GROWTHhub Bootcamp 2024
Our first event for this semester was the GROWTHhub Bootcamp. This bootcamp aimed to provide participants with a quick look into what entrepreneurship and the GROWTHhub are all about. Over three evenings, our students went from ideation right through to pitching, showing off their creativity, teamwork and communication. Students were shown many tips and techniques that they can put into practice on their own entrepreneurial journeys in the future. We are incredibly thankful to Dorcas Réamonn who ran these workshops.
Week 1: Ideation
Our students began with an introduction to ideation. Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, students were taught to create solutions to current, real-world problems. In their groups, they worked through various ideation techniques and eventually agreed on an innovative business idea. These business ideas would be brought to life over the next two evenings through prototyping and pitching.
Week 2: Prototyping and the Business Model Canvas
On the second evening, students were shown the various different types of prototyping available to showcase their ideas. Working on the ideas formed during the previous session, the groups spent time building prototypes, which they then presented to the other participants.
Afterwards, Dorcas walked the students through a brief introduction to the Business Model Canvas. The teams were asked to make assumptions about nine key areas of their business ideas and to try to validate some of these assumptions before the final evening.
Week 3: Pitching
The final evening of the Bootcamp was focused around teaching the students how to deliver the perfect pitch. Dorcas shared many insights from her own experiences and gave the groups many useful tips for both creating and presenting a pitch.
The teams were then given time to put together a pitch for their own business ideas. On completion, each group presented to the rest of their peers, who provided feedback in preparation for the final pitch later in the week.
The Final Pitch
Just a couple of days after the final evening of the Bootcamp, our teams were invited to pitch their ideas in front of a guest panel; Prof. Felicity Kelliher, Dr. James O’Sullivan and Dr. Eugene Crehan. On the day, our participants delivered both group pitches and individual pitches to a high standard, much to the delight of our panel. The competition was high, with everyone producing creative, innovative ideas along with high-quality pitches. It was a difficult decision for our judges, but they eventually agreed on overall winners for both categories.
We would like to thank our judges and say a huge congratulations to all who took part, especially our well-deserved winners, pictured below.
