Meet Rachel Lyu: The Cambridge student who just won the first ever uni Dragon’s Den

An Economics student at Cambridge absolutely wowed judges at Sell it to The City – a Dragons’ Den-style event in which students are asked to pitch big business ideas to experienced judges.

Rachel Lyu, from Trinity College, came up against undergrads from St Andrews and Sheffield, each wanting to get their ideas picked up by leading Fund Managers Judith MacKenzie, Stephen English, and Andy Brough. The candidates were given incredible, tailored insight into how to make their pitches better, as well as what they did well.

The prize was getting to experience A Day in the Life of Andy Brough, at Asset Management company, Schroders.

Photo via PiWorld

Rachel, who runs the Cutty Sark Investment Society at Cambridge, presented the opportunity to invest in Norcros products, which specialises in bathroom and kitchen products. The business may be pretty much unknown – but it invests in loads of well-known, impressive brands, like Johnson’s Tiles.

While the judges mostly thought they wouldn’t invest in the company *right now*, they absolutely loved Rachel’s pitch, and her high presentation scores saw her taking the prize home.

She was up against tough competition – with Sheffield student Ralph Atkinson, pitching one of Andy’s own stocks back to him. St Andrew’s student Kai Pannwitz pitched Vector Capital, which has invested in dozens of brands.

This isn’t the first time the student has managed to get a foot in the door in the world of investment. According to her LinkedIn, Rachel has previously interned with BP, Fintipay and Huatai Securities, each in the areas of Asset Management.

Watch the full video below:

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