SOUP took place in Plymouth on 3rd February, it was oversubscribed and very well attended- a great success. InnovateWest was there to support the innovative thinking behind this very basic form of crowdfunding. If you don’t know what we are talking about then read on.
Soups are a pioneering form of Business Support as Richard Adams of Plymouth University explained to us recently:
‘Simple concept, 100 business people pay £3.50 for a bowl of soup and listen to 4 businesses pitch their idea. Each business has 4 minutes (no powerpoint) and can be asked 4 questions by the crowd. After the soup has been consumed each one of the 100 strong crowd take their empty bowl and place it on the table of the business they liked best. The business that has the most bowls wins all the takings on the door and a grant to help them grow.‘
Apparently this American born method has never been undertaken before in the South West. At InnovateWest we love to be involved in all things new and pioneering and it was great to hear from four exciting but very different business ideas – in the end it was a very close run thing but this local business prevailed:
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/honey-company-is-the-winner-at-gains-first-ever-soup-event
We hear more might be planned in future so keep an eye on the University bookings website for details:
http://estore.plymouth.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&deptid=102&catid=107&prodid=785
Innovate West 