News

Mason Hayes+Curran Green Business Plan Competition

12 April 2011

On Friday 15 April, the winner of the 'Green Business Plan Competition' will be announced.  The new initiative, which was initially announced in February, has been run in conjunction with Mason Hayes and Curran and the DCU Enterprise Society.  It is intended to give students a platform to present their green business proposals to professionals from the world of business and investment.

Participants were expected to emphasise the environmentally friendly aspects of their idea.

The winner will receive € 2,000 and the runner up € 1,000, with certificates being given to all 6 semi-finalists.

35 individuals and teams of students submitted proposals for the competition in a first round of 4-minute elevator pitches.  The 40-second video log of the six finalists can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/esocgreencomp

The six business ideas that have made it to the Final on April 15, as announced on the day by Prof Brian MacCraith, DCU President, are (in no particular order):

1) MBA Irish Water

This product arises from the fact that sources of water supply for household usage purposes are becoming ever scarcer. The product innovates on current water displacement technology.  Through a more tailored design, the product delivers a more cost effective solution to the consumer whilst delivering the societal benefits of water displacement, removing the need to supply this water through the national water supply infrastructure and the inherent costs both environmentally and economically of doing so. Following analysis we assess that 40,000 people per annum would be interested in installing a proposition similar to our offering.

View 40-second video proposal

2) Xposure

Introducing a new means of manipulating social media to gain business exposure and help gain a competitive advantage. Every customer who enters a store has a network of friends, our hope is that through the discounts offered by Xposure we can drive your customers network of friends to your stores too.
Every time an Xposure customer uses our service, they are effectively becoming a brand ambassador for both Xposure and the company they got the discount from.

View 40-second video proposal

3) Team Prometheus

The vision we have for our company is to be the best producer of non-intrusive wearable technology for emergency personnel. Our idea is to make a product capable of measuring the heart rate, GPS location and orientation of its wearer, such as a fire fighter, in a non-intrusive manner which will then transmit the information it gathers to a commanding officer. The information will allow for better command decision to be taken and in turn decrease the risks faced by the fire fighter. We will produce a high end long lasting product that will be upgradeable and environmentally friendly. The product will be produced in Ireland and will create employment in the smart economy.

View 40-second video proposal

4) Wind-it-up

Wind-It-Up operates using a similar mechanism to that of a measuring tape in that the earphones retract into the device at the push of a button. They can be unwound by simply pulling them back out to the desired length. The small gadget remains attached to your earphones at all times and can be easily stored in your pocket. The market potential is evident in every frustrated consumer who untangles their earphones each time they want to use them, or in every consumer who has had to repeatedly replace their earphones due to damage or wear and tear. In an online survey of 100 people, we discovered that the majority of respondents (95%) have owned more than one pair of earphones in their lifetime (39% actually owned more than 5), with damage being the primary reason for this. In order to provide the solution to easily damaged earphones, we asked our respondents if they would be interested in purchasing a device to safely and neatly store headphones, 73.5% of whom replied that this would appeal to them. This gave us a strong indication that Wind-It-Up would indeed have huge commercial potential when released into the Irish market.

View 40-second video proposal

5) Sports Fuel

My idea is based on a full range of sports nutrition and healthy lifestyle products. These will come in three forms, powdered supplements, ready mixed drinks and nutritional bars. All products will be one hundred percent Irish manufactured. The products are manufactured to the highest standard possible and contain no cheap sugars or filler ingredients, which can be used by other companies to cut costs. All packaging and labeling can be recycled post consumption. With manufacturing taking place in Ireland the cost of transport is significantly reduced, making this idea extremely viable from an environmental aspect.

View 40-second video proposal

6) Green Box

Building on the concept of aeroponics and reinventing it as a user-friendly urban garden, the greenbox is a fully automated minifarm meant to provide fully sourceable fruits and vegetables for the end consumer. The user´s involvement is minimal, allowing even busy individuals and families with little space to take advantage of kitchen-fresh fruits and vegetables. The greenbox is a plug-and-grow system that even a child could use, and is a great first step in creating a carbon neutral and healthier household!

View 40-second video proposal


Congratulations to our semi-finalists.