After three months, hundreds of entries and weeks of training and preparation, we crowned 2009’s Idea Idols in a dramatic finale on March 5th at the Said Business School.

Out of the hundreds of entries submitted in January, we selected the top 25 enterprise ideas to move onto the semi-finals and receive training from Russell Smith (Business Boffins) on how to write an executive summary and from Malcolm Sadler (Henmans llp) on the legal considerations of starting a business. Out of the 25 executive summaries, judges from Oxfordshire Enteprise Hub, the Big Oxford Computer Company and Henmans llp selected the 7 finalists to move onto the finals. The finalists received extensive pitch training from Rob Geraghty (The Wow Factor) and Placi Espejo (Oxfordshire Enteprise Hub) in preparation for the big night.

Over 350 people attended to watch the finalist deliver their 2 minute elevator pitches and face gruelling questions by four judges, including Julie Meyer (Founder & CEO of Ariadne Capital), Will Ghali (Marketing Director at Cobra Beer), Ian Robin (Director of Skype for Business), and Ian Carnegie-Brown (MD of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse.

The atmosphere in the lecture theatre was electric. Jordan Poulton and Sarah Battie, OE’s Idea Idol Directors, hosted the evening and kept the crowds entertained as they introduced the event. Once the finalists had pitched their idea and faced tough questions, the judges went off to deliberate as to the winner.

The winners were fledging ventures Easy Solution (£7,500) and Foresight Pharmaceuticals (£2,000), and the People’s Choice Award winner was Youth Bank (£500). The runners-up were Diagnosis 2U, AiFlex and Teacher Planit.

Easy Solution is an idea developed by Camilla Oxley and Jochen Klingelhoefer. They describe their product as an automated system that will change how research is conducted in more than 100,000 life and biomedical science research labs across the world. Easy Solution was also awarded £2,000 in initial legal support from Henmans llp.

Foresight Pharmaceuticals, developed by Phoebe Williams, is a hormonal gel that prevents the transmission of HIV/AIDs, Human Papilloma Virus and Herpies Simplex Virus.

Youth Bank was pitched by Joyce Meng. It is a business incubator and microcredit program that connects street youth (aged 15-25) in the urban developing world with the skills, mentors and resources to launch their own community businesses.

All finalists received free pitches with Cmypitch.com, a Skype gift pack and a G&Ds gift pack.

We would like to once again thank our gold sponsors: The Big Oxford Computer Company, Skype, Cobra Beerand Credit Suisse. We would also like to thank you Silver Sponsors: Octopus Ventures, Henmans llp,Cmypitch.com and Oxfordshire Entreprise Hub, as well as our valued partners: Oxford University Careers Service, Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Webmart UK, Business Link, Business Boffins, G&Ds and Purple Media. Without their support Idea Idol would not have been possible.