Hundreds of startup founders are locking themselves away this bank holiday weekend to prepare to break a world record at Voom 2016’s world’s longest pitching competition
While City slickers will no doubt be flocking to the home counties to enjoy their bank holiday weekend, London's startup founders are planning to swot up in an attempt to break the world record for back-to-back business pitches.
Around 160 entrepreneurs will be pitching back-to-back for over 29 hours straight in a Guinness World Record attempt as part of Richard Branson's Voom startup competition.
Formerly known as pitch to Rich, Voom 2016 is the UK's most high-value pitching competition. Run by Virgin Media Business, the initiative allows British entrepreneurs to sell their ideas to execs from the firm, including Branson himself, to win slice of a prize fund and propel new startups to success.
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The two winners of the overall competition will receive many benefits and prizes, including a cash sum of £50,000 to help grow their business, as well as a £250,000 marketing campaign.
But next week, founders from the likes of house-hunting website eMoov will battle it out at Holborn's Hoxton Hotel in a 29-hour live-streamed pitchathon. Business owners will only have three hours to work their magic to make the top 40, but if they make the cut they will then be taken through to the next round.
The entrepreneurial endurance test will see three heavyweight judges patiently listening for the entire duration.Cambridge Satchel Company founder Julie Deane OBE, Virgin Startup investment chief Andy Fishburn and Virgin Media Business' Peter Kelly will stick around for the whole 29 hours.
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SBTV's Jamal Edwards and Peter Williams of private-school fashion darling Jack Wills will also come along as two of the guest judges.
Judges will be challenged to whittle these down to just 40 semi-finalists who could go on to pitch to business heavyweights Tyra Banks, Sara Blakely, Marcus Butler and Branson himself at the Voom finals on 28 June.