Kingston University alumnus wins prestigious award for business idea created during his studies

A Kingston Business School alumnus has won a prestigious AXA Startup Angel award for a business idea he created while studying at Kingston University.

David Boadu graduated from the University in 2016 with a degree in Business Administration and was inspired to establish his award-winning business Vistella Cycling when a module in his course sparked his imagination. 

His time at Kingston

Boadu struck on the idea of producing cycling gloves with fluorescent arrows to indicate direction of intended travel after seeing a growing number of cycling casualties across London being reported on the news.

The glove initially began as a course module group project which David and his fellow students then entered the University’s competition for student entrepreneurs, Bright Ideas. They won their category and then went on to scoop the Young Enterprise Competition, this time being recognised in the Best Overall Company category. 

Boadu said he enjoyed his time at Kingston and has continued to credit the support he received at the University as one of the reasons for his success. “Kingston University taught me how to work, how to structure ideas, how to collaborate, and how to pitch. Those foundational skills have been huge for me,” he said.

Growing the business

Following graduation Boadu encountered a number of challenges when starting to grow the business that would become Vistella Cycling. However, a University contact led to exposure at a prominent German sports expo which led to the launch of a Kickstarter campaign which successfully took Vistella Cycling to the next level.

Boadu’s background in business development proved very useful when he decided to pitch his idea directly to cycling shops. 

The gloves were initially taken on by four shops who took a chance on the product before it was fully established.

Vistella Cycling’s next product, the Lantern backpack pannier, proved even more popular. It was pre-ordered by 20 shops initially before sealing a deal with distributor Independent 100 who work with more than 400 stores nationwide. 

Award wins and the future

Vistella Cycling has gone from strength to strength in the past few years winning a number of prestigious awards with their products featured on leading websites such as Decathlon and Amazon. This includes the Lantern backpack pannier being a finalist at the Bike Biz Awards, two commendations at the Kingston Borough Business Awards and being named as a finalist at the UK Startup Awards. 

The band’s most important win came at the AXA Startup Angel awards where Vistella Cycling was one of two businesses awarded £25,000, a year’s free business insurance and mentoring from four business experts.

Boadu said the win was a major accomplishment for the fledgling company. “This is going to boost Vistella Cycling hugely and it's come after I have tested lots of different platforms and channels to maximise our potential to reach customers, tell them about our products, and grow the brand. It's the perfect time to double down on our success and scale up.”

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