‘Musica’ hits the right note and wins £1,000 top prize
4th May 2010
Bath Spa University’s third annual business plan competition reached its crescendo with the announcement of this year’s winner at the awards ceremony held on Thursday 29th April on the Newton Park campus. This followed an intense day during which seven finalists competed to win the £1,000 prize by presenting their business plan to a panel of industry experts.
Rosanna Campbell receives top prize
Rosanna Campbell, a third year Music & English Literature student, secured the £1,000 with her business Musica, which offers instrumental music lessons and workshops for health and emotional well-being to older adults in hospitals and retirement homes in South West England. Rosanna says:
“I’m still on cloud nine, really happy about winning! The prize money is an investment that will enable me to purchase professional marketing products and instruments.”
A merit award of £500 was also presented to Adam Shabbo, a final year Commercial Music student, for his business Alpha Kin Ltd, which specialises in the fusion of fashion and modern art by combining colourful and exuberant portraits of recognisable public figures with fashionable garments to create a designer art brand.
All of the student finalists were privileged to receive expert advice about their business plans from the four business experts, who formed the judging panel. These included Simon Bond, Director of the Innovation Centre (Bath), Paul Clarkson, Managing Director of PA2C Ltd, Abdullah Ali-Ahmani of Axent Management & Training Solutions and Tim Wrathall of The Navitas Partnership Ltd, who commented:
“Overall the standard was very high and we fully appreciated the time and effort taken to compile and present each project. Any student or team that has taken their idea this far must have a strong element of belief in their business concept. Hopefully the experience of entering the business plan competition, alongside the feedback they receive, will provide added further assistance and motivation.”
The other finalists included:
- Get Intimate Events who offer a series of folk and acoustic live music events that showcase nationally acclaimed artists alongside the best local unsigned talent in Bath’s smaller venues. www.getintimateevents.com
- Wendy Allan Design who produces a range of sculptural lights that incorporate original textile designs with resin and glass fibre.
- Rockingbird Design, by Suzanne Owen who produces bespoke lampshades for interior design
- Little Eskimo, a social enterprise that showcases, educates and inspires young musicians in the Bath area through a variety of live music events. www.littleeskimopromo.com
- Canz Creations, handcrafted jewellery with a foreign flair by Candice Landau! www.canzcreations.blogspot.com
The Business Plan Competition encourages and develops the enterprise culture within Bath Spa University and is open to any current student. For those students thinking of starting their own business, it helps them to follow their idea through with the aim of keeping and developing new businesses in the local community.
"We'd like to say thanks for the brilliant learning experience you created for us. We really have learnt so much and it's great to get feedback to help our business constantly evolve and improve." Charlotte Harrold, Get Intimate Events
Guests at the award ceremony were entertained by Chicapella, a business plan entry by Commercial Music students for an A Capella act based in Bath. Consisting of a quirky quartet of young ladies, they entertained the audience by performing songs from a broad range of genres and eras.
