What is the Big Idea?
Big Idea Challenge is London Met’s annual flagship enterprise competition. Over the past ten years, Big Idea has supported over 200 ideas and nurtured more than 20 winners.
The business pitching competition is open to all students and recent graduates, giving you the opportunity to turn any idea into a business!
The winner will receive prizes designed to help you develop your idea and eventually launch your own business. We want to help you turn your Big Idea into a reality!
Don’t forget you can enter any kind of idea. Whether it’s for a business, a social project, a creative endeavour or making the world a better place, you can enter one of our four categories:
Entry deadline
The deadline to enter Big Idea Challenge closes at 11PM on Tuesday 28 February.
Idea Categories
These four broad categories make participation easy for people and ideas from all corners of the university ensuring an equal chance of winning.
Commercial
This category is for ideas with the potential to become successful commercial businesses. We want to see ideas that are innovative, have a large potential market and add value that people will be prepared to pay for.
Community + Environment
This category is for ideas that have a positive impact and make the world a cleaner, greener, safer place. It could address energy efficiency, transportation or inequality in London and beyond.
Freelancer
Whether you’re a recent graduate freelancing full time or alongside your studies at London Met, our Freelancer category aims to recognise, celebrate and support your freelance career and creative endeavours.
Growth
Looking to turn your caterpillar into a magnificent butterfly? This category highlights businesses that are already registered (with Companies House or HMRC) and ready to grow, develop and reach new heights.
Why should I enter the Big Idea Challenge?
If you have an idea and you want to take it through the process of developing it into a viable business, then this is the ultimate reason why you should apply. Of course, cash and business growth prizes are up for grabs, but this will only be valuable for those serious about taking their ideas to the next level!
Each of our Big Idea winners will receive prizes worth over £4,000 – including cash, expert mentoring and hot-desking membership at Accelerator, London Met’s business incubator. See below for details on the prize pool.
Money
Cash Prizes
Each of our category winners will receive £1000, and the Grand Champion an additional £1000 – this is cash you can use to develop or advance your idea.
Marketing & Branding Support
Winners will receive logo and brand development support to help build their idea’s online presence.
Mentoring
Expert Mentor
Winners will be matched up with an Accelerator based startup founder or industry expert from our corporate partners to help you push you idea forward.
Launchpad
Big Idea Challenge finalists may also be granted a space on Launchpad, an intensive start-up programme starting in July 2023, to validate, test and launch their idea.
Membership
12 months Hot-Desking
Prestigious hot-desking membership at Accelerator, London Met’s business incubator. Giving you the opportunity to be part of a community of startups.
Access to online resources
The experts and their amazing knowledge will be available to you, but not 24-7! You’ll gain access to practical on-demand online resources.
Important information
Before entering the Big Idea Challenge we encourage you to find out more and discover why it is right for you, review our comprehensive information pack as well as attend a live information session. Details of these are below:
Enter the Big Idea Challenge
Ready to enter your idea into the Big Idea Challenge? Awesome! Simply fill in the form below.
Please note: you can’t save your entry form and return to it later. You can find all the questions we ask in the info pack.
We suggest writing out your answers first and then return to paste into the form.
We can’t wait to hear about your idea!