Pitch perfect: Downing student’s startup wins
Congratulations to Downing MPhil student, Stan Van Baarsen, who recently won a Pitch@King's entrepreneurship competition.
Stan, along with his cofounder Magan Chin (Peterhouse), pitched their startup company FIG, and impressed the judges with their vision to enhance public service delivery through cutting-edge digital solutions.
"After a year of attending several talks and entrepreneurship events, we decided to throw our hat in the ring! Our main goal was to gain feedback on our plans - not only did we get a huge number of useful insights, but we also ended up winning the competition!” said Stan.
FIG is dedicated to building digital solutions that enable governments to deliver public services more efficiently and more effectively. While currently focusing on local government, their long-term ambition is to expand into larger organisations such as the NHS or HMRC, recognising the immense potential for large-scale impact.
“It is great to see that the entrepreneurship spirit is still thriving within the Downing community, and we congratulate Stan on his recent win. As a College, we have always supported entrepreneurial activities as part of our students’ learning and education, and I would encourage our budding enterprise builders to explore the funding opportunities that the College can provide to support these ambitions,” said Professor Graham Virgo KC (Hon), Master.
Post-graduation Stan plans to work on FIG fulltime; “Ultimately, we want FIG to help shape a future where the government’s IT works as seamlessly and intelligently as the best private sector companies' systems to enable governments to focus on spending their effort and funds where it really matters.
"As a student startup founder, I feel like I still have so much to learn, but the university and the community around it have been a goldmine of expertise and support. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by people willing to help. I’d encourage future students to make the most of every opportunity, you never know where your best idea may come from!”
Published 16 June 2025