Reading: Pitmans and Henley Business School announce best business idea at Ideafest

Emergen-Sill, designed by Oliver Brown, a building surveying student from the School of Construction Management at Reading University, has won the second Henley Business School and Pitmans Ideafest student business competition. 

IDEAFEST is organised by the Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship (HCfE) at the Henley Business School and sponsored by leading national law firm Pitmans. 

The final saw five finalists selected to present to a judging panel that included John Hargrave, finance director, Pitmans; John Cavill, founder & CEO, Intermezzo Ventures; Pete Doyle, founder & CEO, Social Retail; Stuart Morris, lecturer in entrepreneurship at the HCfE; and Jurek Sikorski, business development lead & executive in Residence, HCfE. 

Emergen-Sill is an innovative fire escape ladder for residential buildings. Brown came up with idea while visiting friends, seeing their escape ladder, and thinking he could improve its safety. In his design, supports are built into the structure of the external wall and the ladder is stored away in the window sill when not in use. In the event of a fire, the cover of the window sill is quickly released and ladder to the floor provides a safe escape route. 

The judges were particularly impressed by Brown's model and his extensive knowledge of the housebuilding industry. He will now receive mentoring from Pitmans and from the HCfE which will help him to bring Emergen-Sill to the market. 

Collecting £1,000 in prize money, he said of his win: “I am extremely grateful to win Henley Business School’s IDEAFEST. The competition has presented me and other aspiring entrepreneurs with a platform to take our business ideas to market. The presentation was a great experience and the response Emergen-Sill received from the judges was very rewarding. 

"It’s amazing to think a product I designed has already received such praise and I hope this response is reflected by the market. A big thank you to everyone involved and I look forward to working with the Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship and Pitmans in the near future.” 

Second prize and £500 went to Amroy Lal and Oliver Hunt with GradSpace, a unique online property rental solution for graduates and students. 

Adam Thornhill secured third place and received £250 with Survivor, a real-life escape game with a twist, in which two to four people are locked in a van and have to solve a linear assortment of clues and puzzles to 'survive'.