THE Airbnb of the barber industry, a suit to help recover from rugby injuries and a portal to buy and make exotic recipes from around the world – these were some of the brightest ideas from this year’s StartUp Sussex competition. Business editor FINN SCOTT-DELANY finds out more.

MOST men will have been there, whiling away their Saturdays in the barbers, impatiently waiting as the guy on front gets complex lines shaved into the side of his head.

Women may also invest hours having their hair done of course, but at least they have the benefit of a good old-fashioned booking system.

For newly crowned Sussex Entrepreneur of the Year Darren Tenkorang, it was a frustrating three-hour wait in preparation for a hot date which provided the inspiration for his award-winning enterprise idea.

The fourth year business and management University of Sussex student explained: "I was meant to be taking my girlfriend out on a date. I hadn't even booked a restaurant but I wanted to get my hair done so called my barber and said I was coming in.

"I ended up waiting three hours. My phone died, and I left my girlfriend was left waiting, which wasn't good at all.

"I came out feeling so frustrated."

Improbably there has far been no little attempt to tackle this issue in the traditional barber - until now.

With his app TRIM-IT, winner of this year's Startup Sussex enterprise competition, Darren hopes to do the same thing to the barber industry as Deliveroo, Uber and Airbnb have with takeaways, taxis and guesthouses.

A marketplace for finding the best barber or stylist at the most convenient time and location, the app is designed for fast-paced times where men are ever more conscious about their appearance.

It also rewards loyalty and saves time waiting in the queue through an online booking system.

While some tech companies have trampled over traditional industries with little regard, TRIM-IT aims to preserve the inimitable culture of the barber.

"The barber industry is founded on loyalty, discussions and laughter", Darren said. "Everything must be done to maintain the culture.

"TRIM-IT is here to iron out a few problems and enhance the barber experience."

As well making life easier for the customer, the app is supposed to benefit the business too by streamline the process and promoting the best.

Barbers have already reacted well to the idea and he has been inundated with people wondering why the solution has only just been invented.

After coming up with the idea Darren got together a team app and web developers to designers and marketeers from Brighton and London to work on the joint enterprise.

With much of the tech out of the way thanks to talented developers recruited at networking events in Brighton, the £10,000 prize money will be spent marketing and promoting TRIM-IT ahead of its launch.

The prize comes from StartUp Sussex, the annual enterprise competition run by the University of Sussex.

The scheme sees business mentors from the Sussex Innovation Centre in Falmer deliver a series of workshops for more than 50 students and recent graduates.

“It’s amazing to have won, and the support TRIM-IT has been getting is truly moving,” he said Darren.

“We’ve been swamped with kind messages and words of encouragement. Taking part in StartUp Sussex has helped us to tailor the idea to what the market wants. We’ve interviewed hundreds of potential customers, and now we know that we’re building something our users and barbers really want."

While TRIM-IT caught the judges attention with its current business angle, two other start-ups were also recognised.

In second place, was Vanguard, an innovative clothing company for athletes which aims to improve recovery time.

Created by MSc business management & entrepreneurship student Laurence Stephens, the first product is a compression suit to aid recovery from high contact sports like rugby, with weights, padding and hot or cold gel packs.

After receiving £5,000 in business services, he said: “I’m over the moon. The programme has taught me about the practical needs of a start-up business, and I feel like it has equipped me with the skills to develop Vanguard and any ideas I have in the future. I plan to spend the money on further product development, as well as intellectual property protection.”

In third place, was Simone Riddle for Global Food Connections, an interactive online recipe platform to help western consumers discover global recipes and ethically-sourced food products.

The MA student said: “The experience has been invaluable – it was a real confidence boost to win, and showed me what’s possible when you put your mind to it!

“With the competition money I hope to begin building the online platform, prepare for the pilot project and invest in more business and marketing support from the Sussex Innovation team to make sure I have the best start possible for launching my social enterprise.”

In recognition of their hard work, the quality of their proposals and the commitment they have shown to the StartUp Sussex programme, the three remaining finalists will each receive 10 hours of business support from the Sussex Innovation Centre free of charge, to continue building the momentum around their fledgling business ideas.