Improving everyday life

Lolli Lifting, Cardiff University

The founders of Lolli Lifting believe that strength knows no gender and that every woman deserves to feel confident, powerful, and stylish while pursuing her fitness goals. This belief is what led to the creation of Lolli Lifting.

Lucy Wooldridge graduated from Cardiff University and Oliver Griffiths graduated from Birmingham University last year, after both studying Law. During their time at university, Lucy noticed a gap in the market in the female fitness space and went on with Oliver’s support to turn that vision into a reality.

In 2023, Lucy pitched Lolli Lifting at the Santander Go Getter Awards at Cardiff University and came first, securing the business a £5000 grant. Since then, the business has continued to thrive, winning the Student Side Hustle Awards in 2024 and an additional grant of £2500. In the same year, Lolli Lifting was named Consumer Products Start-Up of the Year for the Midlands at the UK Start-Up Awards.

The future is bright for Lolli, as they are preparing to launch a new range of products, from barbell pads to gym bags. The business can’t wait to increase their product catalogue and grow to become a well-established brand within the fitness industry.

Blitzo, King's College London

Blitzo enables businesses to deliver products in minutes through a hyperlocal model of sustainable EV fleet of gig riders, offering instant pickup and deliveries in under 60 minutes.

Co-founders Arjun and Sundar met on their Computer Science course at King's College London where they developed their sustainable and rapid delivery model at the King's Start-up Accelerator. 

MishiPay, University of Manchester

MishiPay is an app that helps shoppers avoid queues by using a mobile self-checkout, allowing shoppers to skip queues for a more efficient experience.

CEO and founder of MishiPay, Mustafa Khanwala attributes his academic background to the skills required to develop MishiPay's prototype. This innovation has earned him recognition, including being named on Forbes' ‘30 Under 30’ list.

Ooh Ahh Property Staging, Southampton Solent University

Ooh Ahh Property Staging is a staging service dedicated to creating beautiful, functional spaces to help homeowners enhance their property’s appeal.

The staging service aims to speed-up and maximise the sale or rental of a property through cohesive styling, dressing and design. 

Ooh Ahh Property Staging founder and lead designer Emma Martin completed an Interior Design Degree at Southampton Solent University in 2023. In 2024, Emma founded Ooh Ahh Property Staging and successfully secured £2,500 in start-up funding from Southampton Solent University. 

Through the Solent Start-Ups initiative, the university provides students with expert business advice, hands-on support, and start-up funding to help bring their ideas to life. Southampton Solent University also run Solent Creatives, an in-house creative agency which connects businesses with students. This initiative allows students to gain real-world, paid experience while businesses get to work with future creative talent.

Ooh Ahh Property Staging has been growing steadily, working with well-known property developers and securing repeat work. 

Aegis Fibretech, University of Birmingham

Aegis Fibretech is commercialising a novel ultra-lightweight insulation to improve efficiency and safety in cars, electric cars and motorsport. 

This insulation material is constructed through advanced electrospun nanofibre technology from sustainable materials. 

Co-founders Dr Gowsihan Poologasundarampillai and Dr Sam Moxon share how the insulation could reduce the weight of a fire blanket to that of a couple of sheets of paper. 

Bullion, Sheffield Hallam University

After graduating in 2015 with a degree in events management, Max Scotford set up Bullion, the region’s first bean-to-bar chocolate company Bullion. He received support from Sheffield Hallam enterprise team, who supported him with mentors, seminars and £5,000 to start the business.

Bullion has its own factory in Sheffield and is the supplier to the newly opened Chocolate Bar in Sheffield. 

Max also started sister company Dough Boy, which makes biscuits and sweet treats that are supplied across Sheffield, including in Sheffield Hallam University cafes. 

They opened a shop in Sheffield in 2022 and are the wholesale bakers for a number of Sheffield cafes.

iamproperty, Northumbria University

iamproperty is a property auction service that benefits both estate agents and consumers. 

Now a multi award-winning company, it pioneers the Modern Method of Auction (MMoA) to bring much needed speed and security to the market.

Founders Jamie Cooke and Ben Ridgway’s mission was to modernise the property market. The co-founders launched the company in 2009 after graduating from Northumbria University with degrees in Real Estate Management in 2007. 

Northumbria University supported the launch of iamproperty, which now leads the market with an ecosystem of solutions, from CRM to auction and onboarding and sales progression.

Pop Specs, University of Chester

Pop Specs is an optical business which aims to provide stylish and affordable prescription glasses ready to be fitted in as little as 20 minutes. 

Since opening their fist kiosk in Manchester’s Trafford Centre in May 2020, business founders Lina Tejoprayitno and Daniel Barnes have opened dozens of outlets across the UK, including London, Glasgow, Cardiff and York. 

In 2021, the pair impressed the University at the Venture Pitch programme with their innovative idea and enthusiasm, before making a successful appearance last year on hit BBC show Dragons’ Den, where Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies each agreed to take a 4% stake in the business for a combined £75,000.

New Motions Labs, University of Exeter

New Motions Labs is a start-up that has masterminded the first innovation in sprocket design in over a century. 

Used in industry, it provides a solution to chain wear – one of the biggest causes of unplanned maintenance and downtime in industrial machinery – reducing firms’ unplanned costs and increase carbon savings through efficiency and greater production capability.

Goldbox Productions, University of Derby

Goldbox Productions is a videography and photography agency established by University of Derby Film Production graduates Josh Spaticchia and James Heaney while they were still studying. 

Committed to creating the best content possible, Goldbox is a youthful team with a shared passion for delivering cinematic, creative and versatile video content for modern marketing needs.