Prince pitching in for hi-tech business
The Duke of York has brought his Pitch in the Palace to the Midlands as part of a nationwide hunt for the best new technology entrepreneurs.
He and a team of judges heard pitches from 14 start-up businesses with ideas ranging from smartphones that give health check-ups to using solar power to clean water for drinking.
Speaking at the offices of accountants KPMG at Snow Hill, in Birmingham, Prince Andrew said: "The quality of the businesses here has been absolutely outstanding. Pitching is not an easy thing to do but the standard has made it much more difficult to make our selection. We were very very impressed by what we have seen here today."
Three businesses were chosen to take part in 'boot camp' to hone their ideas before 12 entrepreneurs from across the UK get to pitch to a selected audience of investors, mentors and business executives at St James's Palace in London in April.
The chosen three were called Limitless Travel, Nuvision Biotherapies and Desolenator but the Duke said his team would be following up to work with all the businesses taking part.
That includes AtmosVR, a virtual reality firm based at Wolverhampton Science Park and headed by Featherstone entrepreneur Kevin Blair. An RAF veteran of 22 years's service, he aims to provide immersive 360 degree streaming of concerts, events and even weddings.
"I'm not disappointed," said Kevin. "This has given me the chance to present this business to the right audience. It's a great opportunity."
Mr Blair is already talking to the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton about streaming an event later this year and looking into using a floor of a former multi-storey car park to create a 'virtual world' attraction.
The Duke of York said his Pitch at the Palace scheme, which has been running three years, came out of his desire to use his position in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.
That also led to schemes to promote apprentices, such as the Ladder for the Black Country, when he became patron of programme with the Express & Star that saw local companies and organisations creating 1,200 extra apprenticeship places.
Karl Edge, KPMG's midlands regional chairman, added: "We are delighted to have hosted HRH The Duke of York and Pitch@Palace On Tour in Birmingham.
"The entrepreneurs really set the bar high with some exceptional quality pitches."
