Entrepreneurial spark, celebrating the #godo journey of birmingham entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial Spark awarded an incredible £30,000 to startups at its Birmingham business accelerator ‘Hatchery’ at the prestigious Entrepreneuring Awards yesterday, Wednesday 20thJuly.
Entrepreneurial Spark is the world’s largest free business accelerator for early stage and growing ventures, run in partnership with NatWest, KPMG and EMC. The Entrepreneuring Awards offered ‘Chiclets’ (entrepreneurs) in Birmingham the chance to win between £1,000 and £10,000 to propel their business growth. Previous winners have gone on to increase turnover by up to 60%, create additional jobs to grow their team and expand across the country.
Taking place in eight locations across the UK, with Chiclets in Glasgow and Ayrshire coming together for the night, an impressive £255,000 was awarded to entrepreneurs across the country.
The awards recognised and celebrated the hard work and determination of startups in Birmingham with the following prizes:
The main award of the evening,Entrepreneur of the Moment, was awarded to John and Paul, founders of Spearhead Compliance Training, alongside a cash prize of£10,000to help take their business, which specialises in the delivery of various safety courses, to the next level. Having shown sheer determination, dedication and a flair for disrupting the market and spotting little opportunities that can result in big value, Entrepreneurial Spark believes John and Paul have what it takes to create a truly outstanding business.
After making real progress in the last six months and nailing every opportunity, Friction Free Shaving, a start-up providing the UK’s first ever women’s monthly razor subscription service, walked away with theAcceler-8 awardand£7,000.
Awarded to the entrepreneurs who take action, seek challenges and deliver impressive results with a great #GoDo mindset Lee Nazari, founder of Mobile Pay Systems, Darren Guest, founder of Vivi Media and Manjeet Sidhu, founder of Scoutt Systems Ltd, were awarded the#GoDo prizeand£3,000 cash each.
Nominated by theirfellow entrepreneurs John and Paul, founders of Spearhead Compliance Training, were also presented withthe Chiclets Choice awardand£1,000as a result of their hard work, determination and entrepreneurial spirit.
On the night eight entrepreneurs took to the stage to battle it out at the Entrepreneuring Awardspitching competition. Aidan Burley and Brier Keen, founders of Friction Free Shaving, Charnel Conway, founder of ABA Tutorship, which sources tutors for autistic children, and Shelley Lloyd and Stuart Beaty, founders of Celsium, which provides a professional relocation service for businesses wowed the judges on the night with their 60 second pitch, and walked away with£1,000 eachfor their business.
Commenting on the awards, Entrepreneurial Spark co-founder and Chief Entrepreneuring Officer Lucy-Rose Walker said: “Congratulations to all of our winners in Birmingham! At Entrepreneurial Spark we focus on building people who build businesses, and taking home an Entrepreneuring Award shows how hard you’ve worked and progressed during your time in the Hatchery.
“Since opening our Hatchery in Birmingham we have seen our Chiclets embrace the mindsets and behaviours of an entrepreneurial leader, working hard to become credible, backable and investable. The Entrepreneuring Awards give them the chance to celebrate their #GoDo journey and everything they have achieved to date, while allowing them to make plans on how to accelerate their business growth in their remaining time within the programme and beyond.
“We’ve seen some incredible things from the Chiclets in Birmingham so well done to everyone who was nominated and to all of the winners!”
Lee Currier, Entrepreneur Development Manager at NatWest, said: “The awards recognise the hard work, commitment and determination the Chiclets have shown over the last few months. It’s been a wonderful way to celebrate their achievements and the ways many have pivoted as their businesses have developed with support from the Enablement team at the Birmingham Hatchery and our partners. We wish all of the Chiclets every success for the future.”
Stephen Craik, Head of Enterprise for KPMG in the Midlands, commented: “Seeing how far each of the Birmingham has come since embarking on their Entrepreneurial Spark journey is actually rather humbling. Make no mistake – the program really puts these entrepreneurs through their paces, so these awards are an important milestone in recognising and celebrating both their individual and collective drive and determination to succeed. I am sure that all of the winners will continue to make their mark as they grow and scale in the future.”
With Hatcheries in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton, Belfast, Leeds and Manchester, Chiclets on board Entrepreneurial Spark are given one-to-one expert enablement alongside access to mentors, key partners including NatWest, KPMG and EMC, free office facilities and a host of training workshops and events.