Last night the Otago Business School hosted the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) regional finals for 2025.
Young Enterprise Regional Finals 2025
Our Prizewinning Student Pitches for 2025
Startup Dunedin's 2025 student pitch competition wrapped up this week, culminating in an evening celebrating the bright ideas and fresh new startups and businesses being run by students at Otago Polytechnic and the University of Otago.
This year we had a whopping 35 pitches submitted (and you can read more on that here!). As a result, we were able to host a showcase that truly highlighted just how impressive and diverse the entrepreneurial energy is across Otago, from fashion and food to tech, science, and beyond. Not only that, but our students below are living proof that great ideas come from any area of study - and a testimony to making entrepreneurship accessible and something you can do alongside your studies.
Keep reading for a lowdown on all our amazing finalists and the great ideas coming out of students at Otago, plus a deeper-dive into this year’s prizewinning pitches!
Highly Commended
Wilding Pines Otago
Founders: Jonathan Chan, Samuel Mitchell, Nkanyiso Ndlovu, Harold Pence Saldiva
Studying: University of Otago - Software Engineering
Startup: An AI Machine Learning model which generates a heatmap of wilding pine sapling infestation areas
Future Potential Winners
Competition was fierce. These teams demonstrated entrepreneurial mindset, business acumen and creativity and the judges wanted to acknowledge their ideas and hard work, and were awarded our Future Potential prize - $100 per person - to help further their startups.
Crumb Folk
Judges: We love seeing students build something from what they are learning. We can’t wait to see where Crumb Folk goes next!
https://www.instagram.com/crumb_folk/
Founder: Janet Hollard and John Shaw
Studying: Otago Polytechnic - Culinary Arts
Startup: A Micro-Bakery selling affordable artisanal bread, filled bread, and cake
Horizon Tutoring & Coaching
Judges: Horizon is solving a really crucial problem in NZ around water safety. Emma is bringing water safety to rural New Zealand and places that don't currently have access to swimming education.
Founder: Emma Kinney
Studying: University of Otago - BSc in Mathematics and Physics
Startup: A summer swimming education programme focusing on rural communities in Otago.
Store My Stuff
Judges: Otago students have a lot of problems that are unique to the experience of studying at Otago. It was great to see Store My Stuff address a problem that arises every year with a practical solution.
Founders: Misha Craig and Anton Hawkins
Studying: University of Otago - BCom, Majoring in Finance and Economics
Startup: Store My Stuff offers storage solutions tailored to first-year students.
TidalForge Studios
Judges: Gaming studios are a significant part of the Dunedin startup ecosystem, and we’re really excited to see the new perspectives that TidalForge brings to the gaming landscape!
https://www.linkedin.com/company/tidalforgedstudios
Founders: Glen Williamson and Joey Milton
Studying: Otago Polytechnic - Bachelor of Communications (Games)
Startup: TidalForge Studios is an emerging game development company with big ambitions. Currently working on a game demo, the studio is building momentum to begin pitching next year, carving out a space for local talent in the global games industry.
Churner
Judges: Sometimes it's the founder and the entrepreneur more than the idea. Thomas has thrown himself into every opportunity in the ecosystem, including Momentum, and we can't wait to see where he takes Churner in his career next.
Founder: Thomas Jenson
Studying: University of Otago - BCom in Finance and Economics
Startup: Churner is a study resource designed specifically for Health Science First Year students. With lecture-by-lecture multiple-choice questions, it gives students a reliable, organized way to prepare for exams.
GymPal
Judges: Daniel is very entrepreneurially-minded; following the startup process and also applying his studies. We can't wait to see where he takes us after some more validation!
Founder: Daniel Bradley
Studying: Otago Polytechnic - Design and Exercise
Startup: GymPal is here to improve how people stay committed to the gym. Through online training videos and improved engagement strategies, the platform is focused on boosting attendance and helping people achieve lasting fitness results.
Our Prize Winners for 2025
Too Many Discs Limited - Winner of Most Audacious ($500)
Founder: Nicholas McDermott
Studying: University of Otago - LLB and BSc in Marine Science
The Most Audacious prize almost always goes to someone building something left field, either in its business model or in what it's looking to disrupt. It can even be the industry they’re tackling, or a big hairy moonshot goal - but it’s always, always, audacious.
