In October, 2012 University College London PhD student Art (Artsiom) Stavenka, and his business partner Kiryl Chykeyuk, a PhD student at Oxford University, have secured £90,000 in funding after appearing on BBC2 Dragons’ Den.
First launched in Japan, Dragons’ Den is now an international brand with versions airing in countries across the globe. Entrepreneurs pitch for investment in the Den from Dragons, five venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity.
Their business – an innovative approach to advertising with moving images on bike wheels – won strong interest from the Dragons, with entrepreneur Hilary Devey also interested in investing in the company.
{movie}The Belarusian students’ invention.|right|13600{/movie}
But the both winners opted out of taking the money earmarked for their business development.
Taking the prize would mean loosing some freedom, Mr Chykeyuk told kp.by. ‘It is not us who would take decisions on the company’s development, etc. At the moment we are elaborating another idea. We are not going to open all the secrets but our development will definitely save the world,’ he said.
In the early 2000s Artsiom Stavenka and Kiryl Chykeyuk finished Lyceum No 1 in Brest.
