Sidney Prince Barasa and Madung Dung
Meet business partners Sidney Prince Barasa and Madung Dung, who won the 2021 Flare Engineers in Business award. Their business uses simulation and virtual reality technology to break down the barriers of experiencing extreme sports.
| Current job role | Part-time entrepreneurs |
|---|---|
| Year of graduation | 2019 |
| Course of study | BEng (Hons) Automotive Engineering with Motorsport |
Flare is the University’s highly competitive annual enterprise competition giving budding Herts students and alumni the opportunity to access entrepreneurial support and training to bring their business ideas to life. Generously sponsored by the Engineers in Business Fellowship (EIBF), Sidney and Madung’s award promotes the importance and value of business acumen for engineering students and graduates to support entrepreneurism.
The inspiration behind Situal Cave
Sidney and Madung’s business, Situal Cave, is a virtual entertainment and e-sports company, using virtual reality technology to give users an immersive experience to simulate the thrill of driving down a racetrack. The team uses technology to overcome the barriers people face to experiencing extreme sports in-person and makes e-sport more accessible to enjoy.
The team say, “Much like any other tech heads, the scope of virtual reality and its myriad of applications was of great interest to us. We were particularly intrigued by its application in gaming and the advancements that it brought about. Fond of critically analysing things, we envisaged the business potential of virtual reality entertainment, and driven by our shared passion, research and planning, we came up with the business model for Situal Cave.”
“Our university academic experience as automotive engineers contributed a great deal to our entrepreneurial journey. As trained problem solvers, we employ these skills to help us effectively navigate the rough entrepreneurial terrain and overcome its many challenges.”
Flare is challenging and fun
Sidney and Madung found the Flare competition a rewarding and positive experience. They say, “As young entrepreneurs looking to join a rapidly expanding industry, the Flare competition provided a platform to further reinforce our business plan. The most exciting thing about it was delivering the pitch as it was both challenging and fun. We were delighted to receive really positive feedback from the business experts who assessed our proposal and described our plan as exceptional and valuable.”
“Our favourite memory will be the time spent in the LRC (Learning Resources Centre), and the several nights spent there working collaboratively on coursework and meeting project deadlines.”
Future aspirations
Madung says, “It was Herts’ strong engineering and technology background that led me to study here. I aspire to thrive in business engineering and establish a globally influential group of companies that will make a positive impact.”