A STUDENT from Purleigh has been awarded a £1,000 grant to help launch his new app.

Ben Campbell, 21, is a third year student at the University of Portsmouth studying web technologies.

As part of his dissertation, Ben is designing an app called Retainer.me, a ticket-based retainer management app and billing system for freelancers and small agencies.

A retainer is an advanced fee paid in advance to professionals to secure their services.

Ben’s app is designed to help make the invoicing process automated each month for smaller agencies and businessmen and women to save them valuable time and stress each month.

Ben, originally from Purleigh, was given the opportunity to pitch his start up idea to a panel of experts from the university’s nest team, who help students with new and upcoming ideas and projects.

He was one of 21 students to be grilled by the Dragon’s Den style panel, who were impressed with Ben’s idea and passion for the project that they awarded him £1,000 to help support the further building and designing of the app. He was one of 16 successful pitches.

Ben said: “It was an intense experience but I’m extremely proud of myself for getting through it.

“The funding will be a great help for me completing the app and hopefully taking it further after my dissertation and degree are done.

“It’ll hopefully be done by my deadline in April, but regardless I’ll be back in the Maldon area over summer and will keep working on it.

“It’s sure to keep me busy.”

Carley Hawkins, Enterprise Events Coordinator for nest, said: “I can’t wait to see what the start-ups are able to achieve. Providing this seed funding not only helps them move their business ideas forward but also reinforces the confidence we have in them to succeed.”