Chester students spotlight enterprising ideas after earning places in North West top 10%

Two teams from the University’s Business School earned places at the recent Young Enterprise North West Start-Up Awards Final, with one achieving a special accolade.

VuelaNova and LatherCo were joined by 10 other teams from universities across the region, making up the top 10% in the North West, selected from all who entered to go forward to the stage of the competition. They pitched to the audience and championed their ideas in interviews at Sister, at the Renold Building, in Manchester. Multiple expert panels questioned the teams on business viability, sustainability, financial planning and scalability.

The competition forms part of the national Young Enterprise programme and is embedded within the University’s Creative Entrepreneurship module, which emphasises learning through the development and launch of real-world business ventures.

VuelaNova is a sustainable 3D shoe printing service creating fully customised, anatomically matched footwear. Each pair is designed as a one-of-one product, tailored precisely to the customer’s foot structure, reducing waste while enhancing comfort and durability. Their innovative approach to sustainable manufacturing impressed judges across multiple panels, resulting in the team being presented with the Sustainability Award at the regional final.

LatherCo has developed a self-contained make-up brush cleaning system designed to improve hygiene and efficiency for make-up users. The product provides an integrated cleaning solution that simplifies maintenance while promoting better cosmetic hygiene practices.

While the teams just missed out on moving to the next stage, in addition to the special award, they have been applauded by organisers and their tutors for their business acumen and innovation.  

Cheryl Sørensen, Senior Lecturer at the University of Chester, said: “The two teams representing Chester Business School really showcased their confidence, professionalism, entrepreneurial resilience and passion for their business ideas.”

She added that their achievement reflected not only the strength of their ideas, but also the impact of to practice-based learning and entrepreneurial skill development at Chester Business School.

Carlos Ronquillo, from VuelaNova, who was also nominated for Student of the Year, said: “It was a great experience where we got to meet the other leading start-ups in the North West region and receive valuable feedback from investors, industry experts, as well as academia professionals on how to continue developing.”

He added that further updates on VuelaNova will shared at: https://www.instagram.com/vuelanova

Suzanne Lockwood, Start-Up Strategic Lead at Young Enterprise said: “Reaching the North West final is a fantastic achievement and a real testament to these students’ creativity, resilience and drive. At Young Enterprise, we are passionate about empowering students to turn ideas into real world ventures, and both VuelaNova and LatherCo demonstrated exactly the kind of innovative thinking and problem solving that defines the entrepreneurial leaders of the future. We’re incredibly proud of what they’ve accomplished and excited to see where their ventures go next.”

The Young Enterprise competition is embedded within Creative Entrepreneurship, a module studied as part of a range of Chester Business School courses including BA Business Management. The module is designed to move beyond theoretical learning by enabling students to:

• Develop and validate real business ideas
• Work in entrepreneurial teams
• Engage with external stakeholders and judges
• Respond to live feedback in competitive environments.

The entrepreneurial journey has continued with a Business Launch Event at the University this month, featuring all 26 teams from the module presenting their business ideas to guests including alumni, entrepreneurs and business owners.

Images - from top:

1 and 2 - Members of Team VuelaNova at the Young Enterprise North West Start-Up Awards Final.

3 - Team LatherCo at the event.