His Royal Highness, Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, congratulated all 17 entrepreneurs on the calibre of their ideas and said he was pleased to be a part of delivering the Pitch@Palace event at Bond University on Friday 22 September.
The final vote to choose the businesses to proceed to the next round of the competition was almost unanimous with the audience selecting seven of the eight entrepreneurs chosen by the judging panel.
The Duke of York said:
"Thank you a million times for participating this afternoon... I'm hoping it will make a huge difference to all of these businesses here today," he said.
"We look forward to our (Pitch@Palace's) growth and expansion in Australia as time goes by. Thank you Bond, and well done everybody."
The finalists who will be pitching at the Wollongong Boot Camp are:
Accessibili-t:
Accessibili-t, by Kathryn Lyons, is a not for profit charity which acts as an education-based change agency for the disabled, using new assistive IP devices to encourage inclusion and improved accessibility.
Banish My Cold Sore:
Banish, by Sean Moore, has recently completed market testing of a new treatment for the common cold sore virus. The unique blend of active ingredients and excipients has resulted in a strong value proposition whereby 93% of trial users claimed Banish heals cold sore outbreaks faster than any other product they have used in the past. Banish is about to undergo evaluation from the Therapeutic Goods Administration in order to fully commercialise.
BlockGrain:
BlockGrain, by Caile Ditterich and Baden U'Ren, increases efficiency and transparency in the grain management and logistics industry with its integrated cloud-based platform.
CryptoPhoto:
CryptoPhoto, by Chris Drake, offers high-security authentication that is extremely fast and easy. The technology protects everyday users against almost all online and offline attacks.
Faebella:
FAEBELLA, by Alisha Geary, is a luxury active wear brand which offers apparel with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art designs. The company's mission is to share the rich culture and history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by presenting their art on active wear.
KOORCA:
KOORCA, by Rusty Broad, is a rural tech start-up developing solutions to improve emergency response capability and public safety worldwide. The primary product is the KOORCA smartphone app.
Nev House:
NevHouse, by Nev Hyman, turns recycled plastic and other sustainable materials into low cost homes, schools and medical clinics. These structures are constructed in five days or less and function off the grid.
Zottie Dottie:
Zottie Dottie, by Zoie Carroll, uses digital storytelling to destigmatise mental health, helping Australians become more resilient. Zottie Dottie has shared more than 750 stories in the short space of 18 months with its global audience of more than 900,000 people, and gently guides Australians towards the appropriate support services available.