Amy Stone Wins People’s Choice at the First Bristol Demo Night

Last night, in the heart of Bristol’s Engine Shed, our newest Canopy star stepped into the spotlight—and walked away with the People’s Choice Award. Amy Stone, creator of Surveyr, captivated the room with her quiet confidence, sharp clarity, and a deeply practical solution built for one of the UK’s most strained professions.

Surveyr is Amy’s MVP: a real-time building inspections app helping surveyors complete full reports on-site, reducing days of administrative backlog into minutes. The idea sounds simple—pulling in building intelligence by postcode, generating structured data instantly—but those “few green ticks” represent hours saved for highly skilled professionals. And last night, Bristol’s founder and investor community saw just how valuable that is.

A Founder Who Didn’t Expect to Win—But Absolutely Earned It

When asked how she felt, Amy admitted she didn’t see it coming. She believed her fellow founders had stronger presentation skills and more stage experience. But the audience voted with conviction—and by a significant margin.

That says something powerful.
Not just about Amy’s work, but about the kind of founder she is:

• She solves a real-world problem for a profession facing nationwide skills shortages.

• She built her MVP through focus, learning, and relentless curiosity.

• She communicates clearly, honestly, and with empathy—especially in the Q&A, where she came alive.

As she said, “Once I got to the questions I felt much more at ease… Dan said to me, ‘you know your stuff’, and actually, I do.”

That authenticity landed. The community recognised it.

From Ideation to MVP: A Canopy Membership Success Story

Amy’s journey is exactly why the Canopy Membership exists. She joined as a first-time founder exploring an idea, took the Ideation Course, became its first certificate holder, and used that learning to structure her path to an MVP.

She originally assumed she’d need a technical co-founder and serious investment before building anything. Instead, she discovered she could create her early product herself—using Lovable and the design skills she already had.

This is validation-driven entrepreneurship at its most empowering:
reducing barriers, speeding up insight, and giving founders a way to move from idea to product without waiting for permission.

And now, she’s building traction. She’s had investor meetings. She’s exploring collaborations with other Canopy members. She’s shifting from “Can I do this?” to “How far can I take it?”

Bristol’s First Demo Night: A Goldilocks Moment

For our first ever Bristol Demo Night—powered by Canopy Community and partners at SetSquared—Amy described it perfectly: a Goldilocks moment. A cosy, high-trust setting where founders were close enough to truly connect with their audience.

There was no hiding.
There was no back row.
Just founders, ideas, customers, and community.

The engine room of validation.

Advice for the Next Wave of Founders

Amy now joins the 26 People’s Choice winners across Canopy’s 22 Demo Nights this year—a remarkable group of early-stage founders who showed up, shared honestly, and shaped their venture through real-world testing.

Her advice for anyone stepping onto the Demo Night stage next?

• Keep it simple.

• Tell a story.

• Explain the problem clearly.

• Show up as yourself.

• And speak to people afterwards—those conversations matter more than you think.

She didn’t plan to win.
She didn’t plan to persuade.
She simply showed the truth of her product and listened generously.

That’s what resonated.

A Win for Amy, and a Win for What Makes Bristol Special

In a city known for creativity, experimentation, and community spirit, Amy’s People’s Choice Award feels symbolic. She represents the kind of founder Bristol is known for: thoughtful, values-driven, ambitious, and quietly relentless.

And this is just the beginning.

Connect with Amy https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyvstone/ 

 Watch the full interview back https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMBGpxg9eRA 

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