News / Start-ups
Bristol start-ups awarded £30k
Natwest has awarded £30,000 to startups at its Bristol business accelerator – the ‘Hatchery’ – under the Entrepreneurial Spark programme.
The Entrepreneuring Awards offered ‘chiclets’ (entrepreneurs) in Bristol 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 per cent, create additional jobs to grow their team and expand across the country.
The main award, Entrepreneur of the Moment, was awarded to Simon and Helena Hills, founders of Truestart Coffee alongside a cash prize of £10,000 to help take their business, producing the world’s first coffee designed for sports performance, to the next level. The husband-and-wife team were praised for their determination and flair for market disruption.
Betty’s Birds, a start-up providing bespoke creative events, from hen parties to workshops, walked away with the Acceler-8 award and £7,000.
Mel Bound, founder of This Mum Runs, Maryhan Baker, founder of Brainboost, and William Tulloch, co-founder of Orb Technologies were awarded the #GoDo prize and £3,000 cash each.
Entrepreneurial Spark co-founder and chief entrepreneuring officer Lucy-Rose Walker commented: “Since opening our Hatchery in Bristol 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.”
Natwest has hatcheries in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton, Belfast, Leeds and Manchester. Companies on board with 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 range of training workshops and events.
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