Pitch For Six at Arding & Hobbs

Pitch For Six recently returned to Arding and Hobbs with a marvellous crowd of entrepreneurs, big ideas and a strong sense of local pride. The event is x+why’s signature early stage pitching competition. It gives founders a platform to share new ventures with a supportive audience, and to a panel of expert communityjudges. The format is simple - five founders present for five minutes and answer questions for three minutes. A timer keeps the playing field fair. Judges select a winner and a runner up. Everyone walks away with a prize!

The top award is a free six month lease of a dedicated workspace at Arding and Hobbs. The runner up receives three months of dedicated workspace. Every founder who takes the stage earns five day passes to use the workspace as well as membership to The Arding Rooms.

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This edition brought together five impressive businesses. Each one shared a sharp mission and a clear plan for impact. The energy in the room felt focused and optimistic. The judges were x+why co-founder, Phil Nevin, our Arding & Hobbs Senior Community Manager, Josh Singh, and our resident member Kirsty Leighton from Milk and Honey PR, each offered thoughtful feedback and tested each idea with care.

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Our winner:

Our winner, Sonny, founder of Sonny's Food captured the room with his business. It will be the UK’s first coeliac safe fast food brand. His pitch was confident and direct. It spoke to a real gap in the market and a strong purpose.

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Our runner up, Sangeeta, presented NiAi Technologies. In her words, the business' purpose is:

‍To help victims evidence domestic abuse, find personalised pathways for a safe escape, whilst saving companies billions in lost productivity and ensuring one true story is used by all public services to provide exact help and relief victims of the immense trauma endured currently.

The remaining founders brought a wide range of ideas. They included Thrill Drinks, Featured Studio and MuthaPuppa. Each founder showed clarity, determination and local insight.

This was our most hyper local Pitch For Six yet. Many applicants live within a few miles of Arding and Hobbs and the atmosphere reflected that neighbourhood spirit.  The event not only celebrated progress but also set up every founder with space and support to keep building.

We look forward to seeing where each of these ventures goes next!

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