The judges have awarded Too Many Discs, an online marketplace designed especially for used disc-golf discs, this $500 prize for their bold idea tackling a clear problem with impressive market validation. The judges admired the ambition and customer understanding - they’re definitely one to watch as they push to scale up fast!
Piller - Winner of Best Entrepreneur ($500)
@piller_hijabs on Instagram
Founder: Sofea Haizal
Studying: University of Otago - Law & Politics
Sometimes, it's just as much about the journey, the individual and how coachable they are. We ask, do they make the most of every opportunity put in front of them? We love a cheeky ask, a cheeky introduction, or seeing students making the most of the resources they have around them.
Piller are making Kiwi-made, sustainable hijabs using deadstock fabrics. Sofea built her idea through YES, came through Audacious and now has made it through the 35 pitches to take out Best Entrepreneur; the judges wanted to especially recognise Sofea for really listening to customers and adapting along the way. The judges were impressed by the progress and clarity of thinking - now it’s all about testing that market demand and taking it further!
Frolic Events - Winner of Best Service Business ($700) - Sponsored by Cue-Go
Founder: Sean Galdeman
Studying: University of Otago - Law
Cue-go, our prizewinning Audacious alumni for 2025, is super passionate about the businesses you can't always see, as service businesses in general might not be the most flashy. But many service businesses are exceptional; strong and impactful, with innovative and disruptive solutions to common problems.
This $700 prize went to Frolic Events, a team with fantastic storytelling and great progress so far. The judges saw real potential here for a service that clearly connects with its market. The next challenge will be staying ahead of competitors and keeping that momentum year-round!
Made to Grow, Built to last: Sewlutions Studio - Winner of Applied Innovation Award ($250) and the Best Emerging Startup Award ($1000), Sponsored by Emerge
Founder: Yasomali Sandaruwani
Studying: Otago Polytechnic - Master of Design (Fashion)
Sanda’s startup, Made to Grow, Built to Last, is an exciting and ambitious concept with huge potential. Her startup idea for a sustainable childrenswear collection that grows with the kids who are wearing it was designed with adjustability, expandability, and durability in mind.
The judges saw a big opportunity here and are keen to see in more detail how it can grow beyond its first market and where it goes next. With traction and media attention already beginning in the Otago Daily Times, we know it’s only a matter of time before Made to Grow, Built to Last has carved their name into the sustainability and innovation side of the fashion industry.
Mud - Winner of Applied Innovation Award ($250) and the Best Momentum Award ($1000), Sponsored by Momentum
@mud_aotearoa on Instagram
Founder: Emily Gilbert
Studying: Otago Polytechnic - Bachelor of Culinary Arts
Mud are a potato based dairy free ice-cream, currently available at Patti's & Cream. They have already made waves in the food & beverage industry, have gotten some great traction (or dare we say… momentum?) and are already in the market right now. They’re already doing the thing.
It’s pretty hard to find a bad word to say about Ice Cream, and the judges absolutely loved this product. Mud have a clear market, have undertaken some seriously strong customer validation, and therein lies a big potential for them to scale. With potatoes sourced from Heartland, they’re also leaning into sustainability really well; making Mud a really clever piece of innovation with heaps of promise. Also - and we might be biased here - it’s just plain yum.
A Quick Recap: Student Startups in 2025
It’s official - both our Student Startup Programme, Audacious, and the Student Pitch Competition have officially wrapped up submissions for 2025!
Big thanks to our funders & partners: Dunedin City Council, University of Otago, and Otago Polytechnic - and to our prize sponsors Momentum, Emerge, and Cue-Go for supporting this year’s cohort of student startups.
With $5,000 in cash available for student ideas, tertiary students from 21 different areas of study and disciplines were represented in our pitch submissions. Here’s a really quick recap of what we saw!
Board Spotlight Series: Mark Cartwright
Earlier this year, we were lucky enough to welcome a new face to the Startup Dunedin board - Mark Cartwright, Deputy Executive Director of the Industry Training and Innovation department at Otago Polytechnic.
