Teesside University becomes international hub for outstanding entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs from across the globe have arrived at Teesside University for the beginning of a 12 week programme designed to accelerate early stage startups.

Searchcamp has a truly international appeal with entrepreneurs from Italy, Spain and Romania among those attending the immersive accelerator for early stage internet startups.

Business ventures seeking a boost from the programme include a social networking site for cats, a fans football app and a bespoke health and fitness industry service.

Searchcamp has invited eight promising businesses to live and work at Teesside University’s Middlesbrough campus while they develop their ideas using ‘lean startup’ principles during an immersive 12 week programme. Each business will be given up to £15,000 in seed capital in return for Searchcamp receiving a small stake in their business.

Bobby Paterson, Searchcamp Director, said he has been blown away by the response to Searchcamp and the standard of new businesses now on campus.

'More than half of the applications were from overseas which really demonstrates the reach of Searchcamp,” explained Bobby.

'Diversity is so important, not just in terms of the applicants, but also with regard to the types of businesses. What we have achieved so far in such a short space of time is incredible and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve moving forward.

'Searchcamp is all about accelerating the scalable, profitable, repeatable business model. I am enriching my own learning and in Teesside University, I could not have asked for a better partner.'

Throughout the 12 week programme the startups will be advised and mentored by a range of internationally renowned business men and women. At the end of the 12 weeks, the businesses will be invited to move into the incubator at Boho 4 building in Middlesbrough, which will be known as Searchcampus.

Spanish entrepreneurs Ruben Rodriguez and Antonio Evora quit their jobs in Madrid to relocate to Teesside for Searchcamp and launch Educamy, with a vision to create the next generation classroom.

Ruben said: 'We have put everything into Searchcamp and want to use it to give our business a huge push. The programme is very intense, but we are learning every day.'

Tangle is an Italian startup busy building an app for students initially available on Android.

Team member Gianluca Carroccia said: 'We have learned so much in such a short space of time.Searchcamp gives us the opportunity to live and work together and receive the right support to succeed.'

Teesside University has invested in Searchcamp and is a partner in the programme. The University has a long history of working with graduate startups and has helped to create more than 300 new businesses.

Professor Cliff Hardcastle, Teesside University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Business Engagement), said: 'Searchcamp encompasses the entrepreneurial spirit which we have built at Teesside University.

'We are absolutely delighted with the businesses that have been successful and to see we have had applications from all over the world shows what a truly exciting and prestigious opportunity Searchcamp is providing.'

The Searchcamp businesses: Educamy: Ruben Rodriguez and Antonio Evora Spanish entrepreneurs Ruben and Antonio quit their jobs in Madrid to relocate to Teesside for the Searchcamp programme. Their business is Educamy, an academic management system designed for tablets, such as iPad and Android. It allows teachers to manage content like tests and homework in one place, saving paper, time and reducing the risk of losing important data.

Show Me Cats: Virgil Horghidan, Ovidiu Cojocariu, Dana Apatachioae and Ciprian Timofte Show Me Cats was created by a four-strong team from Romania. It is a social network for cats, a place where people can share videos, pictures and stories about their pets. The group were drawn to Searchcamp to receive expert advice from the programme’s mentors, gain contacts and ultimately receive investment to launch their business.

Fittr Labs: Norman Buckley and Krissi Paterson Fittr Labs offer three bespoke products in the health and fitness industry. The first is ‘My Supplement Box’ – a subscription-based service which sends customers the best and most up-to-date sports nutrition products. The second is ‘My Paleo Box’ – another subscription that offers the best paleo products. Paleo is a modern nutritional diet based on the presumed diet of those who lived 10,000 years ago before the development of agriculture. The third product offered by Fittr Labs is a non-subscription service called ‘My Paleo Kitchen’ – it focuses on the paleo lifestyle in terms of recipes and where to purchase products.

The Fans 11: Anthony Roderick, Martin Coates and Andrew Milsom The Fans 11 is a social application targeted directly at football fans which allows them to interact with games in real time. Anyone watching a game can submit feedback, opinions and suggestions on any aspect of the game in front of them. The trio come from a commercial background and, having spent the last few years developing other people’s ideas, have decided to launch their own.

Eventsneaker: Mark Stephenson and Richard Baister Eventsneaker offers a unique service to event promoters allowing them to instantly promote their events on relevant and related websites, as well as social media platforms. It also provides an analytics service in which customers can track how successful individual marketing channels for their event have been and identify where in their process event attendees switch off. By the end of the programme Mark hopes to have an investor-ready product that he can take to market.

Tangle: Gianluca Carroccia, Mauro Toffoli, Diego Carrea and Lorenzo Pietrangeli Tangle is an app for students that connects you with people around you. Have you noticed an interesting person you want to know but you don't know how? Tangle helps you to contact them and make a new relationship.

Mobcoin: Junior An and Lim Xi Ong Mobcoin operates exclusively on mobile devices and provides a platform for performance based advertising within the retail market. Junior is originally from South Korea and studies at University College London, though has relocated to Teesside University for Searchcamp. He said that Searchcamp appealed to him as he was looking for UK-based incubators to capitalise on the European market.

Venlead.com: Mark McKenzie Venlead.com is an intelligent lead generation service which categorises companies in a unique way. It runs natural language processing across the pages of UK businesses to determine which business is most relevant to your needs and then provides contact information and social profiles. Mark plans to use Searchcamp to learn and develop the business, as well as interact with other technology specialists.

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