Onitt Press Release
Two former Coventry University students have launched a free app to help friends plan their night out in the city and provide venues with the most effective platform to showcase their events and promotions.
Ben Tayton and Alex Dresch have created “Onitt” to highlight the best events, drinks deals and promotions taking place at venues across Coventry by downloading the information from the constantly updated app.
The 23-year-olds, who graduated in product design in 2013, received a £6,000 Business Innovation grant which was secured with help from the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub to turn their business idea into reality.
Since the app was unveiled in September, it has had 1,000 users and plans are already underway to add new features by the end of the year.
Ben said the idea behind the Onitt app was to have all the information in one place for mates to plan a night out in the city.
“We’re working directly with venues which allows us to provide details of events and deals so there is everything from which artists and DJs are playing to drinks and food offers,” he said.
“We like to think of it as the modern equivalent of giving out flyers on the street and there has been a great deal of interest from venues since they are able to upload their own information.
“With this initial version we decided to concentrate on Coventry but in the future we’re looking at major university cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Cardiff and Newcastle.”
Alex said the Business Innovation grant had helped pay for outsourcing the backend coding and he and Ben had concentrated on the design of the app.
He said: “We are working on this full-time now and we're really pleased with the response we've had from users and venues.
“The most difficult aspect so far was coming up with the name. It took us five months!
“We thought it would be easy but we rejected lots of ideas before we took inspiration from one of our mates who uses the phrase ‘Are you on it?!’ and ‘Let's get on it’ before he goes on a night out.
“This app is the beginning since it’s the most basic variation. We want to further develop the app to make it slicker and more interactive for our users in the future.
“It’s the first time we have run a business and the advice, support and grant we have had from the Growth Hub has been extremely useful.”
Craig Humphrey, managing director of the Growth Hub, said grants of between £2,500 and £5,000 were available to SMEs across Coventry and Warwickshire.
He said: “Grants are available to help SMEs, like Ben and Alex, with a range of support from developing new products, processes or services to technical consultancy.
“The application process is quick and simple and we are here to provide advice and support every step of the way.
“The Onitt app is a great way for friends to discover all the best events, promotions and deals in the city.”
The Onitt app can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
In the Picture: Suzi Archer (Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub) with Ben Tayton (centre) and Alex Dresch who have launched the Onitt app
Notes to editors
The funding was secured from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund through Lancaster University, who are leading the creation of 15 new growth hubs across the UK.
Lancaster University plays two distinct and innovative roles in the Wave 2 Growth Hub programme – as programme managers and as expert support to programme development. A first for universities in the UK, this programme demonstrates the dynamic role that universities, and especially their business schools, can play in the UK’s Growth Agenda.
Lancaster University, which was named as a top-ten university for SME engagement in the recent Witty Review and has received a Gold Small Business Charter Award, successfully bid to run this Regional Growth Fund programme. This is due to its Management School’s long-standing reputation for innovative support to business, and also because of the university’s experience and expertise in successfully managing European Funding programmes across the UK.
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/business/business-growth/programmes/wave2/
