With the UCFB Sports Entrepreneur Competition set to return for a fifth consecutive year, we thought we’d highlight some of the previous winners and see how their businesses are getting on.

Yoel Levy, who studies BA (Hons) Football Business & Finance at UCFB Wembley, set up Amazing Achievers, a business which aims to encourage youngsters to participate in sport by giving their parents and coaches the ability to present interactive trophies for achievements and participation…

How has winning the cash prize helped you to progress your business since you won?

It costs money to launch a new business venture and the cash has helped with the building blocks for this business – copyright, a professional website, initial stock, research and so on. I’m setting up a professional business so it’s important to do this properly.

How invaluable has the expertise and help from Brendan Flood been?

Tapping into the experience of someone like Brendan, who has been there and done it, is invaluable. It’s important to recognise that learning to walk before you can run isn’t what a young entrepreneur wants to hear, but it makes sense. Because of the mentoring I’ve received from Brendan to help me learn more about myself and grow, I want to return the favour to others in future.

How would you describe the experience of presenting to the competition board?

It’s a combination of excitement and nervousness. Knowing you have something you believe in helped me put across the message to help the board believe in me. I overcame worries about my ability to present simply through continuous preparation and going for it.

Please can you describe how you came up with your business idea and why?

I had many great memories growing up, but it was not easy overcoming my speech disorder and coping with his severe dyslexia. So, getting upgraded from pencil to pen, scoring my first goal for my football team and running the London Marathon at just 18 were all huge achievements for me. So I wondered, have other people felt the way I have? Have others worked their socks off and never been rewarded in a positive way? Have others missed out on getting trophies as their achievements have not been deemed good enough? Does this happen in sport, dance, music, in fact any activities where success has been a struggle? From a young age, without the right encouragement, support and coaching, and without a tangible sense of achievement, many people ask why bother? So this is where Amazing Achievers come from. I want to ensure that Amazing Achievers recognises achievements by people of all ages and of all walks of life. And by using technology, I want people to keep these special moments with them throughout their life.

What’s your message to students thinking of entering the 2019 edition?

This competition gives you an opportunity to take a thought, turn it into an idea, develop a plan, create a vision for that plan, create a presentation, deliver it, get valuable feedback, learn and grow. You miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take – so give it a go! You’ve nothing to lose.