SWEATING and shaking they shuffled up to the stage one by one, clutching their precious prototypes.

Each had just six minutes to persuade a sea of venture capitalists before them to invest in their business idea.

Some got the investment they were seeking – others were sent away with their tail between their legs.

The event was Pitch Fest: Oxfordshire’s answer to Dragons’ Den, where those with ideas came to persuade those with money to invest in their business opportunity.

Ideas ranged from wearable fall-detection technology, educational apps and ultra-fast mobile phone chargers to fuel consumption reduction technology.

A total of 21 entrepreneurs pitched their business ideas to 21 investors in the event at the Harwell campus.

Husband and wife Jon Silvera and Shila Odedra-Silvera from Oakley, near Bicester, tried to persuade the dragons to invest in their programmable computer.

The couple, founders of Fuze Technologies, have already had huge success selling the Fuze micro to schools up and down the country.

They asked the dragons for £600,000 to help them take their technology to the consumer market.

Mr Silvera, a 49-year-old father-of-three, said: “Pitching to 21 individuals was very interesting and very informative: there is no question that every time you do it you’ll get better at it.”

The couple managed to garner interest from two investors, including venture capitalists from Croydon who they are now due to visit.

Mr Silvera said: “I’ve got to go see these guys down in Croydon and who knows what will come from that.”

Thursday’s event was the second Pitchfest organised by business network Venturefest, which also organises a similar annual event at Oxford’s Said Business School.

The first, held in February, helped three start-ups secure vital investment capital to grow to the next level.

They were: Oxford Space Systems, which develops “next-generation deployable space structures”; X-Ray technology firm Adaptix; and Ducentis BioTherapeutics, a firm developing novel therapies for inflammation and autoimmune disease.