Reflections on The Pitch 2009: Socially conscious entrepreneurship

Even if you only occasionally look at BusinessZone.co.uk you can't fail to have noticed The Pitch 2009, our exciting entrepreneurial competition which we've taken around the UK this summer. In Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London, a total of 36 small business owners have pitched for the chance to make it through to our final in November where the winner will receive £50,000 of business goods and services.

I have to admit that when we started planning the competition earlier this year, I did wonder what sort of response we'd get as the recession started to bite. Amid all the economic doom and gloom, I pondered whether the innovation, forward thinking and passion that the contest needs would be dampened by the economic doom and gloom. But I needn't have worried. Creativity was oozing from pretty much every application we received!

From business owners taking on completely new markets to others putting a new spin on traditional sectors, the response has been amazing. So to all the doom mongers out, put that in your pipe and smoke it because the UK's entrepreneurial spirit is very much alive and well!

One key trend which has particularly caught my eye is the number of entries we received from entrepreneurs running businesses which have some sort of environmental or social benefit. The traditional money grabbing business model has taken a massive hit as a result of the current financial turmoil which has led to a growing interest in a more social approach to business. That interest is clearly reflected in The Pitch applicants.

In Birmingham for example, our winner was Tom Warrender of Get Set Schools. Taking a unique approach to drugs awareness among school children, he uses mannequins normally used by medical students to demonstrate the affect of illegal substances on the human body.

Another winner was our Manchester champion Kenneth Cheung whose company promotes the recycling of food waste particularly to children.

And as a final example is Birmingham runner-up Caecus, a not-for-profit developing technology to help the blind and partially sighted people 'see' with the help of tracking devices.

I think you get my point.

All of the above businesses are not charities; they are businesses; run by business people with business objectives.

One benefit of this recession is that more than ever before business can be seen to not only make money and drive the economy but also provoke social and environmental change. If anyone wants to see that in action, just take a look at The Pitch.