Celebrating Our Founders: Highlights from the QUest Winter Celebration
As the year draws to a close, the QUest community came together for a day filled with energy, inspiration, and achievement at our Winter Celebration.
As the year draws to a close, the QUest community came together for a day filled with energy, inspiration, and achievement at our Winter Celebration - an event dedicated to honouring the completion of the programme and showcasing the incredible talent within our latest cohort of future founders.
This milestone wasn’t just about looking back at the journey so far, but looking ahead to the possibilities that now lie before them.
A Day of Inspiration and Insight
Throughout the event, guests were treated to thoughtful, practical, and deeply motivating insights from our panel of experienced entrepreneurs.
Their honest reflections and real-world stories offered our founders a valuable reminder: entrepreneurship is rarely linear, always challenging, and endlessly rewarding.
These conversations set the tone for a day built around growth, ambition, and community.
Spotlight on Our Founders: Pitching With Purpose
One of the highlights of the celebration was the pitch showcase, where members of the cohort stepped forward to present their businesses to an audience of peers, partners, and supporters.
Each pitch reflected the creativity, resilience, and innovation that have defined this year’s cohort. From early-stage concepts to emerging ventures, founders brought their ideas to life with clarity and passion - and the room responded with enthusiasm.
Following the presentations, the audience cast their votes to recognise standout pitches. The Top 5 audience-voted founders each took home a £1,000 prize - generously donated by a QUB alumnus who is passionate about supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs:
We can’t wait to see how these founders use this momentum to keep building.
A Cohort Worth Celebrating
Of course, the day was about more than awards - it was a celebration of every founder in the cohort.
Over the course of the programme, they have shown what’s possible when ambition meets community. They have challenged themselves, supported one another, embraced the unknown, and stepped fully into the role of entrepreneur.
To our entire cohort: thank you for your commitment, your ideas, your energy, and your belief in what the future can hold. You are the reason QUest exists, and your journey is only just beginning.
A Community That Rallies Together
The room was filled with supporters - mentors, partners, friends, and champions of entrepreneurship - all of whom contribute to the vibrant ecosystem that surrounds QUest. Your time, encouragement, and belief in these founders make a measurable difference.
Thank you for being an essential part of this story.
This Is Only the Beginning
The Winter Celebration marked the end of one chapter - but the start of many more. Our founders now step into the world ready to grow, iterate, and build with purpose.
Watch this space.
The next wave of innovators is on the rise, and we’re proud to be part of their journey.
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