Board Spotlight Series: Angela Davis
Our newest Startup Dunedin board member, Angela Davis, officially joined us earlier this year - and she brings to the role a unique (and super valuable) founder’s perspective, with a career journey that spans everything from soju to consulting to higher education.
We’re stoked to welcome her on board and grateful to have her contributions to Startup Dunedin’s mission!
Spotlight on Customer Personas
This blog was originally published in the Otago Daily Times.
By McKenzie Dowson Chamberlain
Things can get pretty quiet this time of year, especially if you’re running a startup or small business.
If you’re looking for new customers, now is a great time to reflect on your strategy for customer acquisition. In particular, you can look at revisiting customer personas.
Start with the problem, not the solution
Support for start-ups to experiment
Actively nurturing innovation culture helps teams thrive
This blog was originally published in the Otago Daily Times.
By Euan Kirkland, founder of Emplify which helps organisations measure and strengthen the cultural traits that drive sustainable innovation.
Startups thrive because their people deeply believe in what they are building.
This gives the team a shortcut to a strong cultural identity: they move fast, take risks and innovate relentlessly. Teams demonstrate resilience, adaptability, exceptional teamwork and customer obsession.
These are not optional extras, they are the traits that define a strong culture and support their early innovation and success.
What we learned from Rayn Ong's AMA
Rayn Ong is an angel investor, a Principal at Archangel VC, and a Blackbird Giants mentor. He recently hosted an event for startup questions in a reddit-style AMA - you can take a look here to see how it all played out.
Our startup coach Pete Lead was in attendance, and he has put together a series of bite-sized insights for you to digest below!
6 Quick Lessons from Blackbird “Pitch Deck Teardown”
Founders Breakfast with Solid Oral Care
This week, we were joined at our Founders’ Breakfast by Laura and Adam from Solid Oral Care for a kōrero about their journey from identifying the problem, to landing on supermarket shelves. In particular, Solid found a way to shake up a largely slow-moving and non-innovative $33 billion industry
Celebrating 20 Years of Student Startups in Ōtepoti
We were honoured to be joined by our community for a moment to reflect on the past and how far we’ve come, and the stories still being written today.
The entrepreneurial student community in Dunedin has long been supported by the University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic, Dunedin City Council, and Startup Dunedin, and so the evening brought together the people who’ve shaped the student startup scene over the past two decades.
5 Key Learnings from Electrify
Earlier this month, Sally Warlow - founder of Baasistech and part of Startup Dunedin’s Distiller incubator - had the pleasure of getting along to the Ministry of Awesome’s Electrify Aotearoa 2025 in Wellington.
She came back to us with a truly awesome stack of insights worth sharing from startups around the country, and we’ve pulled together a few highlights that other founders might find useful too!
Starting up the second time with Jonny Mirkin.
Jonny Mirkin joined one of our Founders’ Breakfasts late last year. A familiar name in the NZ startup world, you may know him from his earlier venture Nomos One, or Givenwell, which launched in August 2024 and is already expanding into Australia.
At our Founders’ Breakfast, he shared the good, the bad, and the ugly, but more importantly, the lessons he is applying this time around. We took some notes.
How DO you test the desirability of an idea or startup?
You may have heard us talking about validating an idea, and part of that is to test the desirability of the idea. Desirability Validation is used to de-risk an idea and test the solution, without building it first. This helps to save you time, effort and money. It also helps to give you confidence that the problem is worth solving; and that people will pay for the solution.
But… how do you actually do that?
Going Global from Ōtepoti
Wade Pearson - Startup Dunedin's Board Spotlight
The Chair of the Startup Dunedin board, Wade Pearson brings over 10 years of experience in both law and startups - and you’d be surprised how often those two things cross over.
Startup Dunedin's Microgrant Funding
Business In A Box: An Otago Polytechnic & Startup Dunedin collab
A box of random items, a few hours of ideation and two days to make a business. A pretty impressive feat for the 2025 cohort for Bachelor of Applied Management at Otago Polytechnic!
We had the pleasure earlier this week of stopping in on the Applied Management students for a workshop as part of their Business in a Box challenge - keep reading to find out how it all went down!