Bicycle spokesman delighted with Dragon cash (From The Oxford Times)
When It Happens Panel Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting 'OXFORD NEWS' to 80360 or email
Bicycle spokesman delighted with Dragon cash
4:50pm Friday 8th March 2013 in News
Will McCallum with Katherine Grainger
ZUMBA for pregnant women and a bicycle workshop were among the winners in Oxford’s answer to Dragons’ Den.
Seven organisations pitched their social entrepreneur projects to Oxford Brookes University’s ‘dragons’, led by Olympic rowing gold medallist Katherine Grainger.
Of the £70,000 applied for, £24,100 was awarded to four projects.
The big winner was The Broken Spoke, an open access bicycle workshop enterprise based in Oxford.
Company director Will McCallum, 24, who lives on a narrowboat in Oxfordshire, received £11,900.
He said: “To win feels very overwhelming. We are set up now to expand our business and to offer road cycling training to the schools and universities that have approached us, in addition to our existing cycle maintenance courses.”
Health lecturer and researcher Dr Lesley Smith received £6,000 for Zumba Bump, a dance exercise class tailored for pregnant women with support from experienced midwives.
The Knowledge Project, pitched by Mona Sakr, 25, from Oxford, and Rebekah Diamond, received £2,200, and a dyslexia bid was awarded £4,000.
