UCE Involvement
UCE EY Summer Startup Programme 2017/18 and 2018/19
Entré $85K Start-Up Challenge 2018 (First Place)
How did you get involved with UCE?
I saw the Summer Startup Programme being advertised last year. It grabbed my attention, as my twin, Nick, and I have always been interested in entrepreneurship, even if it was just ‘inventing’ new things when we were young. The Programme seemed like a really good way to spend the summer - so we decided to give it a go!
What venture did you work on during last summer’s UCE EY Summer Startup Programme?
Nick and I worked on Catalinq, an e-commerce cross-promotion platform, which connects brands selling complementary products. For example, using Catalinq, someone buying clothes online could get suggestions of clothes they might like from other stores before they check out.
And what has happened to Catalinq since then?
It was a finalist in the Dream Believe Succeed competition, which was really exciting, but we were still facing a big challenge attracting brands to using our platform. At the same time, other opportunities opened up - me with Komodo Monitr and Nick with the UC Motorsport team, which we decided to pursue rather than continuing with Catalinq.
So what are you getting up to this summer?
I’m working as CTO for Komodo Monitr, an athlete monitoring platform, after meeting Chris, the founder, during last year’s Summer Startup Programme. I am working with our early adopters to develop our software to make sure it’s ready for a big roll out, across a wider range of sports.
What has been the highlight of your summer so far?
It’s awesome to be able to focus on Komodo Monitr. I’ve been working on it during the year, but it has been busy doing that and finishing my engineering degree. Now, I have much more time to put into developing our product.
What particularly interests you about Komodo Monitr?
I like the technical side, but I also enjoy getting outdoors, mountain biking and snowboarding, so the focus on sports and athletes is great too. The athlete monitoring market is exploding at the moment, which makes it a really interesting business to be involved in.
What are your goals for Komodo Monitr and yourself?
In the short term, I want to help grow the business enough to create a full-time job for myself next year. Beyond that, we really want to go big and become a global leader in athlete monitoring platforms. Once we get there with Komodo, I hope I can repeat that multiple times with different businesses!
What would you say to people considering getting involved with the UCE EY Summer Programme?
Do it! It’s such a good way to learn about entrepreneurship and business - you learn through experience, surrounded by people who really know what they’re doing. You meet some awesome people, and you never know what opportunities might come out of it!
For more information on the UCE EY Summer Startup Programme click here, or to read more about Komodo Monitr, visit their website here.
