TestTown- Seeking creative ideas to help save the high street
by Startacus Admin
Now a little treat for the self-starter aged 16-30 looking to exercise their innovative muscles - the annual TestTown challenge is back with another round of high street enterprise opportunities available up and down the UK…here’s the low down.
The Problem
The great British high street has been on something of a low in recent years with the changing shopping habits of the public being largely blamed for the downturn of fortunes for this icon of national life - it’s a rather sorry state of affairs. One of the most pressing issues facing local authorities, and indeed the locals themselves, is the high proportion of retail premises which are now unoccupied. They create huge gaps in once prime town centre locations and further deter potential shoppers who increasingly favour the abundance of choice available online and in out of town retail complexes.
The Challenge
In a nutshell, you are being asked to come up with an innovative and enterprising business idea which could fill one of the gaps on a British high street. Unlike many comparable competitions out there the main focus of TestTown is not to make as much money as possible, but to come up with an innovative, creative and inspiring idea that has the potential to change the way in which people use their local town centres. Essentially, rather than simply moaning about the problem and hoping it goes away, young innovators are being asked to come up with proactive ideas to reinvigorate our town centres… seems like a far more sensible idea!
So who can apply ?
- An individual or groups aged 16-30, with a maximum of 4 people per team
- Those living within the UK or Republic of Ireland
- Those with years of business experience or none at all
- Those looking to sell goods, provide services, or demonstrate new products
- People with an idea for a charity or a business
The ideas will be put forward to a panel of ‘experts’ who will shortlist applicants to go forward to the final round of the competition which will see one team win £10K startup funding… as well as the sense of pride which comes from helping to reinvent the British High Street.
The competition is being run by the CarnegieUK Trust which seeks to improve the lives and wellbeing of people throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland through influencing public policy and demonstrating innovative practice.
The closing date for applications is 16th April so thinking caps at the ready! For a spot of inspiration, or just to pass the time why not take a little gander at some of these recent retail posts!
Pop at House of Fraser- A showcase opportunity for fashion startups
The Shopify Build a business competition
Mr Quiffy- The move around popup shop
If you like what you see here on Startacus, why not become a member of our growing community? It's free! And you'll get all this - exclusive access to our Business Toolkit, discounts and offers galore for your business via our member only business deals, the chance to network and connect with loads of fellow self-starters, and maybe even become our celebrated 'Self-Starter of the Week' and tell the world your startup tale! Join right here for free...
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Cambridge-based startup, CardiaTec Biosciences raises investment to support further development of its mission to develop the next generation of cardiovascular disease targets.
Raise Ventures on a mission to empower the next generation of business leaders and founders with the launch of their pioneering Emerging Leaders Summer School.
The recipients of the 2022 Ulster Bank Enterprise Fund are announced, each aiming to promote and encourage entrepreneurship amongst underrepresented groups.
.png)
Leading disability-focused organisations join forces to launch the #Access2Funding campaign - calling on the VC and investment community to improve the representation, opportunities presented to and experience of disabled founders.
.png)
WeWALK, RNIB, and ICL consortium secures UKRI funding to improve mobility for visually impaired and elderly.
The lowdown on Studeo, the edtech startup that has created a video learning app in order to democratise elite tutoring.
The impact of standards, ethics and conduct on business success and profits - Work.Life has some interesting insights...
.png)
The lowdown on Space32 - the startup that wants to help hybrid-working businesses find the working space and solution that's right for them.
.png)
Global Tech for Good initiative seeks innovative startups and scaleups that are creating positive social impact and enhancing people's lives through tech.
The lowdown on Bidnamic, the startup that's combining advance machine learning with human expertise to help retailers to maximise revenue and profitability from Google Shopping.
Published on: 21st March 2014
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- CardiaTec Biosciences Secures £1.4m to combat cardiovascular diseases using Artificial Intelligence 6th Jul 2022 Cambridge-based startup, CardiaTec Biosciences raises investment to support further development of its mission to develop the next generation of cardiovascular disease targets.
- Raise Ventures pioneer an Emerging Leaders Summer School 6th Jul 2022 Raise Ventures on a mission to empower the next generation of business leaders and founders with the launch of their pioneering Emerging Leaders Summer School.
- Ulster Bank Funds Diverse Entrepreneurship 5th Jul 2022 The recipients of the 2022 Ulster Bank Enterprise Fund are announced, each aiming to promote and encourage entrepreneurship amongst underrepresented groups.
- New campaign launches to address disproportionate lack of support for disabled entrepreneurs. 5th Jul 2022 Leading disability-focused organisations join forces to launch the #Access2Funding campaign - calling on the VC and investment community to improve the representation, opportunities presented to and experience of disabled founders.
