A Caerphilly-based startup Happus has been named one of 15 winners of the Elevator Pitch competition, run by London-based startup news site Tech City News.

Managing director at Happus David Williams wowed the judges with his plan to provide affordable hardware and broadband to some of the UK’s most digitally excluded people.

The Elevator Pitch is now in its fifth season, with more than 150 companies pitching to become ‘the next big startup’ with that list whittled down to 30 semi-finalists.

The companies, all based within the tech industry, then gave a 'Dragon’s den' - style 30-second pitch, where they had to use the limited time to convey why their business stood out from the crowd.

The judging panel consisted of Tech City news editor Ryan Fowler, Sarah Drinkwater, head of campus at Google Campus London, Seb Abigail from commercial property consultants Knight Frank, Patrick Imbach head of high growth technology group KPMG and Pradeep Raman, investor at Forward Partners.

Each winner will now present a 30-second pitch video at a special location and will then be featured as 'Startup of the Week' later in the year.

Ryan Fowler said: “Happus is a great idea and has the ability to radically change the lives of the people it helps. In today's digital age access to computers and the internet is crucial.

"It's sad that some people don't have the same access as the rest of us and it's great that Happus is working to rectify that. We're delighted to have Happus as one of our winners and wish them luck for the grand finale.”

Managing director of Happus, David Williams said: “It’s a real honour to be picked as one of the winners from the 150 other tech companies that entered the competition. It was a great experience being part of Tech City News’ process as I’m a big believer in the power of the elevator pitch.

“The ethos here at Happus is that internet access is a right, not a privilege, and it was very rewarding to see that the judges felt the same way.”

Based in the Welsh Innovation Centre for Enterprise in Caerphilly, Happus offer discounted hardware packages for anyone representing a charity or claiming benefits, which combined with their exclusive TalkTalk deal and full customer support, means the team are a one stop shop for digital inclusion.