From biros to Bollinger: Pitch perfect praise for a winning entrepreneur
Added: (Wed Jun 18 2008)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Ambitious entrepreneur Nicki Stewart is out to break the mould of the British hamper business after she beat a crop of fresh ideas and inventions to win a new business competition run by Businesszone.co.uk, called The Pitch.
The founder of Diverse Hampers took the plunge into the high-end hamper market after 18 years dealing in stationery. Taking on the sector’s big names, Nicki’s products offer a fresh, high quality and stylish alternative to the traditional wicker basket filled with cheeses and ham. The company provides a collection of striking gifts in towers of boxes containing products from small, artisan producers in the UK.
Organised by leading small business advice website BusinessZone.co.uk, The Pitch helps to support budding entrepreneurial talent by offering advice and mentoring from experienced business leaders and private equity firms. Seven shortlisted entrepreneurs presented in a four minute pitch to a panel of experts – giving the entrants first-hand experience of pitching in a pressured environment and a chance to win a package of prizes to help grow their company.
After a compelling and entertaining pitch, Nicki Stewart was announced as the winner. “I am absolutely delighted to have won win The Pitch”, explains Nicki, “It is an excellent platform on which to increase the profile of my company."
Panellists judging the presentations were Jonny Allatt, investment director at Zeus Private Equity, Modwenna Rees-Mogg, editor of www.angelnews.co.uk, Samantha Fountain, founder of Shewee and Ben Heald, CEO at Sift.
Nicki adds: “Far from being accomplished in the art of presenting, I entered the competition with apprehension! However, I found the process of presenting to such an important audience an invaluable experience.
“Pitching my company to four extremely successful business people was a formidable task, but very rewarding.”
Jonny Allatt was impressed by the entry, “It was refreshing to see such a diverse group of entrepreneurs and designers who had worked hard to impress the judges with their ideas. All of them performed well but Nicki impressed in particular with her creative approach to a traditional product and drive to succeed. I hope the prizes she has won will inspire her further to make Diverse Hampers a success.”
Dan Martin, editor of BusinessZone.co.uk adds, “Everyone involved in The Pitch was very impressed by all the contestants’ presentations, particularly as some were pitching for the first time. The high standard exhibited by the seven finalists bodes well for the future of UK entrepreneurship and we are sure that they all left with many positive pointers on how they can develop a successful business.
“Nicki Stewart is a very worthy winner. She has set herself some challenging targets but she exhibits the sort of passion and determination required to meet such aims. The package of prizes, worth £1,200, which she now receives will go a long way to growing Diverse Hampers into a even more successful business. The BusinessZone.co.uk team would like to congratulate Nicki on her win and we look forward to following her on her entrepreneurial journey.”
Included in the prize package is: full membership of UK Business Forums, the UK's most active online forums for entrepreneurs; eight business coaching sessions worth £480 donated by EM3; a year's membership of consultation connection website Skillfair worth £120; e-commerce software from Actinic which normally retails at £399; and a signed copy of the best-selling book The Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists by Robert Ashton.
Nicki Stewart concludes, “I think The Pitch is a fantastic idea for SMEs; not only to increase awareness for their venture but also to gain personal experience and learn from successful individuals.”
The other entries shortlisted for The Pitch were:
• Douglas Campbell, Project Hold Me - an egg-shaped incubator which can help nurture the bonding between mothers and their newborn babies.
• Edward Ross, Tonsho.com - an emailing service for sending large files and spam filtering.
• Iain Hockings, Friends Of The Game - designed to take children in groups to football matches rather than them always going with their parents. This means that they can then socialise with each other and have a better experience at the match.
• Katcha Bilek, re-Collect – reusing old scrap materials for art and fashion.
• Peter Martin, RE:tie – an eco-packaging idea to evolve the security closure design on many bottles and jar caps into a reusable ‘cable tie’, suitable for many uses around the home and garden.
• Scott Abbott, Armadillo Chair – a piece of portable nomadic furniture aimed at affluent nomadics; young professionals who on average relocate every 1.6 years.
ENDS
About BusinessZone.co.uk
BusinessZone.co.uk is an online community that delivers day-to-day practical advice and guidance for small business. BusinessZone.co.uk runs alongside UK Business Forums, the UK's most active online community forums for small businesses and start-ups. UKBF members use the site to discuss business issues, to share ideas, to find suppliers and, importantly, to network with each other. For further information visit www.BusinessZone.co.uk
About Diverse Hampers
For further information visit www.diversehampers.co.uk