By Jill Buchanan

Copyright falkirkherald

The HEAT – which stands for Highlighting Entrepreneurship All Together — is a Dragon’s Den-style business competition designed to unearth and support the region’s most promising new business talent. For the first time in in its history all three top prizes have gone to businesses from the Falkirk area. First place was awarded to ExploreBuddy, who provide neurodivergent support for families, schools and organisations across the UK. Only founded in March this year by mental health nurse and University of Stirling alumni Lucinda Wiley, at the heart of its work is The Neuro Series. This is a unique four-part journey that empowers parents and carers to explore their own strengths, communication styles, and emotional patterns, while building deeper, more meaningful connections with their autistic child. Lucinda said: “Winning The HEAT 25 is a proud moment for ExploreBuddy. As a neurodivergent specialist company, we’re building a different kind of support – one shaped by collaboration and exploration of who you are, not the label you’ve been given. “Our integrated service platform supports neurodivergent needs across personal, educational, and professional settings. To have this approach recognised is deeply encouraging, and we’re truly grateful for the opportunity to share our work within such an inspiring community.” Second place went to Golf Sherpa, who provide packaged golf trips that are “planned to a tee”. Golf Sherpa combines an end-to-end concierge planning service with a tailorable event management app. It handles all on-course and off-course details so customers can focus on what matters most to them – whether that’s competitive play, discovering hidden gem courses, or making memories with friends. Meanwhile, third place was taken by Head for Data, a company helping organisations unlock the potential of their data and technology. Its offering is designed to make data and AI accessible, clear, and results-focused without unnecessary complexity or jargon. With over 50 years of combined experience, Head for Data designs scalable, ROI-driven solutions across industries from civil engineering and property management to energy and beyond. The winners shared a prize pot worth over £10,000, with prizes donated by STEP, University of Stirling Management School, Forth Valley College, Arm in Arm Accounting, Art is an Option, Cornwallis Business Services, Ceteris, and Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce. Mandy Campbell, business adviser at Ceteris who organise The HEAT, said: “This year’s competition has been one of the most exciting yet, and it’s a fantastic milestone to see all three winners come from the Falkirk area for the very first time. “The top three each impressed the judges with their innovation, ambition and the real-world impact of their businesses. The judges felt the winner, Explore Buddy, stood out with a fantastic business model that they believe has excellent potential to succeed and deliver big benefits to families, schools and organisations. We can’t wait to see how all our winners continue to grow.” Emma Clark, owner of EmPAWrium, sponsors of The HEAT 25, added: “Supporting The HEAT is about more than celebrating winners – it’s about giving start-ups and early-stage businesses a platform to shine. The standard this year has been incredible, and we’re especially proud to back such outstanding local entrepreneurs.”