2008-12-05

Determined participants awarded in Pursuit of Ideas

{mosimage}A completely new and environmentally friendly product that helps us eat healthier. That was the winning entry of business-plan competition The Pursuit of Ideas in Värmland. The guests at the prize ceremony on 5 December found that the recognised innovators were serious and focused.
– We already have contacts with manufacturers, and we’re planning to release our product on the market within a year, revealed Hampus Andersson and Claes Lysell, who won third prize for their entry, called Calm.

Some fifty people visited Park 124 on 5 December to find out who would be the three winners following the first deadline of The Pursuit of Ideas. Although the candidates represented a vast spread of businesses and trades, there were some common denominators.

– The jury was unanimous: these are innovators who are prepared to work hard to launch their products and services on the market. That driving power of course makes their ideas even more potent, said Jon Nielzen, project manager for The Pursuit of Ideas.

The name of the winning entry is Napus, conceived by Renee Magnusson and Bengt-Åke Danielsson. The business concept is based on a product that helps us balance our dietary intake while also maintaining an environmental profile. Napus wants to manufacture a product that makes it easy for us to eat better food, in the right proportions and with a healthier composition.

The winner of the second prize was service company EQM, whose office is located at Park124. EQM offers companies and organisations a method for identifying customer preferences and the most significant factors for customer satisfaction with a product or service. The company is run by Erik Eriksson and Ann-Charlotte Kilhage. The service is based on research by Bo Edvardsson at Karlstad University.

The third prize winner, Calm, has developed an idea that enables us to very easily visit a specific place. Thanks to the product, the customer will not need to travel over long distances in order to, for example, shop for an item. Calm has both the elderly and the environment in mind. According to the jury, innovators Hampus Andersson and Claes Lysell have identified and met a tangible need which is only slightly affected by fluctuations in the general economy.

– The Pursuit of Ideas has provided useful support, and we’ve tied several important contacts just by participating, Hampus Andersson explains.

Two more submissions now remain for The Pursuit of Ideas in Värmland, which is the local portion of the Venture Cup business-plan competition.