Launch Point

Have a brilliant idea but need funding to get it off the ground? Launch Point is your chance to make it happen. 

This competition offers a share of a prize pot (typically £1,000, with additional funding sometimes available) to support early-stage businesses. If you're building a business and need money to reach your next milestone, we want to hear from you. Just submit a three-minute video pitch telling us about it.

Who’s it for? 

Open to all University of Edinburgh students and recent graduates (up to two years post-graduation). Teams are welcome. Only one co-founder needs to be a current University of Edinburgh student or recent graduate to apply on behalf of the team. 

Visa eligibility: If you're on a student visa, you must be in your final year with plans to switch to a visa that permits business activity after graduation. See our visa information page for general guidance.

Reapplying? Previous Launch Point winners can apply again with a new idea, as long as you haven't received competition funding within the last 12 months for the same idea. 

How much will I win?

The total prize pot is typically £1,000. We often award £500 for first place, £300 for second place and £200 for third, but this can change. Final allocations are based on the quality of applications and are decided by our Student Enterprise team judging panel. 

How to enter
Submit a three-minute video pitch along with some basic company details. 

Please note:

• YouTube is the preferred platform for video uploads. We recommend setting your video to unlisted.
• Video must not exceed three minutes. Videos that are too long, or that have been sped up to fit the time limit, will be disqualified.
• Slides are allowed, but we must be able to see the person pitching. AI voiceovers are not allowed and will be disqualified.

What does a good application look like
 You've got three minutes to sell yourself, your idea and your vision. Winning pitches will showcase the following:

• Hook – Grab our attention and show us why the idea is exciting.
• Problem – Show that you're tackling an important, urgent problem.
• Solution – Explain how the solution is innovative and clearly solves the problem. We recommend showing us what your product or service actually looks like (e.g. a screen recording, diagram, sketch, model, or image).
• Revenue model – Show the plan to make money, and why customers will pay for it.
• Market size – Demonstrate this is a big opportunity with a significant customer base.
• Go-to-market strategy – Show a plan for getting this into customers' hands.
• Competition – Show an understanding of the alternatives and why this solution is better.
• Team – Show us why you're the right people to build this.
• Traction – Showcase any work to date that proves demand (e.g. customer conversations, market research, tests you've run).
• Ask – Clearly demonstrate how the funding will help you.

Deadline: 9th November at 10am (GMT)
Winners notified: via email by 13th November

Applications open soon 

The competition was a great opportunity for us to kick-start and validate our startup concept. We at ROBOCEAN: Ecosystem Engineering cannot wait to use our prize money to develop our prototype and save our seagrass."

Niall McGrath - Robocean co-founder