On Sunday 20th May 2018, our Talent Unleashed 2017 winners will start their once-in-a-lifetime tour of Silicon Valley. The all expenses paid trip was awarded to our global winners across five categories. In this article we catch up with our ‘One to Watch’ category winners as they look forward to flying out to San Francisco.
Nathan Williams collects his ‘One to Watch’ award in London
UK & European Winner – MineSpider
Nathan Williams is the founder of blockchain-based tech startup, Minespider. The company uses blockchain tokens to track conflict-free minerals. These tokens are passed up the supply chain to purchasers of metal, so that manufacturers can trace their money to responsible sources. The judges were bowled over by the innovative use of blockchain to help rid the world of unethical mining practices which destroy so many lives.
We caught up with Nathan whilst he was speaking at Talent’s Tech Trends event in Berlin last week. Looking ahead to the winners trip, he said:
“Being selected as the Global Winner for Best Idea in the Talent Unleashed Awards is such an enormous boost for us. The exposure we received has already helped earn trust with large companies in the mineral industry. Having the recognition of such prominent entrepreneurs, such as Steve Wozniak and Sir Richard Branson, sets us 10 steps ahead in our mission to turn responsible supply chain due diligence from an impossible task into a commodity that any company can purchase easily through the power of blockchain.”
Follow Nathan’s progress by connecting with him on LinkedIn
APAC Winner – LifeWhisperer
Dr. Jonathon Hall receiving his ‘One to Watch’ award from global judge Steve Wozniak
Life Whisperer is a non-invasive image analysis tool that improves the selection of viable embryos for IVF implantation. The technology, designed by Dr Jonathan Hall, Dr Michelle Perugini and Dr Don Perugini, aims to improve success rates of IVF treatment while reducing the associated emotional burden and financial costs.
Looking ahead to the winners trip, Dr Jonathan Hall said:
“We are honoured to have been awarded the Global Winner for Best Idea by Talent Unleashed, and to be recognised by world leading entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson and Steve Wozniak. This exposure and support is invaluable in the hope that we can have a positive impact on families undergoing IVF, helping to improve IVF success rates around the world and making IVF more affordable and accessible for infertile couples wanting to have children.”
Follow Jonathan’s progress by connecting with him on LinkedIn
USA Winner – Grainster
Layne Fortenberry receiving his ‘One to Watch’ award beside Founder Richard Earl (left) and global judge Steve Wozniak (right)
Grainster is a technology enabled grain trading marketplace, a paradigm shift from today’s grain trading practices. It seeks to enhance global food security and small farm strength through freeing growers to offer their production directly to a global buying audience.
Grainster’s secure, comprehensive trading platform provides, among other benefits, a new opportunity for both farmers and buyers to increase operations profitability.
Grainster is the first global startup winner from mainland America and will be looking to take advantage of the Silicon Valley experience to help further develop its operations from its home Little Rock, AR. He stated after winning his award:
“Winning the 2017 Talent Unleashed Award for Best Idea- One to Watch, USA has opened up unimaginable opportunities and brought the World Spotlight to our venture. To be recognized by Sir Richard Branson is an honor itself, and with Steve Wozniak saying, “This technology could be disruptive, like Uber or Airbnb” has had a powerful effect on our proof of concept.”
Follow Grainster’s progress by connecting with them on LinkedIn
Follow the winners on their trip on social media using the hashtag #UnleashedWinners or follow @UnleashedAwards on Twitter