Borders College Start-up Competition: What a Day!

Published: Thu 29 May, 2025

Group of students standing having a discussion with a panel of judges in an educational setting

From Entrepreneurial Lead at Borders College, Lee-Anne Gillie.

We had an incredible finale to our 2025 Start-up Competition this week, with 16 amazing pitches delivered by students from Borders College, Heriot-Watt University, D&G College, Earlston High School, and Berwickshire High.

From dog therapy to eco products, travel platforms to beauty ventures — the creativity and ambition shown by students was inspiring. For the first time, we even had a Borders College lecturer step up to pitch!

After a tough day of judging, our panel selected:

  • Joint 1st Place: B’Travel and Heart and Lesh
  • Joint 2nd Place: Elysium Beauty by Shauni and Earlston High’s EcoSipp

A huge shoutout to Lilly Fox, who earned a wildcard place with Scottish EDGE. The panel praised her pitch as “a cut above” for its ambition and real-world planning.

Picture of a videographer conducting an interview with a student. Both are sitting at a table in a classroom setting.

Lee-Anne Gillie, Entrepreneurial Lead at Borders College, said:

“This project has been a career highlight for me! It's about giving students space to think, try, grow, and see the value in their own ideas. What we saw at the final was a celebration of possibility, talent, and potential right here in the South of Scotland.”

The event marked the culmination of five months of collaboration between staff, students, businesses, and enterprise partners. Special thanks to all the local organisations and government agencies who supported workshops, mentoring, and judging — and of course to our own fantastic Borders College staff and students.

 

The future of enterprise in the Borders is looking very bright!

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