The Venture Experience - Bridging the Gap Academy

V‌enture 2021 saw Bridging The Gap Academy finish runners-up in the School of Medicine Student/Recent Graduate Award and they walked away with £1,500 to go towards their business. Their idea proposed to develop pre-recorded courses in Medicine aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students. One year on, we caught up with Abigail Johnston and Mostafa Khalil to see how their time through the Venture competition has impacted where they are now with their business.

Having competed in the Venture competition, what are your overall opinions of it?

We competed in the Venture competition last year. It was an excellent opportunity to develop our business as we had to create a business plan in order to enter the competition. Furthermore, the prospect of gaining funds for Bridging the Gap Academy was really exciting. We knew that this funding would act as a catalyst for our business.

How do you feel taking part in the Venture competition helped you personally as well as in taking your business idea forward?

The venture competition presented me with the opportunity to learn more about starting a business and what is involved in trying to raise funds. Furthermore, I learned that business opportunities can be found in every aspect of your life. This was because many of the ideas that others had created were found in their day-to-day jobs.

How did you use the prize money to benefit your business?

We finished runners-up in the School of Medicine Student/Recent Graduate Award in the Venture competition. We were delighted with this and put the money towards getting a professionally designed website. This will be used as a landing page for our medical courses, which will be created for both doctors and medical students.

What have you gone on to achieve following Venture? Have you won any other awards, secured any key customers or investments?

Since then, we have been in the semi-final of the Converge Challenge which was brilliant for increasing our knowledge in many aspects of starting a business. Especially tips for balancing the books and financial advice. We also participated in the Academic Accelerator programme from Elevator which was a fantastic chance to speak to mentors about Bridging the Gap Academy, who could guide us in areas we were struggling with.

Looking back on your Venture experience, what advice would you give someone interested in applying?

I would say that anybody that is thinking of applying to Venture should. It was an excellent opportunity to develop our business and to also grow the confidence within ourselves. Furthermore, anybody that is worried that they don't fit into 'the Entrepreneurial world', should not let this put them off from entering the competition. Everyone that took part in the competition was very encouraging and just wanted to see everyone succeed.

There is still time to get your own application in and follow the same path to success that Abigail and Mostafa did. Visit our Venture page to find out more and apply. Applications will close at 23:59 on February 1.