On Thursday 3rd April, 13 finalists entered the QUB Dragons’ Den for a chance at winning a share of the £25,000 prize pot.
The moment was a culmination of months of hard work by our finalists who have spent many hours refining their pitches in preparation of meeting meet the Dragons.
This highly sought-after competition, facilitated by SU Enterprise, offers participants the chance to walk away with everything they need to launch their own business. This includes equity free funding, hot-desking space in ‘SU CoWork’ in the Students’ Union as well as specialist mentoring and support.
Our 13 finalists for QUB Dragons’ Den were:
Aapta Nutrifoods (Shubhamkumar Baviskar and Riya Anandpara) 
Athlete Life Vest (Aidan Hegarty) 
Benchmark Sports (Brian Conway and Aidan McGeary) 
Canguard (Izieduwa Akhionbare) 
Cineaste (Fionnuala Hughes and Amy Lonergan) 
Equilyze (Ben Sloan, Thomas Lowry, Cameron Worbey and Simon White) 
IGKICKZ (Alexander McComb) 
ProxiPulse (Barry Herron, Brian Conway and Jack Fitzpatrick) 
Rephobia (Liam Harte) 
SK Engineering and Calibration Ltd. (Shane Kavanagh) 
The Conscious Creator Initiative (Chloe McGurk, Rebecca Connolly, Sophie Bates and Cara Jeffery) 
TorqueStep (Joel McIntyre) 
Tuition Space (Kirsty Graham)
Our finalists pitched their ideas to a line-up of business leaders including John McKee, Managing Director of Linkubator, Kirsty Dillon, Commercial Manager at MCS Group, Paul Eastwood, a Partner in the Commercial team at Tughans, Eoin McMullan, Partner at Hill Vellacott, and Anne Dornan, who supports the development of the Queen’s spin-out portfolio.
After a highly competitive finale, the winners were announced as follows:
1st Place: Benchmark Sports
£12,500 was awarded to Brian Conway & Aidan McGeary for Benchmark Sports, a sports coaching and performance platform that provides cutting-edge technology and real-world coaching expertise.
2nd Place: Equilyze
£7,500 was awarded to Equilyze by Ben Sloan, Simon White, Thomas Lowry & Cameron Worbey, for the Smart Numnah which is to revolutionize equestrian training by tackling rider asymmetry.
3rd Place: Rephobia
£5,000 was awarded to Rephobia by Liam Harte, a therapist-led VR exposure therapy experience, seamlessly integrated into private practices, NHS mental health services and therapy clinics.
The Conscious Creator Initiative and Canguard each received spot prizes of £1,000 for their pitches.
Since its inception, QUB Dragons’ Den has been a launchpad for students at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey, many of whom have gone on to find great success with their business idea.
QUB Dragon’s Den will return in 2026. Find out how else SU Enterprise can support your business idea and entrepreneurial skills here
