As 2025 draws to a close, Startup Grind Gibraltar invites you to an evening that celebrates ambition, collaboration, and home-grown innovation. The End of Year Celebration & Pitch Battle Winner Announcement marks the culmination of a journey that began in September — when we launched the Build Local, Think Global Startup Pitch Battle to challenge Gibraltar’s entrepreneurs to turn ideas into scalable ventures.

Over the past three months, local startups and innovators have developed business plans, refined their pitches, and worked closely with experienced mentors to prepare for The Final — a live, Dragons’ Den-style showdown hosted at the Sunborn Gibraltar. Now, we come together once again to reveal the winners and honour the visionaries shaping the next wave of Gibraltar’s business community.

Our Finalists:
Ten exceptional startups have earned their place in the final, representing a spectrum of creativity, innovation, and industry impact:

• Your Front Desk – Founded by Leon Thick, this AI-driven smart assistant transforms client communication for small businesses and Airbnb hosts, helping founders save time and scale efficiently.

• PlayFit Gibraltar – Created by Marco Zavagni, this non-profit initiative promotes heart screening and health education for young athletes, supported by Gibraltar’s Ministries of Sport and Health.

• NeuraRock Consulting – Founded by Puneet Sabhnani, Gibraltar’s first AI education and consulting firm, empowering businesses to adopt artificial intelligence safely, ethically, and effectively.

• Mind Body Soul Wellbeing – Led by Monique Grambow, this holistic health and charity platform provides wellness programmes, accredited training, and school-based wellbeing initiatives across Gibraltar and online.

• Timelock – Developed by Ethan & Dominic Roworth Mancera, this SaaS mobile app offers Gen Z and Millennials a secure digital space for memory-keeping, journaling, and time capsule sharing.

• Whole Wild World – Urban to Wild Initiative – Founded by Jessica Leaper, this social enterprise connects urban greening with global rewilding projects, creating mini forests in schools and public spaces worldwide.

• Wellhexagon – Created by Catherine Rubio, this wellbeing and leadership platform offers coaching and stress management programmes for executives in finance and tech across Gibraltar, Spain, and the UAE.

• GibMarket – A community-driven marketplace built for Gibraltar, giving residents and small businesses a trusted digital space to buy, sell, and grow locally and across the border.

• Gibraltar Horticultural Society – Green Hub & Community Gardens – Led by Annabelle Mor-Codali, this community initiative promotes sustainability through urban gardening, education, and green living projects.

Each of these startups represents Gibraltar’s evolving entrepreneurial landscape, combining local ambition with global potential.

Our Mentors:
A remarkable group of business leaders and professionals volunteered their time to support the participants throughout this process. Their mentorship transformed ideas into refined pitches and provided invaluable guidance.

• Lianne Garcia – Head of Enterprise Services, Gibtelecom

• Jonny Cooper – Business Strategist & Founder, Consultants in Business

• Ricardo Cravo – Entrepreneur & Strategic Executive, Finance & Marketing Specialist

• Steven Oliva-Taylor – Co-Founder & Director of Operations, Vega Group

• Candice Marsh – Chartered Engineer & Manager, Sustainabuild Ltd

Their generosity of time and expertise has been instrumental in helping each finalist grow in confidence and clarity.

Our Judges:
Five distinguished business leaders representing Gibraltar’s core industries joined the judging panel for The Final, contributing their insight, experience, and objectivity to determine this year’s winners:

• Tim Garcia – Partner, Hassans International Law Firm Ltd

• Andrew Gonzalez – Independent Judge & Senior People & Culture Director Playtech

• Mike Balfour OBE – Chairman Infinity Group

• Adrian Avellano – CEO AMA Group

• Andrew Keywood – CEO & Founder Specifix Ltd

• Ricardo Cravo – Entrepreneur & Investor

The panel’s combined experience across law, finance, telecommunications, entrepreneurship, and investment ensures every idea is evaluated with fairness and depth.

A Celebration of Community and Collaboration:
This event is more than a competition — it’s a celebration of what happens when Gibraltar’s business community works together. From the September launch to the November finals, Startup Grind Gibraltar has brought together startups, mentors, sponsors, and partners with one shared goal: to build opportunity and strengthen Gibraltar’s position as a hub of innovation and collaboration.

The evening will feature the official announcement of the Pitch Battle winners, networking drinks, and a festive celebration of everything achieved this year — surrounded by peers, partners, and the people shaping Gibraltar’s entrepreneurial future.

Supported by:
Our deepest thanks to our long-standing sponsors and partners whose continued belief in the vision makes these events possible —
Gibraltar Finance, Hassans International Law Firm Ltd, Gibtelecom Business, Specifix Ltd, Chellaram Foundation, One Media & Events, Sunborn Gibraltar, Regus Gibraltar, and Ads.gi.