An Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) student and emerging entrepreneur has secured funding to develop her women’s health app after winning a competitive pitching competition.
Emily Youngs, who is studying for an MSc in Data Engineering, claimed the Appin Award with its £2,000 topprize for WombWise, following a final at ENU’s enterprise hub, Bright Red Triangle (BRT).
WombWise is developing a symptom-tracking app thatintegrates wearable data, and uses AI to detect menstrual and hormonal disruptions. It aims to empower women to self-advocate and access faster diagnoses for conditions like endometriosis and PCOS, which currently can take years.
It came out on top following the final Appin Award pitches at BRT’s Startup Studio in Edinburgh. Held every year, the award was founded by Edinburgh Napier alumni and serial entrepreneurs Damien O’Looney and Bing Li (Appin Sports), whose support and funding helps to champion emerging student talent.
This year’s ‘One to Watch’ award and £1,000 prize went toTiplo, a digital physiotherapy startup co-founded by Tom McKeever, a PhD student at ENU’s School of Health and Social Care.
Alongside the prize funding, Emily and Tom will receiveongoing mentorship from Bright Red Triangle, which also supports students and graduates from Queen Margaret University and Edinburgh College. BRT offers free business advice, events and resources, with many activities open to the wider community.
WombWise founder and Appin Award winner Emily Youngs said: “Pitching at this event was an incredible experience that really challenged me to consolidate my dreams into a clear, credible business plan.
“The event itself was inspiring. Being surrounded by such apassionate community of future entrepreneurs and hearing so many innovative ideas was amazing.
“Winning the award means so much – not just the funding,but the validation that this idea can genuinely make a difference. With the support of the funds provided through the Appin Award, I’m looking forward to
getting our product off the ground and making this vision a reality.”
Tiplo founder and ‘One to Watch’ winner Tom McKeever said: “After some tough competition, we were delighted to come away with the ‘One to Watch’ prize. The prize money will be hugely beneficial to our next steps in the startup.
“We thoroughly enjoyed the event and look forward to working more with BRT and Appin in the future!”
Appin Award founder Damien O’Looney said: “I was absolutely blown away by the standard of pitches at this year's competition.
“The calibre of start-ups has improved remarkably in the last 12 months, which made it incredibly difficult to pick a winner for the prize.
“Every team presented compelling ideas and strong businesscases, but Emily truly stood out and is a very deserving winner. The three partners from Tiplo were a very close second.
“I'm incredibly excited to see what the future holds forall these innovative Edinburgh Napier University start-ups.”
Find out more about the Appin Award here.