Robert Gordon University (RGU) graduate Daryll Morrow who created Udrafter – an innovative online platform to link students with industry – has been announced as one of the winners of Scottish EDGE.
Udrafter (The University Draft) is Daryll’s start-up platform business spun out of RGU. It is an on demand, real time recruitment platform where businesses can post one-off jobs to be completed by skilled students within hours, even minutes.
Daryll initially completed a BA (Hons) Applied Social Sciences then went on to study an MSc in International Business where he came up with the idea for Udrafter.
Udrafter won the Young EDGE category of Scottish EDGE Round 12 and will now take home a £10,000 share of the £1million prize pot and will receive an all-encompassing package of support from Scottish EDGE’s partner organisations to help them fast track and grow their business.
Daryll who runs the company with his brother Luke - who also studied at RGU – had previously managed to raise £30,000 for the business through a Scottish Enterprise Grant and Virgin Startup Loan.
He said: “This is the first competition we have won as a start-up, and it really means a lot to us being part of such a prestigious competition like Scottish EDGE, who have helped hundreds of businesses achieve their ambitions across Scotland.
“Out of 16 who pitched in the final only seven were selected as winners. We had made it to the final of the Young EDGE competition in Round 11 in November 2017 - but sadly didn't win. Although on a positive note we received extremely constructive feedback which allowed us to go back to the drawing board and make necessary improvements to the business.
“It is an incredibly intense experience standing in front of five strangers who are picking apart your business. You really have to know everything about your business and answer each question concisely and quickly. I think that is something we learned from the previous round when we were unsuccessful - the tricky part is not knowing what they will ask, and so manipulating your answer to fit with their question is a split second decision on the day - the hours of practice we put in really paid off.
“The focus for us was really on the Q&A, although the pitch also needed to be slick - if you cannot answer the questions confidently with conviction then you cannot expect the judges to have confidence in your business or you as the person to drive it forward.
“Overall it was brilliant experience to be able to pitch our business in front of industry professionals who have had tremendous success in their own specific areas of expertise.”
Daryll added that the money will provide an invaluable impact into their go-to-market strategy when they prepare to launch Udrafter after the summer.
“I often think of the money as a bonus because the network of entrepreneurs and professionals that we are now a part of is equally as important as we continue to grow as a young business,” Daryll continued.