Swindon & Wiltshire News
Phone-distraction start-up wins £100,000 investment backing
Bristol University start-up Novi has secured selection for at least £100,000 in investment after beating competition from more than 1,400 applicants to become one of ten Blue Earth BE100 winners.
The company, which helps schools curb smartphone distractions without confiscating devices, won the competition’s media and education category. Its software restricts distracting phone functions while preserving access to essential tools.
Novi joins nine other businesses selected for a minimum £100,000 each from BE100 Fund II, managed in partnership with Haatch. Final investments will follow a four-week programme of promotion and investor introductions, according to Blue Earth’s announcement.
Developed by University of Bristol students, Novi tackles a problem familiar to teachers and parents: keeping young people focused without cutting them off from technology they genuinely need. The university says its approach allows essential access for health and emergencies.
Its current schools platform blocks distracting apps, websites and cameras during the school day, with a dashboard allowing teachers to see which pupils are in “focus mode”.
An earlier university pilot used a physical fob: students tapped their phones against it to block selected apps, then had to return to unblock them, adding a deliberate barrier to mindless scrolling.
The business – founded by Matt Stewart, Lucas Chow, Louis Harris, and Nadav Jacobs – has already attracted support. In June, Novi won £10,000 and SETsquared membership through Bristol’s New Enterprise Competition.
It has also received backing from tech-for-good investor Bethnal Green Ventures and piloted its technology at King Edward’s School in Bath, alongside activity in Bristol schools and the university.
For Novi, the BE100 award brings the prospect of fresh capital alongside introductions to investors, customers, and specialist advisers.
Blue Earth’s ten winners are collectively seeking £27.8 million to grow. They were selected from 1,414 applicants across ten industries, with 40 venture capital and industry judges assessing commercial potential, impact, innovation, teams and competitive advantage.
Other winners include Oxford industrial heat specialist Odqa, clothing resale robotics business VNYX, crop technology company Elicit Plant, and cancer-treatment decision specialist Genomate Health.
Capture6, OkHi, Converge, Lir Labs and Ontra Mobility complete the line-up.
Blue Earth co-founder and chief commercial officer Guy Hayler said: “We’re never going to be the biggest cheque in their cap table, but we want to be catalytic.”
The winners were announced at Blue Earth Summit, held at Woolwich Works in London from October 14 to 16 this year.
