Solveig Eike from Niso I/S explains: "We’re really ecstatic to have won this award and it’s really nice to know that other people, such as the investors and the business people we met at the event, can also see the potential in our company.”

They competed against 43 young entrepreneurs who represented 13 student companies from across Europe who each participated in the JA-YE Europe Enterprise Challenge 2009. The event, hosted by Young Enterprise Denmark at the state of the art Grundfos headquarters in Bjerringbro, Denmark, included enterprises that represented a wide range of industry areas from tourism through to technology. The Portuguese team, SensorEyes invited the judges to try their innovation for the visually impaired that detects hazards in the terrain,
‘Clast’ from Switzerland pitched their snowboarding brand and products whilst the ‘Muscletrike’ company from Estonia marketed their new fitness product with the catchphrase “no need to hunger strike with muscle trike!" To find out more about these companies and all the others who made it to the European finals please click here.

Each company was challenged to sell their idea to a panel of potential “investors”, each of whom had a fictional 50,000€ to spend. To be eligible to participate in the European finals, each team also had to be a winner at their national level.

Each group submitted investment proposals targeting the potential investors and outlining their strategy, projecting return on investment and providing a detailed risk analysis. When they arrived in Denmark the teams each made a public presentation showcasing their business idea and then they each pitched their ideas to the panel of investors who probed into the investment propositions and challenged the students on their projections and plans.

Chair of the judges Jazz Rayet, Senior Executive, Accenture explained the qualities that clinched Niso I/S first prize; “The team provided a simple solution to a clear problem that potentially affects around 50% of the population and it was the development and commercialization of their product that convinced the jury that the company had investment potential.”

The second prize went to Vibratools from Norwaywho created a revolutionary wall plastering tool.

The third prize was awarded to Max & Maxine from Denmark who have developed a range of fashionable clothing for children who are overweight.

Speaking at the event Caroline Jenner, JA-YE Europe CEO talked of the importance of sales skills in the future and the need for more young entrepreneurs in Europe; “Both entrepreneurial skills and more specifically sales skills are on show here and these young entrepreneurs will contribute significantly to Europe’s economy in the future and we applaud them for their achievements so far.”

During the second day of the competition two separate juries visited the stands and spoke to students to decide the follow two signature awards:-

The Grundfos Innovation Award went to ‘360 Innovator’ from Norway who had created a revolutionary new credit card solution to combat fraud and simplify transactions.

The Central Denmark Region Sustainability Award was given to ‘Roul’ hôtes’ from Belgium (FR) who had showcased their gipsy caravan alternative to hotel accommodation.