/ Author: SPF

For a group of Guernsey College of Further Education students, it was time to enter the Dragons Den, and SPF’s Gary Wallbridge was once again delighted to be on the judging panel.

The GCFE’s annual Dragons Den event – a highly successful activity which has run for a number of years – see’s Sports students from the college come up with a business idea and pitch it to a panel of dragons. This year, Gary was again joined by Anna Trump from Specsavers and Graham Chester from the Guernsey Sports Commission.

As has become the norm with the event, the judges were highly impressed with the student’s ideas and presentations. “I have no hesitation in saying they are always very well prepared by the time they stand in front of the Dragon’s to convince us to invest in their idea” said Gary. “They clearly put a lot of effort into their presentations and do a great job under what is clearly a pretty nerve-racking time for them.”

This year, Macy Cortez won the Start-Up Guernsey Best Presenter award, deservedly going home with £50 and a trophy, and Team ‘Sports Hub’, comprised of Robert Naftel, Luke Atkinson, Connor Slane and Archie Drillot, won the SPF Private Clients team award for £100.

In a Dragons Den first, the students were eligible for a new Specsavers award, introduced by Anna Trump and given for the best product idea. Luke Elmy, Demi Clarke, Louis Aldous-Granby and Brandon Wallace teamed up to devise ‘Shocks’, a sports sock with integrated shin pad to cover more of the leg, and take home the award and the £100 prize.

Gary summed up the experience saying “As Dragons, we have free reign on how we question, or is it interrogate, the students to get a better understanding of their idea or product. Hopefully we are not too harsh on them, but they always respond to our questions in a calm, thoughtful and mature manner and that says a lot about their individual characters and the team ethic they have.”

Testimonials