Among those hoping to keep pursuing their ideas is Rachel Loo, who was runner up in the challenge.
The Otago Polytechnic student's project was Seahorse, a child safety system aimed at combating Forgotten Baby Syndrome.
In January, a health professional accidentally left her toddler in her car in the mistaken belief that she had dropped him at daycare. The child was found dead eight hours later.
When Ms Loo (21) heard about the tragedy, she was sure something could be designed to reduce the risk of such a thing happening again.
She developed the concept of Seahorse, a child safety system consisting of two parts: an in car monitor using a weight sensor to tell when a child was in the car seat, and a key ring carried by the parent or caregiver that alerted them when they left a child in the car.
It was the second time Ms Loo, who is in her final year of a product design degree, had entered Audacious.
Last year, she made the top 20 in round one but decided not to continue to round two. Her idea was for a biodegradable wrap, impregnated with seeds, to go around bouquets of flowers. The wrap could later be planted.
Ms Loo is still working on a Seahorse prototype - she said electronics were not her specialty and she needed some assistance.
She is keen to keep developing the idea further, although she says she needs to find out whether the product can be made cost effectively, she said.
Being involved with Audacious had been enjoyable. She had learned to write a business plan and the workshops were useful.
The judges of this year's challenge were impressed with the ideas put forward by students from both the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic.
Nicola McConnell, from BrandAmp, was impressed by the diversity of entrants, ideas and markets. Some students had never established businesses before, one was on their second start up, another was having a career change and an established businessperson was studying entrepreneurship.
Ideas ranged from a small one person consulting business through to a fully fledged manufacturing offering.
While some entrants had taken inspiration from problems and needs in the student and wider Dunedin environment, others had a much broader scope and were planning to meet needs of national and international markets. One thread common to almost all entries was the use of technology, she said.
Dr Jodyanne Kirkwood, a senior lecturer in the management department of the University of Otago, said the judging team was impressed by the high quality of business plans and Dragon's Den style pitches for the top eight in the competition.
''It's always daunting to pitch an idea to a panel of `dragons' and the students did a great job in overcoming their nerves and selling their business plan to the judges,'' she said.
There was a great variety of businesses in that round, and some great opportunities for the students to continue developing them.
