6. CARRI-CELL Maria Brett

7. CATCH22 Kirk Feather

8. DEMI DUO Demi Keys

9. DESKIT Omri Moyal

10. EASY SQUEEZY Sam Reynolds

11. FACE-TO-FACE Ceire Hopley & Guy Hopley

12. FOOD WEBSITE (UNAMED) Hannah Feenstra

13. GLOBELET Ryan Everton

14. GLOW GUY ROPE Marcus Wilkins

15. i-SPY CAR SECURITY Richard Powell

16. ISOPOP Rory Gowan

17. KANLINK Kieran McKewen, Adrian Cross & Nathan Sime

18. KOWHAI FEEDER Ceire Hopley & Lee White

19. LEARN COACH David Cameron

20. LOCALE Michael Smith, Nicole Morris & Nick Little

21. MEATMAIL LTD. David Booth & Harry Uffindell

22. OM NOMS Kevin Smith

23. ONLINE FARMERS MARKET Martin White

24. ONLINE FOOD ORDER AND PICKUP SERVICE Erin Park

25. PLASTICATION Eleanor Parker

26. POWDERED SUPPLEMENTS Amanda Cooke

27. SAVAGE SUPPLEMENTS Devon Mason & David Tuisaula

28. SCARFIE TEXT BOOKS Andy Foster

29. SGT. APPLES Kev Smith

30. SHAREITON Omri Moyal

31. SHISHA PARLOUR Mufadhal Valibhai

32. SIMPLE HEALTH Deborah Lambie

33. SHOUT David Booth

34. SOFT HIT HAND GUARD Tom Maguire

35. STUDENT FASHION HQ Michael Gin

36. THE NOBLE KEBAB Seamus Burgess & Andrew Springford

37. THROW LIKE A GIRL Natasha J. Stillman, Freya Haanen, Alice Jackson, Sarah Freiburger & Chontelle Syme

38. TRUST BEE Alex Black & Shun-Yu Wu

39. WALLSCAPE Rhiannon Steptoe

40. ZANYRC K Smith