Richad Huish College, in partnership with the Taunton Chamber of Commerce, hosted its 2025 Dragon’s Den competition, with 21 ambitious teams of A Level Business students competing to present the most innovative business idea or product.
The focus was on developing a unique selling point (USP), identifying target markets, conducting market research, analysing competitors, developing a marketing campaign and planning detailed costings.
The competition highlighted the talent and creativity of the students, impressing the panel of dragons with the high quality of pitches. The event was launched by Bethan Turner, Membership and Events Manager for Taunton Chamber of Commerce, who offered insightful advice on how to develop entrepreneurial skills and deliver a strong business pitch, providing initial inspiration for the students.
The Lane Health team.
Dragons, composed of business representatives and industry specialists, provided invaluable advice, posed challenging questions, and offered constructive feedback to the teams. They included: Giles Adams, Chair of Visit Somerset, Colin Barrell, owner of Mr Miles Tearooms, Riley Bowler, PwC UK, Fred Davey, Charles Stanley & Co, Livvi Grant and Sharon Grant co-owners of Daffodil PR & Communications, Ian Lewis, owner of 360 South West, Carolyn Matravers, owner of Bluebell Financial Management, Victoria Spooner, Relationship Director at NatWest Corporate and Commercial Banking and Bethan Turner, Membership and Events Manager at Taunton Chamber.
Two Huish alumni were among the dragons; Riley Bowler from PWC is currently undertaking a degree apprenticeship in audit/chartered accounting and Fred Davey from Charles Stanley & Co, an Investment Management Apprentice, who demonstrated to current students that with drive and determination they too can succeed in the business world.
The winning team, Lane Health, impressed the dragons with their innovative idea of a new health monitoring app which aims to relieve pressure on the NHS and improve early intervention in health care. The dragons were impressed with the team’s confident presentation, detailed content, and their planned partnerships with the NHS and Boots.
Another standout team, Bananergy, presented an ethical solution to the sustainability concerns of festivalgoers leaving their tents behind at the end of a festival. They created and pitched an innovative tent manufactured from banana fibre and beeswax and the Dragons were impressed with their ability to identify a gap in the market and their planned marketing campaign.
Step-Out, with a strap line of ‘Step away from the screen and step out into the scene’ captivated the dragons with an app to rival Alltrails. The team focused on concerns that on average teens spend over eight hours a day on their phone and developed the idea of an app to suggest walks for young people, with environmental ‘daily challenges’ such as litter picking. They impressed the dragons with their pricing strategy and strong understanding of the target market explaining how they would differentiate from existing competition.
Cut X-treme pitched a natural and organic solution to support healthy weight management and the team’s outstanding and detailed market research impressed the dragons. The team handled some challenging questions from the Dragons with poise and demonstrated a clear understanding of their target market and ethical considerations.
Other pitches that impressed the dragons were from Hot Drops Deliveries, a drone delivery service that had developed a superb marketing plan, as well as Airoshield, who proposed the development of innovative window screens that act as a pollen filter helping hay fever sufferers.
The winning teams were:
Lane Health: Noah Bleakes, Ellie Lewis, Lotifa Hossain, Adam Holden
Bananergy: Kat Keene, Xabi Philip, Freya Burnell
Cut X-treme: Fin Bendle, Harry Vidler, Ollie McKay, Alex Poole
Step Out: Sully Cooling, Will Ford, Leif Middleton, Jamie Herrod
Huish thanked Taunton Chamber of Commerce and its member for supporting the event and the college’s own Dragon’s Den team of Jen Perks, Becky Habberfield, Jo Mellor, Donna Pester, John Palmer, Stewart Bettinson and also Richard Jones and Emily Stainton.
The competition was an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to showcase their skills and gain valuable insights from experienced industry professionals. Throughout the day the students had the opportunity to develop many skills such as teamwork, leadership, problem solving, numerical work, meeting deadlines and communication.
The key objective of the day was to foster innovation and entrepreneurial spirit among the students, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the business world.
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