A start-up that aims to smooth a disjointed private healthcare market has won the top prize among entrepreneurial graduates of Durham University.
Book Health, founded by Alex Keith and Olly Page, scooped the Blueprint Startup Challenge, the university's business ideas competition. Their marketplace concept - started about eight months ago - was borne out of Mr Keith's background in physiotherapy where he noticed friction between patients using private medical insurance to book services and clinicians.
The pair won £10,000 after delivering a pitch on their idea at this week's Celebration of Enterprise Dinner hosted by Durham University Careers & Enterprise Team, where other teams also vied for the prize. It was the culmination of the Atom Bank-sponsored initiative in which finalists are given mentoring to hone their pitching and introduce them to entrepreneurial Durham University alumni around the world.
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Book Health, which integrates with clinical booking software, is set to be integrated with a client soon and its founders will start fundraising within six months. Mr Keith, who has previously built businesses, said: "The prize money will help us as we're talking to potential clients and visiting trade shows. Hopefully it will allow us to do more of that."
He added: "We couldn't have done this without the support of the university - it's been a great experience that has introduced us to other alumni who've built ideas and had success." Some of the Blueprint finalists travelled to the US as part of a trip to meet Silicon Valley and New York-based firms who provided advice on navigating global investment opportunities.
Among the five other finalists competing for the top prize was choppity.com - website that enables content creators to turn long videos into short social media content using AI and Local Energy Systems - a business that aims to eliminate fuel poverty through decentralised energy. The shortlist also included GelomX which specialises in providing a cheaper alternative to peat plugs for use in commercial horticulture; Lexi Menswear, a clothing company targeted at gay and bisexual men, and Peak365, which offers brokerage and consultancy in the voluntary carbon market.
The Blueprint Startup Challenge is now 20 years old, and previous winners have included Seaham-based Low Carbon Materials, which became a finalist for the coveted Earthshot Prize last year. The North East firm was one of just 15 in the world to make the shortlist in 2022 for the award, launched by Prince William in 2020.
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