Big Chip entries mapped and funding success from Dragon’s Lair

While the rest of economy nosedives, it seems there’s no stopping Manchester’s tech community. Here’s a couple of quick updates;
* It turns out there’s been a record number of entries to this year’s Big Chip Awards. PushON has devised this map which shows the wide geographical spread of company locations entering Big Chip Awards 2009. A spokesman said they’ve received 226 entries in total from 165 companies, all battling it out to win prestigious awards to celebrate North West companies excelling in the use of digital technology.
Entries came from across the region, ranging from Penrith and Kendal, to Blackpool and Newcastle-on-Tyne, and even Bristol. There were 93 entries from Manchester, 21 from Liverpool and 26 from Cheshire. Submissions from Lancaster, Salford and Greater Manchester towns such as Bolton, Bury and Oldham were also high.
* He faced the Dragon’s Lair last week and has now secured Venture Capitalist backing for his idea. John Lewis of DCS presented his ideas for proximity-based marketing at last week’s Northern StartUp 2.0 event. Re-cap on all the pitches here.