Cambridge University Entrepreneurs was founded in a pub in 1999 by three people. Nine years on, it runs the most successful student-run business creation competition in the world – the companies that were created through the competition are now valued collectively at over £42m. This year’s companies include a vineyard modelling system, cologne that can be reactivated by rubbing your wrists together and tampons laced with painkillers.

The quality of the entries into the £1k Challenge this year is the highest it's ever been. In fact, the judges were so impressed that they decided to award 11 prizes this year instead of the usual 10. To all those who didn't win, we'd like to remind you that you had stiff competition and that there's no such thing as failure - only feedback, which is on its way to you.

So this year's £1k winners are:

1. AI Speech
2. AutoTB
3. BeFree!
4. Cambridge Quantum Technologies
5. Drive Technologies
6. Levitech
7. PowerSilicon Technology - winner of the Cleantech Prize sponsored by Carbon Connections
8. Rejuvinate
9. Rescent
10. Terroir Precision Viticulture
11. VEINBAY

Well done!

Date: Wednesday 30 January 2008
Time: 6pm
Venue: Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ.

Last term, teams of budding entrepreneurs from Cambridge entered their business ideas into the £1k Challenge. On 30 January, 10 teams will be crowned winners and will walk away with £1000 each.

The Entrepreneurs’ Challenge has a history of success in creating companies. Since the first competition 9 years ago, we have had over 450 entries and awarded over £320,000 to 41 business ideas. These business ideas are now companies currently valued at more than £42m.

Join us at the CU Entrepreneurs’ £1k Awards Ceremony to meet the hottest entrepreneurs in Cambridge, network with the Cambridge business community and be serenaded by Britain’s entrepreneur of the moment, Levi Roots.

Levi Roots is a reggae musician, chef and entrepreneur. He gained widespread fame after singing his way into a £50k cash injection for his "Reggae Reggae Sauce", a barbeque sauce made to his grandmother’s secret recipe, on Dragons’ Den. Weeks later, Reggae Reggae Sauce sold out on its first day on the shelves of Sainsbury’s.

Please signup for this event using the following form:

Date: Saturday 26 January 2008
Time: 10am-12pm
Venue: Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ.

More important than having a great idea is figuring out how to sell it! Entrepreneurship may be instinctive, but presenting to venture capitalists benefits from rehearsal in the same way as a singer with raw talent still needs to be trained. We invite you to come and pitch your idea, receive feedback and learn from other pitches.

The masterclass will be led by Andrea Blakesley. Andrea founded Mudhut in late 2005 with the aim of advising individuals and organisations on complex verbal communication. Prior to founding Mudhut, Andrea spent three years as a Director of the Great Eastern Investment Forum, the leading UK business angel network based in Cambridge. Responsible for the selection of early stage companies and recruitment of investors, Andrea also led the GEIF investment readiness programme, coaching over 100 companies on their investment presentations to private investors. Andrea has experience in consulting companies from a wide range of sectors including biotechnology, telecoms, finance, internet, leisure, engineering and the arts.

There is no need to register - just turn up.

Please note that £1k Challenge entrants are expected to attend.

Thank you to everyone who entered the £1k Challenge. The 10 winners, who will walk away with £1k each, will be announced at our awards ceremony on Wednesday 30 January with our special guest, Theo Paphitis - put it in your diary now!

In the meantime, please check that you have sent your NDAs, disclaimers and prize money to CU Entrepreneurs at the Institute of Manufacturing

Finally, just a reminder to send a poster to by 21 December. It should meet the following specifications:

• PDF format
• suitable for printing out in A1
• should not disclose any private information
• should include the name of your team and team members

For examples of posters from previous years, look at our Facebook group: Here is the poster from TouchSight.

Dear entrepreneurs,

We would like to remind you to submit your £1k Challenge entries before midnight on Wednesday 12 December for the chance to win one or more prizes of £1000 each. This leaves you a week to write and submit an executive summary.

Also remember that there is a special Cleantech Prize sponsored by Carbon Connections for the best Cleantech idea.

A few of you have asked for templates of executive summaries - we try to avoid providing these since all entries then start to look the same. However I will point you in the direction of last year's guidelines - should you choose to use them they can be found under resources.

Generally, these are the basics of what you should aim to include in your executive summary:

• Abstract
• Product/technology
• Market/customers
• Intellectual property
• Management team
• Operational requirements
• Financial highlights
• Exit strategy

Imagine that you are writing the summary for potential investors. It is vitally important to know your market - you should identify and quantify it as clearly as you can. Don't just estimate the market size, but also what proportion you aim to capture.

You will find it useful to look at material from our Phase 1 training day - the slides can be found here.

Chris Lamaison explains how to carry out market research in 4 hours; Peter Logsdon explains how to write the financial sections of the executive summary and Tim Barnes talks about what makes a great idea.

You are likely to score well is you can fulfil the judging criteria, which can be found in the competitions handbook. <http://www.cue.org.uk/files/handbook2007.pdf>. The competition rules and procedures can also be found in the handbook.

Remember that the word limit for your executive summary is 1500 words. Any content beyond this will be discarded. You will also need to write a public summary of no more than 150 words. Make sure than no confidential information is disclosed in this public summary.

Submit your executive summary in PDF form online at http://www.cue.org.uk/node/1268.

Finally, make sure you print off and sign copies of the NDA and disclaimers the for entrants found at the end of the handbook and UMS them, along with your entry fee (a cheque payable to "Cambridge University Entrepreneurs" for £10) to:

Cambridge University Entrepreneurs, Institute for Manufacturing, Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 1RX.

If your idea won or was a runner up (you will have been notified) in Phase 0, it gains free entry to Phase 1.

Best of luck and have a wonderful Christmas,

From CUE

Here are the slides from the three speakers at the £1k Training Event, held on 24 Nov 2007. The competitions handbook which explains how to enter the competitions is also available here.

Venue: Department of Engineering, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ

Would you like practical advice on writing a winning entry for the £1k Challenge? Come along to our £1k Challenge Training Event to hear how to maximise your chances of winning.

Talks will cover the following topics:

• What makes a great idea
• How to form a great team
• How to identify and quantify your market
• How to raise finance

No need to sign up - just come along! For this event we will also be joined by members of LSE's Entrepreneurs Society, who are in town for the day.

Phase 1 is about spotting the business opportunity and writing a 1500-word executive summary. The £1k Challenge rewards well-presented propositions that show clear market potential and competitive positions. You will need to clearly identify and quantify your market niche.

There are 10 cash prizes of £1k each. Winners and runners-up get free entry to Phase 2.

The Competitions Handbook contains a full description of the Cambridge University Entrepreneurs business ideas and creation competitions.

A new version with updated dates and prize amounts was published today. Click here to download a copy!