Business>Centre for Entrepreneurship>Flash Fund

Centre for Entrepreneurship Flash Fund

​​​​ Flash Fund Logo

Apply for up to £250 to develop yourself or your idea.

We are offering you a great chance to develop as a freelancer, start or grow your business, or simply take the next step towards an entrepreneurial career.

The EntAct FlashFund is a competitive fund that will help to turn your entrepreneurial idea into reality or take an existing organisation or business to the next level! Applications are open to all UK based Cardiff Met students and recent graduates who have not previously received funding.

Flash Fund can support a range of items, as long as it is something which will clearly help you, your business or idea to progress. Examples include:

  • Equipment

  • Marketing materials or advertising costs

  • Market research activities

  • Courses to develop specific skills relevant to your business

  • Test trading opportunities such as exhibitions, market stalls and trade shows

  • Networking opportunities such as conferences, events and membership of professional bodies/organisations

  • Trademarking or other IP protection or advice

To enter, please apply via MetHub.​​​

You will need to upload a Business One pager. 

This should be approximately 1 side of A4 and should contain enough information for us to understand your business. We're not expecting a page of text, make it interesting. If you've not written a BOP before, follow this guidance on layout and this guidance on what to include. Your Business One Pager should be something that you have on hand for anytime someone wants to know more about your business. It should include:

  • An overview of your business/idea

  • Your business name and links to any website/social media accounts

  • Your target audience 

  • What progress have you made to date

  • What you will do next

  • What do you need to achieve this

We can accept Word Documents or PDF.​

We want to see creative and innovative ways of your presenting your idea, so let your creative spirit flow in the one pager. This is a chance for you to visually present your idea the best you can!

If you need help with this, why not come along to our workshop on the 25th of April?


Rules

Your entry must include the following information:

  • Your name (and the name of anyone else involved in the business)
  • The name of the business or social enterprise
  • Whether you have started trading yet and if so for how long
  • How much money you are looking to pitch for (maximum £250)
  • What the money will be used for
  • The application must be a Business One Pager
  • We encourage team applications, and if there are at least two members of the team who are Cardiff Met students or eligible graduates we will double your Flash Fund to £500.
  • If the item/activity you're looking to fund is over £250 for an individual or £500 for a team. We may be able to match fund you, for example if the item was £300 we could pay £250 towards it and you would put in the other £50. If you are looking for match funding for a higher costing item please state this in your application.
  • Unless it is for prototyping or test trading we cannot fund the cost of stock or raw materials for your business. 
  • The business must be legal and ethical and not bring the University into disrepute. We will not support MLM or Network Marketing businesses.
  • If you are successful in securing Flash Fund investment, you must claim/spend the money no later than 30 days from the date in which you receive our email confirming investment. 
  • If you've previously been awarded funding through the Centre for Entrepreneurship you are no longer eligible for Flash Fund.
  • Flash Fund is open to any UK based Cardiff Met student and any Cardiff Met graduate who studied in the UK who graduated in 2023.

Judging criteria

Your entry will be judged according to the following criteria (with equal weighting for each):

  • Is it a good idea? - While this may seem a little subjective but good ideas generally meet a user need, solve a problem, or clearly take advantage of an opportunity. You need to tell us what problem you are solving, what need you are fulfilling or what opportunity you have spotted. If you're fulfilling a need, or solving a problem who are you doing this for. If you've spotted an opportunity, who is your customer.
  • Have you presented it well? – Your application must be written clearly and your business idea must be explained in a concise manner which is easy to understand. We're expecting your BOP to be visually interesting, it should show off your brand values. You may not be a graphic designer, but a plain page of text is not what we're looking for.
  • Will the money actually help you to progress – your application needs to demonstrate that you have researched your costs appropriately and have considered value for money. There should be a clear 'shopping list' of items. We should be able to understand how the funding will help you to take the next step. We know this may not be trading yet, it may be further research or events, but why do you need this particular thing?

To enter, please apply via MetHub.


Winners will be notified shortly after applications close - please do not 'chase' us before this date.

If you have any queries, get in touch: entrepreneurship@cardiffmet.ac.uk​