The Pitch 2011: English finalists revealed in search for Britain's top small business
Posted by BusinessZone.co.uk in Business trends on Thu, 02/06/2011 - 09:15
Five lucky small business owners have made it through to the English heat of a competition tracking down Britain’s best new entrepreneurs.
The successful finalists have been chosen from hundreds of applicants to take part in the first of four heats for The Pitch 2011, organised by BusinessZone.co.uk in association with marketing solutions business Yell. The overall winner will receive £50,000 worth of business support.
The five finalists are:
- Christer Holloman, ATTYR.com, a visual search, discovery and comparison tool for online clothes & accessory shoppers.
- Jon Rathbone, Waterly Bottom Products which designs and sells the Pourty, an innovative child’s potty that is easier to empty and clean than a normal potty.
- Crispin Busk, Kabuto Noodles, a delicious combination of authentic Asian flavours and quality ingredients
- Bruce Balmer, ULTRaMo, developers of a new green engine that has the potential to halve carbon emissions by achieving 60% thermal efficiency.
- Cara Sayer, Really Simple Ideas, designer of baby products including the SnoozeShade with the aim of making life easier for parents.
The entrepreneurs will pitch their businesses in front of a live audience and a panel of judges on 9 June at the headquarters of NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) in central London.
Judging the contestants will be serial social entrepreneur Karen Darby, marketing expert and star of Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire Carl Hopkins, and MyVoucherCodes.co.uk founder Mark Pearson who also appeared on the Channel 4 show.
Mark Pearson said: "Having kept a close eye on The Pitch since it launched in 2008, I’ve been very impressed with the high quality of the business owners putting themselves forward and look forward to getting involved in a judging capacity.
"I’m hoping to see originality from the applicants, but most of all, profitability. A good idea isn’t always a good business idea, and I’ll be drawn to businesses that demonstrate the opportunity to grab market share and scale up."
As part of the event the audience and pitchers will receive valuable business advice from an impressive line-up of speakers.
The keynote address will be given by business and enterprise minister Mark Prisk before successful entrepreneurs and other experts share their tips for success. They include Anthony Lau, founder of Cyclehoop and winner of The Pitch 2009; Simon Duffy, owner of Bulldog Skincare; Fil Adams-Mercer, co-founder of Parcels2Go, David Hathiramani, co-founder of A Suit That Fits; Kate Bull, co-founder of The People's Supermarket and Matthew Bottomley, director of usage products at Yell.
Those wishing to attend can book a free audience place here.
This England heat is part of The Pitch’s UK wide search to find and support young small businesses.
Heats will also take place in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast before a grand final in London in November where the champion will walk away with the top prize which includes 12 months free mentoring from competition judge Karen Darby, £6,000 of advertising solutions from Yell and membership of employers’ organisation the Forum of Private Business.
Entries for the Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland heats of The Pitch 2011 are still being accepted. To enter click here.
- 2940 reads
- login or register to post comments
- Add to a social bookmarking site
Dragons' Den judges James Caan and Deborah Meaden and social entrepreneur Karen Darby are some of the successful entrepreneurs who feature in our exclusive videos. 
Join our social media discussion group and share your Twitter username with other BusinessZone members. 
We've got lots of free books to give away; all you've got to do is review them!